Zaydism

{{short description|Branch of Shia Islam}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Zaydi|Zaidi (disambiguation){{!}}Zaidi}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox religious group|group=Zaydis|image=Ansar Allah Logo.svg|image_caption=A calligraphic logo used by the Houthis, a ''Zaydi'' revivalist and Islamist political and military organization in Yemen, with Arabic text reading: "Oh ye who believe, be supporters of God" (Quran 61:14)|founder=Zayd ibn Ali|region1=north-western Yemen (893 CE, by al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya)|region2=northern Iran (Tabaristan, 864 CE, by Hasan ibn Zayd, expanded to Daylam and Gilan)|regions=Northwestern Yemen, Najran in Saudi Arabia|population=15–20 million<ref>{{cite web |title=Zaydi Shi'a in Yemen |publisher=Minority Rights Group International |url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/zaydi-shia/ |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>}} {{Shia Islam|Branches}}

'''Zaydism''' ({{Langx|ar|الزَّيْدِيَّة|translit=az-Zaydiyya}}), also referred to as '''Fiver Shi'ism''',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bang|first=Anne|url=https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-idrisi-state-in-asir-1906-1934/|title=The Idrisi State in Asir 1906–1934|publisher=Hurst Publishers|year=1997|isbn=|location=|page=12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209141757/https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-idrisi-state-in-asir-1906-1934/|archive-date=9 December 2019|quote=|access-date=1 January 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref> or '''al-Firqah al-Nājiya''' (Arabic: الفرقة الناجية, English: '''The Saved Sect''') is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate.<ref>{{cite book|author= Stephen W. Day|title= Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen: A Troubled National Union|date= 2012|page= 31|publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9781107022157}}</ref> Zaydism is one of the currently three main branches of Shi'ism, the other two being Twelverism and Ismailism.{{sfn|Haider|2010|p=436}}

Zaydism is typically considered the Shia branch that is closest to Sunni Islam, although the "classical" form of Zaydism (usually referred to as '''Hadawi''') historically changed its stance on Sunni and Shia traditions multiple times, to the point where Zaydis' simply accepting Ali as a rightful successor to Muhammad was enough to consider them Shia.{{sfn|Haider|2021|p=203}}

Zaydis regard rationalism as more important than Quranic literalism and historically were quite tolerant towards Shafi'i Sunnism, the jurisprudential school of about half of the Yemenis.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=285}} Most of the world's Zaydis are located in northwestern Yemen and Najran in Saudi Arabia.{{sfn|Hamidaddin|2022|p=262}}

==History== {{further|Battle of Fakhkh|Alid revolt of 762–763}} ===Origins=== In the 7th century some early Muslims expected Ali to become the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, successor to Muhammad. After the ascension of Abu Bakr, supporters of Ali (and future Shia) continued to believe only people from Muhammad's family qualify as rulers. They selected an imam from each generation of Muhammad's family. (The proto-Sunni, in contrast, recognized Abu Bakr as a legitimate first caliph).{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=285}} The Zaydis emerged in reverence of Zayd ibn Ali's failed uprising against the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ({{reign|724|743}}). While a majority of the early Shia recognized Zayd's brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, as the fifth leader, some considered Zayd as the fifth imam, and thus in the 8th century formed the Zaydi or "Fivers" offshoot of Islam.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=285}}

