The beliefs and stance of Zaid ibn ‘Ali

The distinguished scholar, jurist, and historian Yahya ibn al Hussain ibn al Imam al Mansur al Qasim ibn Muhammad, who died at the beginning of the eleventh century AH, tells us in his book al Mustatab, known as Tabaqat al Zaidiyyah al Sughra:

The early generations of the Ahlul Bayt, before the schools of thought were established, were independent mujtahids. Among them were those who referred to other Companions and Tabi’in of their time; and they continued in this manner throughout their lives.

The mujtahids, such as al Hassan and al Hussain, and their descendants like ‘Ali ibn al Hussain, al Sadiq, al Baqir, and Zaid ibn ‘Ali, were unified in religious principles, as was the case with the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his Companions.

As for jurisprudential branches, they differed in them according to their independent reasoning, as documented in al Jami’ al Kafi in jurisprudence and religious principles. Afterward, the companions of Zaid ibn ‘Ali split.

Imam al Mahdi Ahmed ibn Yahya al Murtada stated in al Milal wa al Nihal that the Zaidis split into six groups: the Jarudiyyah, the Batriyyah, the Salihiyyah, the Jaririyyah, and the later Jarudiyyah split into the Muttarrifiyyah, the Hussainiyyah, and the Mukhtari’ah. These are six groups. I say: The Muttarrifiyyah group has become extinct. Some of these groups emerged after two-hundred years and some before that. The ones before were the Salihiyyah and the Jaririyyah, which adhered to the school of Zaid ibn ‘Ali or something close to it. As for the other groups, they appeared later and opposed Zaid ibn ‘Ali in both principles and branches, agreeing with him in only a few minor aspects.

The dominant group among the Zaidis after the emergence of al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain in Yemen were his followers in both principles and branches. Al Hadi established his independent school of thought. The Zaidis subsequently adhered to his teachings and texts found in al Ahkam and al Muntakhab and the later Zaidis adhered to his school, leaving no followers of the original school of Zaid ibn ‘Ali in either principles or branches among them.[1]

From this, it is clear to us that Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah did not deviate from the path of his ancestors and contemporaries among the Companions and their followers, the Tabi’in, in terms of the methodology of the Qur’an and Sunnah in both word and deed, except in two matters, as claimed:

Firstly, his inclination towards the Mu’tazili doctrine, which he is assumed to have adopted from Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, the head of the Mu’tazilah, during his scholarly journey to Basrah, or it is said that they met in Madinah. His brother al Baqir, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn al Hussain rahimahu Llah, debated with him regarding this association. The issue was not that he became a Mu’tazili since I’tizal had spread among some of his family, but because he adopted it from someone who considered his grandfather’s involvement in the battles against the violators, oppressors, and defectors to be potentially mistaken. Wasil ibn ‘Ata’ believed that it is not absolutely certain that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu was correct in his stance in the battles against the people of the Camel and the people of Syria; stating that one of the two parties was wrong, without specifying which one.

Additionally, Zaid spoke about Qadr (divine predestination) differently from his ancestors. Furthermore, he stipulated that an Imam must lead an uprising to be recognised as an Imam. This prompted al Baqir to say to him, “According to your doctrine, your father is not an Imam, because he never led an uprising nor attempted to.”[2]

This is because the Zaidi school stipulates that an Imam must rise up when declaring his right to the Imamah, as Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah himself did. The statement is attributed to him:

من شهر سيفه ودعا إلى كتاب ربه وسنة نبيه وجرى على أحكامه وعرف بذلك فذلك الإمام الذي لا تسعنا وإياكم جهالته فأما عبد جالس في بيته مرخ عليه ستره مغلق عليه بابه يجري عليه أحكام الظالمين لا يأمر بالمعروف ولا ينهي عن المنكر فأنى يكون ذلك إماما مفروضة طاعته

Whoever unsheathes his sword, calls to the Book of his Lord and the Sunnah of His Prophet, acts according to its rulings, and is known for that, is the Imam to be followed and ignorance about him will not be tolerated from us nor you. As for a servant who sits in his house, drawing his curtain over himself, locking his door, and following the rulings of the oppressors, without enjoining what is right or forbidding what is wrong, such a person cannot be an Imam whose obedience is obligatory.[3]

The other matter is Imamah, which is the main concern of all Shia sects, their preoccupation, and the centre of their political beliefs. Zaid ibn ‘Ali believed that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu was the most deserving of the Imamah after the death of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam due to his status and close relationship with him, both in lineage and through marriage. This is the view held by all Shia sects, who say, “‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu was the most deserving of the position of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam after him and the most rightful for the Imamah and leadership of the Ummah,” and they are unanimous on this.[4] However, Zaid ibn ‘Ali allowed for the Imamah of the less virtuous in the presence of the more virtuous[5], as evidenced by his statement:

