The Position of Imamate and the Doctorine of Mahdaviyyat from Qarmatians' view point

The Qaramata sect was formed in the second half of the second century (AH), based on the belief in the Imamate and Mahdaviyyat of Muhammad ibn Ismail, the grandson of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as). The Qarmatians expressed certain ideas about Mahdaviyyat. At the beginning, they believed in the Mahdaviyyat of Muhammad ibn Ismail and considered him the seventh Imam and the terminator of the sixth round and Qa'im al-Qiyamah. They have introduced many esoteric interpretations for the Qa'im al-Qiyamah in the round system and believed that he was alive and Abdullah bin Maimoon was his intermediator and he was the last person to hold the position of Imamate and Prophethood at the same time. Thus, the occultation and Mahdaviyyat of Muhammad ibn Ismail attracted the attention of many Ismailis and was widely propagated, and the beliefs of the Qarmatians were established on this belief. After a while, they converted to the Mahdaviyyat of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanafiya for a short time and designated him along with other great prophets, as well as in the testimony in the call to prayer, as one of the messengers of God. These beliefs were met with many doubts, especially since the promise of his reappearance was not fulfilled, so after a short time the Mahdaviyyat of Muhammad ibn Ismail received serious attention and widespread acceptance by the Qarmatians. At the beginning of the fourth century, the Bahraini Qarmatians, led by Abu Tahir al-Janabi, believed in the Mahdaviyyat of Mehdi Isfahani. This belief lasted only 80 days, but its devastating effect on the beliefs of the Qarmatians was quite obvious. After some time, the Bahraini Qarmatians, like other Qaramata, returned to the Mahdaviyyat of Muhammad ibn Ismail.