Since the earliest form of Zaydism was Jaroudiah,<ref name="Sayyid 2005 p.50, 51"/> many of the first Zaydi states were supporters of its position, such as those of the Iranian Alavids of Mazandaran province, the Buyid dynasty of Gilan province, the Arab dynasties of the Banu Ukhaidhir{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} of al-Yamama (modern Saudi Arabia), and the Rassids of Yemen. The Idrisid dynasty in the western Maghreb were another Arab<ref> {{Citation |last=Hodgson |first=Marshall |year=1961 |title=Venture of Islam |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=262}}</ref> Zaydi<ref>{{Citation |last=Ibn Abī Zarʻ al-Fāsī |first=ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh |publication-date=1972 |year=1340 |title=Rawḍ al-Qirṭās: Anīs al-Muṭrib bi-Rawd al-Qirṭās fī Akhbār Mulūk al-Maghrib wa-Tārīkh Madīnat Fās |location=ar-Rabāṭ |publisher=Dār al-Manṣūr|page=38|title-link=Rawd al-Qirtas }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hespress.com/?browser=view&EgyxpID=5116 |title=حين يكتشف المغاربة أنهم كانوا شيعة وخوارج قبل أن يصبحوا مالكيين ! |publisher=Hespress.com |access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zeStDQZOSgC&q=Idrisid+dynasty+zaydi&pg=PA218 |title=Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law |access-date=30 November 2013|isbn=978-0691100999 |last1=Goldziher |first1=Ignác |last2=Hamori |first2=Andras |last3=Jūldtsīhar |first3=Ijnās |year=1981 |publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBwOF6jXBdIC&q=Idrisid+dynasty+zaidi&pg=PA844 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics |date= 2003|access-date=30 November 2013|isbn=9780766137042 |last1=Hastings |first1=James |publisher=Kessinger }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101310 |title=The Institute of Ismaili Studies – The Initial Destination of the Fatimid caliphate: The Yemen or The Maghrib? |publisher=Iis.ac.uk |access-date=30 November 2013 |archive-date=6 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706101911/http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101310 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/Chapter3/Ch_3_25.htm |title=25. Shi'ah tenets concerning the question of the imamate |publisher=Muslimphilosophy.com |access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref> dynasty, ruling 788–985.

Some Persian and Arab legends record that Zaydis fled to China from the Umayyads during the 8th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamicpopulation.com/asia/China/China_integration%20of%20religious%20minority.pdf|title=The Integration of Religious Minorities in China: The Case of Chinese Muslims|author=Donald Daniel Leslie|year=1998|page=6|publisher=The Fifty-ninth George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology|access-date=30 November 2010}}</ref>

===Zaydi empires in Iran=== Under Hasan ibn Zayd, the Alavids established a Zaydi state in Daylam and Tabaristan (northern Iran) in 864.<ref>Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, ''At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen'' (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: ''Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature''</ref> It also expanded into Sa'dah (Yemen) around 893, under al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, a descendant of Imam Hasan ibn Ali; Yahya thereby founded the Rassid dynasty. The Zaydi state in Tabaristan lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the Sunni Samanids in 928. Roughly forty years later, the state was revived in Daylam and Gilan (northwest Iran) and survived until 1126. Historically, there was a small community of Zaydi Kurds between Iran and Iraq.<ref>كتاب دائرة المعارف: من سليكون الى صلاح الدينية. ١٠, Volume 10, Buṭrus al- Bustānī, 1898, pp. 614</ref>

After Marzuban ibn Justan converted to Islam in 805, the ancient family of Justan's became connected to the Zaydi Alids of the Daylam region. Thus the rulers of Daylam were also called the Justanids (Persian: جستانیان{{lrm}}).{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

The Buyid dynasty was initially Zaydi<ref>{{Citation|last=Walker|first=Paul Ernest|year=1999|title=Hamid Al-Din Al-Kirmani: Ismaili Thought in the Age of Al-Hakim |series=Ismaili Heritage Series|volume=3|place=London; New York|publisher=I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies |page=13|isbn=978-1-86064-321-7}}</ref> as were the Banu Ukhaidhir rulers of al-Yamama in the 9th and 10th centuries.<ref>Madelung, W. "al-Uk̲h̲ayḍir." ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-7693] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250815023326/https://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-7693|date=15 August 2025}}</ref> The leader of the Zaydi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}} From the 12th to the 13th century, Zaydi communities acknowledged the Imams of Yemen or rival Imams within Iran.<ref>Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, ''At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen'' (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: ''Encyclopedia Iranica''</ref>

