Kaysanites
The Kaysanites were a Shi'i Islamic group that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They traced the right to lead the Muslim community (Imamate) to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants. The name Kaysanites probably comes from Abu Amra Kaysan, Mukhtar’s chief guard, or from a freed Ali-era slave named Kaysan, or from Ali or Ibn al-Hanafiyya naming Mukhtar “Kaysān” for his cleverness. Initially their movement was called Mukhtariyya (after Al-Mukhtar), but they soon became known as the Kaysānīyya (Kaysanites).
The Kaysanites shared a broad goal: they supported the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his heirs or designated successors, and they were actively anti-Umayyad, seeking to place the Alids in leadership. They drew most of their support from Mawalis and others in southern Iraq, Persia, and parts of Iraq like Kufa and Ctesiphon (Al-Mada’in).
After Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah died in 700 CE, most Kaysanites accepted Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (Abu Hashim) as Imam. This branch, known as Hashimiyya, became the largest Kaysanite group and spread especially into Persia and Greater Khorasan, influencing residents there and playing a role in the Abbasid revolution. But the Kaysanites did not survive as a single sect. Those who did not join the Abbasids joined other Shi’a communities, such as the Khurramites in Khurasan or Ja'far al-Sadiq and Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya in Iraq. With the decline of al-Nafs az-Zakiyya’s movement, Ja'far al-Sadiq became the main rallying point for many, and by the end of the 8th century most Kaysanites had aligned with other Imams.
Over time the Kaysanite movement split into many sub-sects. These splits commonly occurred after a Kaysanite leader died, with different groups pledging allegiance to different successors and each sub-sect claiming its own leader’s legitimacy. After Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah’s death, at least four to five sub-sects claimed succession to Abu Hashim.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:59 (CET).