Introduction

قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِي يُحۡبِبۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ قُلۡ أَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوۡاْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ

Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” Say, “Obey Allah and the Messenger. But if you turn away, then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.”^[1]

رَبَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا بِمَآ أَنزَلۡتَ وَٱتَّبَعۡنَا ٱلرَّسُولَ فَٱكۡتُبۡنَا مَعَ ٱلشَّٰهِدِينَ

Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger, so register us among the witnesses [to truth].”^[2]

وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَۚ وَحَسُنَ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقٗا

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.^[3]

وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطِي مُسۡتَقِيمٗا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمۡ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ

And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous.^[4]

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمۡ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعٗا لَّسۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ فِي شَيۡءٍۚ إِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُمۡ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفۡعَلُونَ

Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects, you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.^[5]

وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَلَا تَنَٰزَعُواْ فَتَفۡشَلُواْ وَتَذۡهَبَ رِيحُكُمۡۖ وَٱصۡبِرُوٓاْۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ

And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.^[6]

Many historians, researchers, and scholars have focused on writing about the various Islamic sects and the diversity of their beliefs, especially the Shia sects, which have received a significant share of comprehensive studies regarding their origins, objectives, and areas of spread. This is due to the impact their emergence had on fracturing the structure of the Islamic community and tearing apart its unity. Therefore, a large number of extensive and brief works, as well as scholarly research in various prominent languages, have been dedicated to discussing these groups, except for the Zaidiyyah sect along with its known divisions. The works regarding this sect, which were given importance to by its own followers, have been limited to writing biographies^[7] of some of its famous figures, describing their lives, virtues, and commendable merits, and honouring their memory by constructing tombs, domes, and shrines over their graves to encourage people to visit and seek blessings from them.

However, as a sect or a school of thought, Zaidism, to the best of my knowledge, has not received the attention it deserves, in writing, to adequately understand its reality; as what was written about it in the past was only in passing when discussing the Jafari and Ismaili Shia sects. Although there is a book that has been attributed to al Sahib^[8] ibn ‘Abbad (326-385 AH/938-995 CE) by the name Nusrat Mazahib al Zaidiyyah, I am doubtful that this book is the book Kitab al Zaidiyyah referred to by al Nadim in his al Fihrist under the biography of al Sahib ibn ‘Abbad; because this book, Nusrat Mazahib al Zaidiyyah, primarily discusses the concept of Imamah and who is deemed worthy of it from a purely Imamah perspective, following the statement that the author attributed to Jafar al Sadiq rahimahu Llah, “Whoever claims the Imamah and is not worthy of it, he is a disbeliever.” This is despite the fact that al Nadim mentions that al Sahib ibn ‘Abbad wrote Kitab al Imamah, in which he discussed the precedence of Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib over others and the establishment of the Imamah of those before him.^[9]

Since no Muslim historians other than al Sahib ibn ‘Abbad has undertaken to write an independent and comprehensive work on the Zaidiyyah, neither from its followers nor others, Professor Rudolf Strothmann^[10] took an interest in it and wrote a book titled The Zaidiyyah, from a purely historical perspective, covering the concept of Imamah and worship according to them, published in Leipzig in 1912. He also wrote a paper titled Der Kultus der Zaiditen, which he published in the journal of the Oriental Institute in Strasbourg in 1912, as well as research papers that he published in the first and second volumes of the journal Der Islam under the title Die Literatur der Zaiditen, in 1910 and 1911-1923. He also published letters and poems of Zaid ibn ‘Ali (1:13-52) and Das Problem der literarischen Persönlichkeit Zaid b. ‘Ali (1923).^[11]

Additionally, amongst those interested in the Zaidiyyah is Professor Roy Mottahedeh (whose father is a Persian while his mother is American), a professor at Princeton University. He informed me that he has research on the Zaidiyyah published in both Arabic and English.

Recently, Dr. Fadilah ‘Abdul Amir al Shami from Iraq has taken the forefront in writing about the Zaidiyyah, authoring a book on the Zaidis of Gilan and Daylaman titled Tarikh al Firqah al Zaidiyyah between the second and third centuries Hijri, published in 1394 AH/1974 CE.

Regarding the Zaidis of Yemen, Professor Dr. Ahmed Mahmud Subhi, while a professor at the University of San’a’, authored a significant work titled al Zaidiyyah, which gained popularity among followers of the Zaidi Hadawi doctrine. Some of them praised it, citing its commendable mention of some Zaidi thoughts. This is because Dr. Subhi lauded them when he recounted their merits at the onset of their appearance. He believed that the Zaidis of Yemen, starting from the late third century Hijri and continuing to our time, are an extension of the second-century Zaidis who emerged from Kufah during the era of its founder, Zaid ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib rahimahu Llah. However, this is not entirely accurate because the connection between the Zaidis of Yemen and those of Kufah was severed from the third century Hijri, the period during which Shia sects appeared, as will be explained later in this treatise, Allah willing.