The Karkiya dynasty, or Kia dynasty, was a Zaydi Shia dynasty which ruled over Bia pish (eastern Gilan) from the 1370s to 1592. They claimed Sasanian ancestry as well.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | article = GĪLĀN v. History under the Safavids | last = Kasheff | first = Manouchehr | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilan-v | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 6 | pages = 635–642 | year = 2001 }}</ref>

The Zaydis on the Caspian Sea were forcefully converted to Twelver Shi'ism in the 16th century.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|pp=285-286}}

=== Outside Arabia and Iran === 150px|thumb|Extent of Zaydi dynasty in North Africa. The Idrisid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty centered around modern-day Morocco which ruled from 788 to 974. It was named after its first leader Idris I.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

The Hammudid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty in the 11th century in southern Spain.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

===Evolution of the Zaydi Imamate in Yemen === The Zaydis in Yemen had initially lived in the highlands and the northern territories, but the extent of their dominance away from their capital of seven centuries, Sa'dah, had been changing over time. The Rassid dynasty was re-established under Al-Mansur al-Qasim after an Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. After another conflict with the Ottomans, a new succession line was started in the 19th century by Muhammad bin Yahya Hamid ad-Din.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}} With minor interruptions, these two dynasties ruled in Yemen until the creation of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962.

The Rassid state had been founded under Jarudiyya thought;<ref name="Sayyid 2005">Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, ''At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen'' (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005</ref> however, increasing interactions with Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of Sunni Islam led to a shift to Sulaimaniyyah thought, especially among the Hadawi sub-sect. While the rulers ostensibly conformed to Hadawi law (thus the "imamate"), the doctrines had to be modified to allow hereditary, as opposed to traditional merit-based, selection of imams.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=286}}

This transition did not happen abruptly, but through a long-lasting process from the fifteenth century onwards (termed "Traditionism" by Bernard Haykel<ref>{{cite journal |last=Haykel |first=Bernard |date=2001 |title=The Entrenchment of 'Non-Sectarian' Sunnism in Yemen |url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/17488 |journal=ISIM Newsletter |volume=7 |issue=1 |location=Leiden |page=19 |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref>) that saw the gradual merging of Zaydi doctrine with elements of Shafi'i Sunnism. By the mid-eighteenth century, the rulers of the Qasimi Imamate had become dynastic, a more formal state bureaucracy was established, and the traditional Zaydi notion of ''khurūj'' (revolt against unjust rule) was deemed unacceptable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haider |first=Najam |date=2014 |title=Shi'i Islam: An Introduction |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=Zaydism in the Balance between Sunni and Shi‘a |pages=103-122 |isbn=}}</ref><ref name=brandt>{{cite book |last=Brandt |first=Marieke |date=2024 |title=Tribes and Politics in Yemen: A History of the Houthi Conflict |location=London |publisher=Hurst |isbn=9781911723424}}</ref>{{rp|102}}

[[File:North yemen religion map.png|thumb|150px|Zaydi regions (orange) in Yemen's interior, excludes Tihamah on the coast.]] The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, also known as North Yemen, existed between 1918 and 1962 in the northern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was Sanaa until 1948, then Taiz.

=== Yemeni Arab Republic era === After the fall of the Zaydi Imamate in 1962 some Zaydi Shia in northern Yemen converted to Sunni Islam.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ardic |first1=Nurullah|title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern}}</ref>{{Dubious|date=May 2016}}

The end of imam rule, with the new rulers in Yemen no longer conforming to the requirements of Zaydism, caused a number of Zaydi scholars to call for the restoration of the imamate. This contributed to the North Yemen Civil War that lasted from 1962 to 1970.{{sfn | Obaid | 2023 | p=73}} The national reconciliation of 1970 paused the fighting with traumatized Zaydis following three main routes:{{sfn | Obaid | 2023 | p=74}} * joining the new political system (the religious Party of Truth was created in 1990); * restoring the spiritual and cultural heritage of Zaydism by opening religious centers and encouraging the tribes to send their youth for education there; * preparing for the future fighting (Houthi movement founder Hussein al-Houthi was readying the militia).{{when|date=November 2025}}

