Shah Khalil Allah III

Shah Khalil Allah III
45th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ilism Muslim
In office
1792–1817
Preceded byAbu'l-Hasan Ali "Baqir Shah"
Succeeded byAga Khan I
TitleShah Khalil Allah III
Personal life
Born
Shah Khalil Allah III

1740
Died1817 (aged 7677)
SpouseBibi Sarkara
ChildrenHasan Ali Shah (successor)
Parents
  • Abu'l-Hasan Ali "Baqir Shah" (father)
  • Bibi Sarkara (mother)
Religious life
ReligionIsma'ilism
DenominationIsma'ilism
SchoolNizari
LineageFatimid

Shah Khalil Allah III (Persian: شاه خليل الله سوم; 1740–1817) was the 45th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam community. Khalilullah Ali III was born in 1740 in the city of Kerman. His upbringing in Mahallat, Iran began under the care of his uncle, Mirza Muhammad Bakir at the age of two years, and got rudiments of his formal education at home. In 1792, he succeeded his father Abū-l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn Qāsim ‘Alī as Imam, as his eldest son. He moved the seat of the Imamate from Kirman to Kahak, from where he led for 20 years. His name of Shah Khalil Allah was a Ni'matullāhī Sufi name, which reflected the close relationship between the Nizaris and Ni'matullāhīs. In 1815, Shāh Khalīlullāh moved to Yazd in order to be closer to his Indian followers.