Dr. Subhi’s conclusion is definitely based on the references he had access to, which revolve around the Zaidiyyah from the perspective of its proponents and followers, and perhaps he was not able to review what neutral historians, both Yemeni and non-Yemeni, have written, which will be mentioned in the course of this study. This is what I have committed myself to do, Allah willing.

Zaidi scholars should have undertaken such a task, to comprehensively and fully introduce the Zaidiyyah, highlighting the differences between the Zaidis of Kufah and those of Yemen, their relationship with the Twelver Shia sect, and where they stand in relation to it. As the saying goes, ‘‘The owner of the house knows best what is inside it.”

Yet, within the scope of my knowledge, I have not seen such efforts. What was written by Qadi Hussain ibn Ahmed al Sayyaghi, who passed away in 1407 AH, in his introduction to the book Bayan ibn Muzaffar when it was printed and later issued as a separate edition, is not what was needed. He had discussed the foundations of the Yemeni Zaidi doctrine, its principles, its development, mentioned its scholars and their eras, and then provided a summary of the juristic rules established by the scholars of this doctrine on the principles of jurisprudence on which they based their legal rulings. He also mentioned the names of books by scholars of the Zaidi doctrine.

In a similar manner, what ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdul Karim al Fudayl wrote in his study al Zaidiyyah: Nazariyyah wa Tatbiq is far from the intended purpose. He discussed matters relating to the principles of religion and other such principles of Zaidi jurisprudence, as well as principles of the Twelver and Ismaili sects, intending to present the Zaidiyyah in a guise that was not its own.

Therefore, relying solely on Allah, I have taken up this task by writing this brief treatise, aiming only to clarify the ambiguities and confusions surrounding this doctrine for both its followers and others, to elucidate its truth and provide a decisive statement on it, so that the seeker of knowledge is safeguarded from error. If I have succeeded in what I intended, then that is a grace and mercy from Allah, striving for fairness and detachment from the whims of the soul inclined to evil. And if I have erred—unintentionally—then it is due to my lack of knowledge, keeping in mind the poet’s saying:

ومن له الحسنى فقط

فمن الذي ما ساء قط

Who is the one who has never erred and who has only done good?

And my success is only through Allah; upon Him, I rely, and to Him, I return.

San’a’, 1 Rajab, 1412 AH, corresponding to 5 January 1992 CE.

Ismail ibn ‘Ali al Akwa’

NEXT⇒ Zaidism

[1] Surah Al ‘Imran: 31-32.

[2] Surah Al ‘Imran: 53.

[3] Surah al Nisa’: 69.

[4] Surah al An’am: 153.

[5] Surah al An’am: 159.

[6] Surah al Anfal: 46.

[7] Professor Wilferd Madelung published texts about the Zaidi Imams in a book in the series of texts and studies issued by the German Institute for Oriental Research in Beirut, titled Arabic Texts Concerning The History of the Zaidi Imams of Tabaristan, Daylaman and Ghilan. This book includes extracts from the following: The first part of al Naji fi Akhbar al Dawlat al Daylamiyyah by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Hilal al Sabi, a section from al Masabih by Abu al ‘Abbas al Hussaini, a piece from al Ifadah fi Tarikh al A’immah al Sadah by Imam Abu Talib, excerpts from Jala’ al Absar by al Hakim al Jashmi presented by Ahmed ibn Sa’d al Din al Suri in his book Tuhfat al Abrar, a copy of a book sent to al Faqih ‘Imran ibn al Hassan al ‘Alawi al Hamdani, an extract from al Risalah al ‘Amilah bi al Adillah al Hakimah by Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Hamzah, a section from al Hada’iq al Wardiyyah fi Manaqib A’immah al Zaidiyyah by Humaid ibn Ahmed al Mahalli, as well as an extract from the fourth part of Rawdat al Hujayriyyah. Additionally, Dr. Suhayl Zakkar published Sirat al Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain ibn al Qasim ibn Ibrahim al Rayy. Dr. ‘Abdul Ghani Mahmud ‘Abdul ‘Ati published what is available from Sirat al Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Hamzah. He, along with Dr. Ridwan al Sayed, published the biography of the two princes, Muhammad ibn Jafar ibn al Qasim ibn ‘Ali al ‘Abani and his brother al Qasim that was written by al Mufrih ibn Ahmed al Rab’i, from the publications of Dar al Muntakhab al ‘Arabi.

[8] He is the one who said:

وفي تفضيل أولاد النبي	دخول النار في حب الوصي
أخلدها بتيم أو عدي	أحب إلي من جنات عدن

Entering hellfire for the love of the Custodian,

And for giving precedence to the progeny of the Prophet,

Is dearer to me than the Gardens of Eden,

In which a Taymi and ‘Adi will forever reside.

He prefers entering Hell-fire over Paradise if it contains Abu Bakr and ‘Umar! There is no power and no strength except with Allah.

[9] Al Fihrist, pg. 150.

[10] He was born on 4 September 1877 and died on 15 May 1960.

[11] Al Mustashriqun, 2/788, and additional information from Professor Wilferd Madelung in a response letter to me dated 17 January 1994, and further information from the German Ambassador Dr. Werner Daum.

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