Throughout the Republican era, the position of Saudi-backed Salafis and other Sunni groups in Yemen steadily increased, as did the position of Sheikhs who sometimes cooperated with these Salafi groups for pragmatic reasons. The Salafis reportedly pursued an aggressive "policy of provocation" towards the Zaydis who inhabited the surrounding area, often accusing them of apostasy and sometimes even destroying their cemeteries.<ref name=brandt/>{{rp|106-112}} Despite this, the Salafi school enjoyed the support of both the Saudi and North Yemeni regimes. This situation helped sow the seeds for mounting discontent among the Zaydi population and ultimately Zaydi revivalist movements such as the Houthis, an armed rebel group.<ref name=brandt/>{{rp|106-112}}

=== Houthi insurgency === {{Main|Houthis}}

Since 2004, the Houthis have been waging an uprising against factions belonging to the Sunni majority group in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/MidEastReligionCore_lg.jpg |title=Map : Islam |publisher=Gulf2000.columbia.edu |access-date=30 November 2013 |archive-date=3 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903200521/http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/MidEastReligionCore_lg.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps.shtml |title=The Gulf/2000 Project – SIPA – Columbia University |publisher=Gulf2000.columbia.edu |access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref> The group has asserted that their actions are for the defence of their community from the government and discrimination, though the Yemeni government in turn accused them of wishing to bring it down and institute religious law.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7379929.stm |publisher=BBC News|title=Deadly blast strikes Yemen mosque |date=2 May 2008 |access-date=11 November 2009}}</ref>

On 21 September 2014, an agreement was signed in Sanaa under UN patronage essentially giving the Houthis control of the government after a decade of conflict.<ref>{{cite news|title=Houthis secure six ministerial portfolios in new Yemeni cabinet|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/10/article55337905|date=26 October 2014|access-date=24 April 2021|newspaper=Asharq Al-Awsat|author=Hamdan Al-Rahbi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029134357/http://www.aawsat.net/2014/10/article55337905|archive-date=29 October 2014}}</ref> Tribal militias then moved swiftly to consolidate their position in the capital, with the group officially declaring direct control over the state on 6 February 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/yemens-shia-rebels-finalize-coup-vow-to-dissolve-parliament/article22829401/|agency=The Globe and Mail|title=Yemen's Shia rebels finalize coup, vow to dissolve parliament|date=6 February 2015|access-date=6 February 2015}}</ref> This outcome followed the removal of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 in the wake of protracted Arab Spring protests. Saudi Arabia has exercised the predominant external influence in Yemen since the withdrawal of Nasser's Egyptian expeditionary force marking the end of the bitter North Yemen Civil War.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/sanaa-violence-end-yemen-shia-houthi-agreement|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922193208/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/sanaa-violence-end-yemen-shia-houthi-agreement|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 September 2014|title=Yemeni government reaches agreement with Shia Houthi rebels|work=The Guardian |date=21 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21636|agency=Al-Akhbar|title=Yemen: Saudi Arabia recognizes new balance of power in Sanaa as Houthis topple Muslim Brothers|first=Ahmed|last=al-Zarqa|date=22 September 2014|access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref>

There is a wide array of domestic opponents to Houthi rule in Yemen, ranging from the conservative Sunni Islah Party to the secular post-socialist Southern Movement to the radical Islamists of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and, since 2014, the Islamic State – Yemen Province.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/politics/isis-gaining-ground-in-yemen/|publisher=CNN|title=ISIS gaining ground in Yemen|date=21 January 2015|access-date= 14 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-goes-off-in-center-of-yemen-capital/2015/02/07/8ffcf9fa-aec1-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209040955/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-goes-off-in-center-of-yemen-capital/2015/02/07/8ffcf9fa-aec1-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 February 2015|work=The Washington Post|title=After takeover, Yemen's Shiite rebels criticized over 'coup'|date=7 February 2015|access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-shiite-leader-defends-yemen-takeover-2015-2|work=Business Insider|title=Shiite leader in Yemen says coup protects from al Qaeda|date=7 February 2015|access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref>