كان علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه أفضل الصحابة إلا أن الخلافة فوضت إلى أبي بكر لمصلحة رأوها وقاعدة دينية راعوها من تسكين ثائرة الفتنة وتطييب قلوب العامة فإن عهد الحروب التي جرب في أيام النبوة كان قريبا وسيف أمير المؤمنين علي من دماء المشركين من قريش وغيرهم لم يجف والضغائن في صدور القوم من طلب الثأر كما هي فما كانت القلوب تميل إليه كل الميل ولا تنقاد له الرقاب كل الانقياد فكانت المصلحة أن يكون القائم بهذا الشأن من عرفوه باللين والتؤدة والتقدم بالسن والسبق في الإسلام والقرب من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ألا ترى أنه أي أبا بكر لما أراد في مرضه الذي مات فيه تقليد الأمر عمر بن الخطاب زعق الناس وقالوا لقد وليت علينا فظا غليظا فما كانوا يرضون بأمير المؤمنين عمر بن الخطاب لشدته وصلابته وغلظه في الدين وفظاظته على الأعداء حتى سكنهم أبو بكر بقوله لو سألني ربي لقلت وليت عليهم خيرهم

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu was the best of the Companions, but the Caliphate was entrusted to Abu Bakr because they saw it as a matter of expediency and a religious principle they observed, to quell the unrest of discord and to appease the general public. The period of wars experienced during the Prophetic era was recent, and the sword of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali, was still stained with the blood of the polytheists of Quraysh and others. The rancour in the hearts of the people seeking vengeance was still present; thus, the hearts did not fully incline towards him, nor did they fully submit to his authority. Therefore, it was deemed expedient for the person undertaking this matter to be someone known for his gentleness, patience, seniority in age, precedence in Islam, and closeness to the Messenger of Allah. Don’t you see that Abu Bakr, when he was ill and near death, wanted to delegate the authority to ‘Umar ibn al Khattab, the people protested, saying, “You have appointed over us a harsh, hard man.” They were not pleased with Commander of the Faithful ‘Umar ibn al Khattab due to his harshness, firmness, and strictness in religion and his severity towards the enemies, until Abu Bakr reassured them by saying, “If my Lord questions me, I will say, ‘I appointed over them the best among them.’”[6]

Zaid ibn ‘Ali believed that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu was the most deserving of the Caliphate after the Messenger of Allah and the most rightful to it compared to the Khalifas who preceded him, who were known for their adherence to the Messenger’s path, asceticism, piety, and justice within themselves and towards the Ummah. He considered ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu even more deserving compared to the Umayyad Khalifas, who turned the Caliphate into a hereditary monarchy.

As is well known, Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah went to Kufah and declared his rebellion against Hisham ibn ‘Abdul Malik. When his companions gathered around him to fight Yusuf ibn ‘Umar, the governor of Hisham ibn ‘Abdul Malik in Iraq, he addressed them and commanded them to follow the conduct of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu in battle. They asked him, “We have heard your statement, but what do you say about Abu Bakr and ‘Umar?” He replied:

رحمهما الله وغفر لهما وما عسيت أن أقول فيهما صحبا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بأحسن الصحبة وهاجرا معه وجاهدا في الله حق جهاده وما سمعت أحدا من أهل بيتي يتبرأ منهما ولا نقول فيهما إلا خيرا فقالوا إن برئت منهما وإلا رفضناك فقال اذهبوا فأنتم الرافضة

May Allah have mercy on them and forgive them. What can I say about them? They accompanied the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam with the best companionship, emigrated with him, and strove in the cause of Allah to the best of their ability. I have never heard any of my family dissociate from them, and we say nothing but good about them.”

They responded, “If you do not disown them, we will reject you.”

He said, “Go away then, for you are the Rafidah (rejecters).”[7]

This was the stance of Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah. As for the Zaidis who adhered to his belief regarding the two Sheikhs (Abu Bakr and ‘Umar) and followed his teachings, they faced opposition until he was martyred in Kunasah of Kufah, on the second day of Safar in the year 122 AH/738 CE.[8]

With his death, the original Zaidi school he followed disappeared. The Zaidis of Yemen, however, trace their practice to Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain ibn al Qasim al Rassi, who came to Yemen from Hijaz in 384 AH/897 CE, proclaimed his Imamah, and took the title al Hadi. He was the first to establish the Imamah state in Yemen. He was a great scholar and independent jurist, having studied the principles of theology under his teacher Abu al Qasim al Balkhi, a Mu’tazili. His statements in the principles (usul) mostly followed his teacher. However, in the branches (furu’), he exercised his own ijtihad, differing from Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah in his jurisprudential conclusions and not adhering to Zaid’s opinions as compiled in Majmu’ al Fiqh al Kabir of Zaid ibn ‘Ali and al Jami’ al Kafi for his statements. Thus, the original school of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah in both principles and branches had no followers among them.[9]

