section_path: Ascension to Nizari Ismaili Imamat
section_name: Ascension to Nizari Ismaili Imamat
paragraph_text: Ascension to Nizari Ismaili Imamat
  
  Following the death of his grandfather the Aga Khan III, al-Husseini became the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and Aga Khan IV at the age of 20, bypassing his father, Aly Khan, and his uncle, Sadruddin Aga Khan, who were in direct line to succession. In his will, his grandfather explained the rationale for choosing his eldest grandson as his successor (which marked the second time in the history of the Nizari Ismaili chain of Imamat that a grandson of the preceding Imam – instead of one of his sons – was made the next imam):
  
  In view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world has provoked many changes, including the discoveries of atomic science, I am convinced that it is in the best interests of the Nizari Ismaili community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age, and who brings a new outlook on life to his office.
  
  In light of his grandfather's will, al-Husseini was sometimes referred to by Nizari Ismailis as the "Imam of the Atomic Age ". His grandfather's will stated that the next Aga Khan, in the first several years of his Imamat, should look to his grandmother, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, for guidance on general matters pertaining to the Imamat.
  
  Following the death of his grandfather the Aga Khan III, al-Husseini became the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and Aga Khan IV at the age of 20, bypassing his father, Aly Khan, and his uncle, Sadruddin Aga Khan, who were in direct line to succession. In his will, his grandfather explained the rationale for choosing his eldest grandson as his successor (which marked the second time in the history of the Nizari Ismaili chain of Imamat that a grandson of the preceding Imam – instead of one of his sons – was made the next imam):
  
  In view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world has provoked many changes, including the discoveries of atomic science, I am convinced that it is in the best interests of the Nizari Ismaili community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age, and who brings a new outlook on life to his office.
  
  In light of his grandfather's will, al-Husseini was sometimes referred to by Nizari Ismailis as the "Imam of the Atomic Age ". His grandfather's will stated that the next Aga Khan, in the first several years of his Imamat, should look to his grandmother, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, for guidance on general matters pertaining to the Imamat.