==Law== In matters of Islamic jurisprudence, the Zaydis follow Zayd Ibn 'Ali's teachings, which are documented in his book ''Majmu' Al-Fiqh'' ({{langx|ar|مجموع الفِقه}}). Zaydi ''fiqh'' is similar to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence,<ref name="Sayyid 2005"/> as well as the Ibadi school. Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi school, was favorable and even donated towards the Zaydi cause.<ref>''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought'', Page 14, Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Mahan Mirza – 2012</ref> Zaydis dismiss religious dissimulation (taqiyya).<ref name="p149">{{Cite book|title= Regional Surveys of the World: The Middle East and North Africa 2003|publisher= Europa Publications|year= 2003|isbn= 978-1-85743-132-2|location= London, England|page= 149}}</ref> Zaydism does not rely heavily on ''hadith'', but uses those that are consistent with the ''Qur'an'', and is open to ''hadith''. Some sources argue that Zaydism is simply a philosophy of political government that justifies the overthrow of unjust rulers and prioritizes those who are Ahl al-Bayt.<ref>{{cite web |author1=MAYSAA SHUJA AL-DEEN |title=Yemen's War-torn Rivalries for Religious Education |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/07/yemen-s-war-torn-rivalries-for-religious-education-pub-84651 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607155815/https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/07/yemen-s-war-torn-rivalries-for-religious-education-pub-84651 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 June 2021 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahab |first=Bdaiwi |date=2024-05-08 |title=The Beliefs of the Zaydis: A Conspectus |url=https://www.leidenarabichumanitiesblog.nl/articles/the-beliefs-of-the-zaydis-a-conspectus-part-1 |quote=Their origins trace back to the proto-Shiʿi movement that emerged in the first century of Islam (late seventh and early eighth century CE) which coalesced around the rights of the Family of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt, regarded as the legitimate temporal and spiritual successors to the mantle of the Prophet Muḥammad.|access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Islamic Thought and History at Leiden University |language=en}}</ref>

==Theology== Haider{{sfn|Haider|2021|pp=203-204}} states that mainstream Zaydism (''Hadawi'') is a result of the interaction of two currents, Batrism and Jarudism, their followers brought together during the original revolt of Zayd ibn Ali. The names, also designated as Batri and Jarudi, do not necessarily represent cohesive groups of people; for example, Batri ideas (proto-Sunni) were dominant among Zaydis in the 8th century, and Jarudism (Shia) took over in the 9th century.{{sfn|Haider|2021|pp=203-204}}{{sfn|Haider|2021|p=436}} The following table summarizes the differences between Batri and Jarudi beliefs per Haider:{{sfn|Haider|2021|p=209}}

{| class="wikitable" |+ Batri vs. Jarudi |- ! scope=col style="width: 50%;" | Batri ! scope=col style="width: 50%;" | Jarudi |- | Muhammad implicitly designated Ali as a caliph. || Ali was clearly named by Muhammad. |- | Ali's opponents were victims of bad judgement. They should not be cursed or declared apostates.|| Ali's opponents were apostates and can be cursed. |- | Imamate can go to a less worthy candidate. || Only the most worthy candidate shall become an imam. |- | Legal authority is vested in the entire Muslim community.|| Only Ali's and Fatima's descendants have legal authority. |- | Doctrines of ''raj'a'', ''taqiyya'', and ''bada''' are invalid. || ''Raj'a'', ''taqiyya'', and ''bada{{'}}'' are accepted. |}