Despite this, the name of the Zaidi school predominated over al Hadi’s school because al Hadi and his followers acknowledged the Imamah of Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah, the necessity of rising against tyrants, and held him in high esteem for his virtue and leadership. They limited the Imamah to those who rose and proclaimed it from the descendants of al Hassan and al Hussain, provided they met the conditions of the Imamah documented in their books. Therefore, whoever acknowledged his Imamah was considered a Zaidi, even if they did not adhere to his school in branches, as most Zaidis followed others’ opinions in jurisprudential matters and theoretical matters, as well as their Imams such as al Qasim, al Hadi, and al Nasir. They are affiliated with Zaid ibn ‘Ali, although they were like him in independent reasoning and disagreed with him on many issues.[10] The followers of Imam al Hadi later turned into the Jarudiyyah and then split into three groups, as explained by Imam al Mahdi Ahmed ibn Yahya al Murtada: “The later Jarudiyyah split into the Muttarrifiyyah, the Hussainiyyah, and the Mukhtari’ah.”[11] The Hussainiyyah and Muttarrifiyyah have become extinct, leaving only the Mukhtari’ah, who are very close to the Imamiyyah in many jurisprudential matters, especially in acts of worship. However, in principles, they differ from them; they do not believe in the infallibility of the Twelve Imams, nor in Taqiyyah (dissimulation), Mut’ah (temporary marriage), or Bada’ (change in divine will). For them, an Imam is established by virtue and claim, not by inheritance, as previously explained.

Despite the clear differences and evident disagreements between the Zaidis of Yemen and the Zaidis of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali, the Hadawi Zaidi school in Yemen possesses a commendable and praiseworthy merit that distinguishes it, as far as I know, from other Islamic schools of thought: it opens the door to ijtihad (independent reasoning) wide open. This is for those who excel in their knowledge and master their disciplines, including knowledge of the verses of rulings, their ahadith, knowledge of the science of hadith terminology, principles of jurisprudence, as well as grammar, morphology, meanings, and rhetoric, among other sciences of narration and understanding, following the principle that “every mujtahid is correct,” which was advocated by al Mahdi Abu ‘Abdullah al Da’i, one of the Imams of the Zaidi school. Consequently, a significant number of Yemeni Zaidi scholars, whom Allah has enabled, have ascended the ranks of ijtihad. They remained engaged in the sciences of the Glorious Qur’an and its exegeses, and studied the foundational books of Hadith and its sciences, finding in the Book of Allah and the authentic Sunnah of His Messenger that which the seeker of truth requires, and does not need anything else which is merely pure opinion without a trace of knowledge.

Among these scholars emerged prominent Imams of absolute ijtihad, who abandoned taqlid entirely. Notable among them were Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Wazir (d. 840 AH/1436 CE), the author of al ‘Awasim wa al Qawasim fi al Dhabb ‘an Sunnat Abi al Qasim, and al Hassan ibn Ahmed al Jallal (d. 1084 AH/1673 CE), the author of Daw’ al Nahar al Mushriq ‘ala Safahat al Azhar. Another was Salih ibn al Mahdi al Muqbili (d. Makkah, 1108 AH/1696 CE), the author of al ‘Ilm al Shamikh fi Ithar al Haqq ‘ala al Aba’ wa al Mashayikh, and Muhammad ibn Ismail al Amir (d. 1182 AH/1768 CE), the author of Subul al Salam Sharh Bulugh al Maram min Adillat al Ahkam. Also, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al Shawkani (d. 1250 AH/1834 CE), the author of Nayl al Awtar Sharh Muntaqa al Akhbar.

I mention these specifically because their writings have gained unparalleled acceptance, especially Subul al Salam and Nayl al Awtar, which have spread widely in Muslim lands. They have become references for scholars and students of knowledge interested in studying the jurisprudence of the Sunnah in Islamic schools, institutes, and universities, without committing to a particular school of thought. They have also been translated into some Muslim languages such as Urdu, Turkish, Malay, and others for those who do not read Arabic well. This is because they found in these two books what removes sectarian differences among Muslims, despite their abundance, and unites them on common ground—the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger—to return to what the predecessors of this Ummah were upon, whom Allah described as You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind.[12]

As for those Zaidi scholars who exercised ijtihad while remaining within the boundaries of the Zaidi school, adhering to its texts and derivations, they are numerous. They have established significant legal principles based on the foundations of jurisprudence, upon which they built the recognised legal rulings.

May Allah grant success, and He is sufficient for us and the best trustee.

[1] Tabaqat al Zaidiyyah al Sughra (al Mustatab), tablet: 4.

[2] Al Milal wa al Nihal, 1/156; Tabaqat al Mu’tazilah; pg. 533; Muqaddamat Ibn Khaldun; 2/529.

[3] Sharh Risalat al Hur al ‘In, pg. 188.

[4] Sharh Risalat al Hur al ‘In, pg. 154

[5] Al Fasl fi al Milal wa al Ahwa’ wa al Nihal, 4/163.

[6] Al Milal wa al Nihal, 1/155.

[7] Tarikh al Tabari, 7/180; Sharh Risalat al Hur al ‘In, pg. 185-188; al Munyah wa al Amal, pg. 101; al Bidayah wa al Nihayah, 9/330.

[8] Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 5/390; Tahdhib al Kamal, 10/95; Minhaj al Sunnah, 1/35-39; Maqatil al Talibiyyin, pg. 92-106.

[9] Al Mustatab (Tabaqat al Zaidiyyah al Sughra).

[10] Hidayat al Raghibin al Rahiq, pg. 16.

[11] Al Munyah wa al Amal, pg. 97

[12] Surah Al ‘Imran: 110.

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