Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him and his family) was the last and final Messenger of God. The Shia interpretation of Islam holds that during his lifetime, upon divine command, the Prophet designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib (may peace be upon him) as the leader of the Muslim community. According to Shia Muslims, the office of religious leadership, or Imamat, continues in perpetuity. The Ismaili Imamat is a hereditary office in succession from the first Imam, Hazrat Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, who was married to Hazrat BibiA word of East Turkish origin which means old mother or a grandmother. It is also used in Persian and Urdu in the sense of “woman of the house”, as… FatimaDaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and his first wife, Khadīja bint Khuwaylid. Also wife of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and mother of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. a-Zahra, the Prophet’s daughter and only surviving child. For Shia Ismaili Muslims, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan is the 50th hereditary Imam in direct descent from the Prophet Muhammad.