Zaydis' theological literature emphasizes social justice and human responsibility and their political implications—i.e., Muslims have an ethical and legal obligation by their religion to rise up and depose unjust leaders, including unrighteous sultans and caliphs.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Yemen's last Zaydi Imam: the ''shabab al-mu'min,'' the ''Malazim,'' and ''hizb allah'' in the thought of Husayn Badr al-Din al-Huthi |date= Summer 2009 |last=Abdullah |first=Lux |journal=Contemporary Arab Affairs |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=369–434 |doi=10.1080/17550910903106084}}</ref>

===Beliefs=== Zaydis believe Zayd ibn Ali was the rightful successor to the imamate because he led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate, which he believed was tyrannical and corrupt. Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action, and the followers of Zayd believed that a true Imām must fight against corrupt rulers.<ref name="Arab East 1996, p97">''Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East: State and Civilization during the Later Medieval Times'' by Abdul Ali, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1996, p97</ref> The renowned Muslim jurist Abu Hanifa, who is credited with founding the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, delivered a fatwā or legal statement in favour of Zayd in his rebellion against the Umayyad ruler. He also secretly urged people to join the uprising and delivered funds to Zayd.<ref>''Ahkam al-Quran'' By Abu Bakr al-Jassas al-Razi, volume 1 page 100, published by Dar Al-Fikr Al-Beirutiyya</ref>

Unlike Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ism, Zaydis do not believe in the infallibility of Imams<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Zaidiyyah |title=Zaidiyyah|work=The Free Dictionary}}</ref> and reject the notion of nass imamate,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Robinson |title=Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi/page/47 47] |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |year=1984 |isbn=0871966298}}</ref> but believe that an Imam can be any descendant of Hasan ibn Ali or Husayn ibn Ali. Zaydis believe that Zayd ibn Ali, in his last hour, was betrayed by the people in Kufa.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Zaydis reject anthropomorphism and instead take a rationalist approach to scriptural uses of anthropomorphic expressions, as illustrated in works such as the ''Kitāb al-Mustarshid'' by the 9th-century Zaydi imam al-Qasim al-Rassi.<ref name="Abrahamov">{{cite book |last1=Abrahamov |first1=Binyamin |author1-link=Al-Qasim al-Rassi |title=Anthropomorphism and interpretation of the Qurʼān in the theology of al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm: Kitāb al-Mustarshid |date=1996 |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=9789004104082 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-RCcnlbzfQC }}</ref>

==Status of Caliphs and the Sahaba== {{Further|Rashidun}} There was a difference of opinion among the companions and supporters of Zayd ibn 'Ali, such as Abu al-Jarud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, Sulayman ibn Jarir, Kathir al-Nawa al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih, concerning the status of the first three Rashidun caliphs who succeeded to the political and administrative authority of Muhammad. The earliest group, called Jarudiyya (named for Abu'l-Jarud al-Hamdani), was opposed to the approval of certain companions of Muhammad. They held that there was sufficient description given by Muhammad that all should have recognized Ali as the rightful caliph. They therefore consider the companions wrong in failing to recognise Ali as the legitimate Caliph and deny legitimacy to Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman; however, they avoid accusing them.<ref name="auto">''Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces''. Steven R Ward, p. 43</ref>

The Jarudiyya were active during the late Umayyad Caliphate and early Abbasid Caliphate. Its views, although predominant among the later Zaydis, especially in Yemen under the Hadawi sub-sect, became extinct in Iraq and Iran due to forced conversion of the present religious sects to Twelver Shi'ism by the Safavid dynasty.<ref>''Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution''. Nikki R Keddie, Yann Richard, pp. 13, 20</ref><ref name="auto"/>

The second group, the Sulaymaniyya, named for Sulayman ibn Jarir, held that the Imamate should be a matter to be decided by consultation. They felt that the companions, including Abu Bakr and 'Umar, had been in error in failing to follow 'Ali, but it did not amount to sin.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

