Abdullah al-Aftah

ʿAbdallāh al-Afṭaḥ ibn Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (Arabic: عبدالله الأفطح بن جعفر الصادق, d. 766 CE / 149 A.H.) was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq (after al-Sadiq's death) and the full-brother of Isma'il ibn Jafar. Abdallah's title "al-Aftah" derives from the Arabic words "aftah al-ra’s" (broad-headed) or "aftah al-rijlayn" (broad-footed) used to describe his appearance.

Life During the lifetime of his father, Abdallah al-Aftah had supported the revolt of his relative Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya.

Following Ja'far al-Sadiq's death, the majority of Ja'far's followers accepted Abdallah al-Aftah as their new Imam. These followers were known as the Fathites and, according to the Mu'tazili heresiographer Abul-Qasim al-Balkhi al-Ka‘bi (d.319 A.H. / 931 CE), they were the biggest and most important section of the followers of Ja'far al-Sadiq. To support his claims, Abdallah al-Aftah seems to have claimed a 2nd Nass from his father (following Ismā'īl's demise) and his adherents cited a supposed Hadith from Ja'far al-Sadiq to the effect that the Imamate must be transmitted through the eldest son of the Imam. However, when Abdallah al-Aftah died childless about 70 days after the death of his father, the bulk of his supporters went over to his brother Musa al-Kazim. Other Fathites considered Abdallah al-Aftah the 7th Imam and Musa al-Kazim the 8th Imam,

Position in the Ismā'īlī-Imāmah doctrine

Genealogy