The third group is known as the Batriyya, Tabiriyya, or Salihiyya for Kathir an-Nawa al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih. Their beliefs are virtually identical to those of the Sulaymaniyya, except they see Uthman also as in error but not in sin.<ref name="Sayyid 2005 p.50, 51">Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, ''At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen'' (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: Momen, pp. 50, 51. and S.S. Akhtar Rizvi, "Shi'a Sects"</ref>

The term ''rāfiḍa'' was a term used by Zayd ibn Ali on those who rejected him in his last hours for his refusal to condemn the first two Caliphs of the Muslim world, Abu Bakr and Umar.<ref>''The Waning of the Umayyad Caliphate'' by Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, p. 37</ref> Zayd bitterly scolds the "rejectors" (''rāfiḍa'') who deserted him, an appellation used by Salafis to refer to Twelver Shi'a to this day.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Religion'' Vol.16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243. ''"They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd...the term became a pejorative nickname among Sunni Muslims, who used it, however to refer to the Imamiyah's repudiation of the first three caliphs preceding Ali..."''</ref> {{Cquote|A group of their leaders assembled in his (Zayd's presence) and said: "May God have mercy on you! What do you have to say on the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar?" Zayd said, "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them...when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah"<ref name="Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand 1989, p37">''The waning of the Umayyad caliphate'' by Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, pp. 37, 38<br />''The Encyclopedia of Religion'' Vol. 16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243.</ref>|30px|30px }}

According to Zaydi traditions, ''Rāfiḍa'' referred to those Kufans who deserted and refused to support Zayd ibn Ali, who had a favourable view of the first two Rashidun Caliphs.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi|author2=Karim Douglas Crow|title=Facing One Qiblah: Legal and Doctrinal Aspects of Sunni and Shi'ah Muslims|date=2005|publisher=Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd |isbn=9789971775520|page=186}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Najam Haider|title=The Origins of the Shī'a: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kūfa|date=26 September 2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139503310|pages=196–7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Najībābādī|first1=Akbar|title=History of Islam Volume 2|publisher=Darussalam Publishers |isbn=978-9960892863|page=229|year=2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Suleiman|editor1-first=Yasir|title=Living Islamic History: Studies in Honour of Professor Carole Hillenbrand|date=21 April 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780748642199|page=11 |edition=illustrated}}</ref> The term "''Rāfiḍa''" became a popular pejorative term used by the Zaydi scholars against Imami Shias to criticize their rejection of Zayd ibn Ali.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kohlberg |first1=Etan |date=1979 |title=The Term "Rāfida" in Imāmī Shīʿī Usage |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=677–679 |doi=10.2307/601453 |jstor=601453 |issn=0003-0279 }}</ref><ref>''The Encyclopedia of Religion'' Vol.16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243. "They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd...the term became a pejorative nickname among Sunni Muslims, who used it, however to refer to the Imamiyah's repudiation of the first three caliphs preceding Ali..."</ref>

Twelver Shias sometimes consider Zaydism to be a "fifth school" of Sunni Islam.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fattah |first1=Khaled |date=11 May 2012 |title=Yemen's Sectarian Spring |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2012/05/yemens-sectarian-spring?lang=en |access-date=11 September 2024 |website=Sada |publisher=Carnegie Endowment}}</ref>

===Twelver Shia references to Zayd=== While not one of the Twelve Imams embraced by Twelver Shi'ism, Zayd ibn Ali features in historical accounts within Twelver literature in a positive and negative light.

In Twelver accounts, Imam Ali al-Ridha narrated how his grandfather, Ja'far al-Sadiq, also supported Zayd ibn Ali's struggle:

{{Cquote|he was one of the scholars from the Household of Muhammad and got angry for the sake of the Honorable the Exalted God. He fought with the enemies of God until he got killed in His path. My father Musa ibn Ja’far narrated that he had heard his father Ja’far ibn Muhammad say, "May God bless my uncle Zayd... He consulted with me about his uprising and I told him, "O my uncle! Do this if you are pleased with being killed and your corpse being hung up from the gallows in the al-Konasa neighbourhood." After Zayd left, As-Sadiq said, "Woe be to those who hear his call but do not help him!".|30px|30px|''Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā'',<ref name="UAR">{{cite book |title=Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā |author=Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī, Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī}}</ref> p. 466 }}

Jafar al-Sadiq's love for Zayd ibn Ali was so immense that he broke down and cried upon reading the letter informing him of his death and proclaimed:

{{Cquote|From God we are and to Him is our return. I ask God for my reward in this calamity. He was a really good uncle. My uncle was a man for our world and for our Hereafter. I swear by God that my uncle is a martyr just like the martyrs who fought along with God’s Prophet or Ali or Al-Hassan or Al-Hussein|30px|30px|''Uyūn akhbār al-Riḍā'',<ref name=UAR/> p. 472 }}

However, in other hadiths, narrated in ''Al-Kafi'', the main Shia book of hadith, Zayd ibn Ali is criticized by his half-brother, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, for his revolt against the Umayyad Dynasty. According to Alexander Shepard, an Islamic Studies specialist, much of Twelver hadith and theology was written to counter Zaydism.<ref>'"Al-Kulayni’s Sectarian Polemics: Anti-Zaydi and Anti-Ghulat Hadiths in Twelver Literature". Center for the Study of Middle East, Global and International Studies Building, 5 November 2019. 'https://www.academia.edu/video/lvaQP1</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book | first = Cornelis | last = van Arendonk | title = Les débuts de l'imamat zaidite au Yemen | location = Leiden | publisher = Brill | year = 1960 | language = fr}} * {{cite journal | last=Haider | first=Najam | title=Zaydism: A Theological and Political Survey | journal=Religion Compass | volume=4 | issue=7 | url=https://www.academia.edu/download/40553879/Zaydiyya_Published_-_Haider.pdf | date=2010 | doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00214.x | pages=436–442 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} * {{cite book | last=Haider | first=Najam | title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements | publisher=Brill Publishing | chapter = Zaydism | date=2021 | chapter-url=https://scholar.archive.org/work/uxwgoclpevbsha4afgv2gd4ilu/access/wayback/https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004435544/BP000020.pdf | isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 | doi=10.1163/9789004435544_013 | pages = 204–234}} * {{cite book |last=Hamidaddin |first=Abdullah |title=The Huthi Movement in Yemen: Ideology, Ambition and Security in the Arab Gulf |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |date=2022-06-30 |isbn=978-0-7556-4427-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Huthi_Movement_in_Yemen/QpV0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA262 |access-date=2025-06-09}} * {{EI2 | last = Madelung | first = W. | authorlink = Wilferd Madelung | title = Zaydiyya | pages = 477–481 | volume = 11 | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1385|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1385 }} * {{cite book | last1=Salmoni | first1=Barak A. | last2=Loidolt | first2=Bryce | last3=Wells | first3=Madeleine | title=Regime and Periphery in Northern Yemen |chapter=Appendix B: Zaydism: Overview and Comparison to Other Versions of Shi‘ism | publisher=Rand Corporation | publication-place=Santa Monica, Calif. | date=2010 | isbn=978-0-8330-4933-9 | url = https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG962.pdf | pages = 285–296}} * {{cite book | last=Obaid | first=S.A. | title=Yemen's Road to War: Yemeni Struggle in the Middle East | publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-64979-942-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BlzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT73 | access-date=2024-01-14}}

==External links== * [https://zaidiportal.com Zaidi Portal] * [http://www.al-majalis.com Majalis Aal Mohammed] * [http://salvationark.com/ Salvation Ark] * [https://www.academia.edu/4394924/Zaidiyyah Zaidiyyah]

Category:Zaydism Category:Islamic history of Yemen Category:Shia Islamic branches