The Zaidis of Yemen and the Extent of their Connection to the Zaidi Sect of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali

The Zaidis of Yemen and the Extent of their Connection to the Zaidi Sect of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali[1]

It is a common belief among various Muslim sects and groups that the Zaidis are the followers of the school of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali ibn al Hussain ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib rahimahu Llah who adhere to his jurisprudence and practice upon his ijtihad (independent reasoning), similar to the followers of the four Sunni schools of thought: the Shafi’i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools, whose adherents practice the jurisprudence of their respective Imams and adhere to the limits of their texts.

However, the case for the followers of the Zaidi school is distinctly different. This is because the Zaidis did not strictly adhere to the school of Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah, following his jurisprudence and adhering to it. Instead, they considered him as one of the opposition in certain jurisprudential matters, as mentioned by al Sharif ‘Abdul Samad ibn ‘Abdullah al Damaghani, one of the prominent figures of the sixth century AH or earlier, in his treatise al Jawharah al Khalisah ‘an al Shawa’ib fi al ‘Aqa’id al Manqumah ‘ala Jami’ al Mazahib, where he stated:

ومنا أي ومن الأمور التي نقموا بها على الزيدية أنهم يخالفون زيد بن علي إمامهم في كثير من الفروع مع انتسابهم إليه ويزعمون أنهم أخذوا بفروع أتباعه كما أخذت الشافعية بفروع أصحاب الشافعي والمالكية بفروع أصحاب مالك والحنفية بفروع محمد بن الحسن الشيباني وأبي يوسف وزفر أصحاب أبي حنيفة وليس بصحيح لأن أصحاب كل فقيه ممن رووا زادوا على فروع إمامهم وفرعوها ونقحوا الصحيح منها والزيدية لم يفعلوا ذلك في فقه زيد بن علي بل جعلوه كأحد المخالفين في مسائل الفقه وجعلوا عمدتهم في المذهب ثلاثة أئمة من أولاد الحسن اثنين ومن أولاد الحسين واحد وكلهم من أتباع زيد في العقيدة والإمامة وفروعهم توافق الحنفية أكثر من غيرهم من الفقهاء

Among the matters they criticise the Zaidis for is their opposition to Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali in many branches of jurisprudence, despite their affiliation with him. They claim to follow the branches of his followers, just as the Shafi’is follow the branches of the companions of Shafi’i, and the Malikis the branches of the companions of Malik, and the Hanafis the branches of Muhammad ibn al Hassan al Shaybani, Abu Yusuf, and Zufar, the companions of Abu Hanifah. This is not correct because the companions of each jurist, who transmitted, added to the branches of their Imam and expanded upon them, and they refined and authenticated the correct ones. The Zaidis did not do this with the jurisprudence of Zaid ibn ‘Ali; rather, they considered him as one of the opposition in jurisprudential matters and made three Imams—two from the descendants of al Hassan [2] and one from the descendants of al Hussain [3]—the pillars of their school; all of whom were followers of Zaid in creed and Imamah. Their branches align more with the Hanafi school than with any other jurists.

This was affirmed by Imam al Mahdi Ahmed ibn Yahya al Murtada, who died in 840 AH/1437 CE, stating:

فالزيدية أي زيدية اليمن منسوبون إلى زيد بن علي لقولهم جميعا بإمامته وإن لم يكونوا على مذهبه في مسائل الفروع وهي تخالف الشافعية والحنفية في ذلك لأنهم إنما نسبوا إلى أبي حنيفة والشافعي لمتابعتهم لهما في الفروع

The Zaidis—meaning the Zaidis of Yemen—are affiliated with Zaid ibn ‘Ali because they all acknowledge his Imamah, even if they do not follow his school in jurisprudential matters. This contrasts with the Shafi’is and Hanafis, who are affiliated with Abu Hanifah and al Shafi’i due to their adherence to them in jurisprudential matters.

Al Hakim al Jushami said:

والزيدية يجمع مذهبهم تفضيل علي على سائر الصحابة وأولويته بالإمامة وقصرها من بعد الحسنين في البطنين أي في ذريتهما واستحقاقهما إنما يثبت بالفضل والطلب لا الوراثة كما تقول العباسية ويعتقدون وجوب الخروج على الجائرين من أهل الأمر بخلاف ما تزعم الحشوية ويرون القول بالتوحيد والعدل والوعد والوعيد كالمعتزلة فهذه الأمور لا يختلفون فيها

The Zaidi school is characterised by their preference of ‘Ali over the rest of the Companions and his priority for the Imamah, limiting it after al Hassan and al Hussain to their descendants. They believe that the Imamah is established by virtue and pursuit, not by inheritance, unlike the Abbasids, and they deem it obligatory to rise against unjust rulers, contrary to the beliefs of the Hashwiyyah. They also uphold the doctrines of tawhid (monotheism), ‘adl (justice), wa’d (promise), and wa’id (threat), similar to the Mu’tazilah. These principles are unanimous among them.[4]

Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah, who died in 749 AH/1348 CE, added to the above by saying:

فمن كان على عقيدته أي عقيدة زيد بن علي في الديانة والمسائل الإلهية والقول بالحكمة والاعتراف بالوعد والوعيد وحصر الإمامة على الثلاثة الذين هم علي وولداه الحسن والحسين وأن طريق الإمامة الدعوة في من عداهم فمن كان مقرا في هذه الأصول فهو زيدي … فهذه هي معتقدات الزيدية التي هي مصداق اللقب عليها دون المسائل الاجتهادية التي لاحظ لها في هذا اللقب أي لقب زيدي ولكنه أي الإمام يحيى بن حمزة توسع في مدلول هذا اللقب فشمل حتى الذين يخالفون زيدا في كثير من المسائل الاجتهادية والمضطربات النظرية بمن فيهم أئمة الزيدية المخالفون لزيد بن علي فإن لقب زيدي يشملهم

Whoever adheres to the creed of Zaid ibn ‘Ali in religion, divine doctrines, the belief in wisdom, the acknowledgment of the wa’d (promise) and wa’id (threat), and the restriction of the Imamah to the three: ‘Ali and his sons al Hassan and al Hussain, with the path to the Imamah being through proclamation for those other than them; thus, whoever acknowledges these principles is a Zaidi. [He further stated:] These are the beliefs of the Zaidis, which justify their label, excluding the jurisprudential issues that have no bearing on this label, that is, the label of Zaidi. However, Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah broadened the meaning of this label to include even those who differ from Zaid in many jurisprudential issues and theoretical matters, including the Zaidi Imams who opposed Zaid ibn ‘Ali. Thus, the label Zaidi encompasses them.[5]

The Zaidis are one of the sects of the Shia, but as Imam Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Wazir (d. 840 AH/1437 CE) states, they split into: the Mukhtari’ah[6], the Muttarrifiyyah[7], the Jarudiyyah[8], the Salihiyyah[9], and the Hussainiyyah[10]. In jurisprudential matters, they are divided into the Mu’ayyadiyyah[11], the Hadawiyyah[12], the Nasiriyyah[13], and the Qasimiyyah[14]. The people of Kufah among them follow the school of Ahmed ibn ‘Isa ibn Zaid ibn ‘Ali, al Hassan ibn Yahya[15], and Muhammad ibn Mansur (al Muradi), as mentioned by the author of al Jami’ al Kafi[16]. There were mutual declarations of each other as transgressors and sinful over differences in jurisprudential branches, as narrated by Sayed Abu al ‘Abbas[17] in his compilation Da’ ‘anka al Usul. Their differences intensified regarding the Imams after al Mansur bi Allah, leading them to split into followers of al Imam al Da’i and al Imam al Mahdi Ahmed ibn al Hussain, where they even declared each other as disbelievers.[18]

Similarly, the later Zaidis in Gilan and Deylam split into the Qasimiyyah and the Nasiriyyah, with each group accusing the other of error until al Mahdi Abu ‘Abdullah al Da’i[19] emerged and instructed them that every mujtahid is correct.[20] They accepted his view after many debates. The Zaidis of Yemen had a similar belief, thinking that there is only one correct answer in jurisprudential ijtihad and the truth lies with that, until the time of al Imam al Mutawakkil Ahmed ibn Sulaiman[21]. They then adopted the view that every mujtahid is correct.

Given this state of the Zaidis, their Imams, and their scholars, and the conflicts that arose among them over divergent jurisprudential issues, which led them to declare each other as disbelievers and sinners, after having distanced themselves from what Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah was upon, we ask: What was the path of Zaid ibn ‘Ali, may Allah have mercy on him?

NEXT⇒ The beliefs and stance of Zaid ibn ‘Ali

[1] The original version of this topic was presented by the author at the Muslim Dialogue Series Symposium organised by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman and the Royal Academy for Islamic Civilisation Research in Jordan. The symposium, titled Ijtihad in Islam, was held in Muscat from 24^th to 26^th Sha’ban 1419 AH, corresponding to 12^th to 14^th December 1998.

[2] They are al Mu’ayyad al Kabir Ahmed ibn al Hussain ibn Muhammad Haruni, born in Amil in Tabaristan in 333 AH/945 CE who claimed Imamah in 380 AH/990 CE and died in 411 AH/1020 CE, and his brother Abu Talib Yahya ibn al Hussain, who claimed Imamah after the death of his brother Ahmed and died in Amil in 424 AH/1033 CE.

[3] He is al Nasir al Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar, known as al Atrush, born in 230 AH/845 CE, who claimed Imamah in al Jil and Deylam and assumed leadership in 304 AH/916 CE.

[4] Al Munyah wa al Amal, pg. 96; al Milal wa al Nihal, pg. 40.

[5] Al Risalah al Wazi’ah, pg. 48.

[6] The Mukhtari’ah: They believe that Allah creates the properties in bodies and that these do not arise from their nature, unlike the Muttarrifiyyah. They say that the Imamah of ‘Ali was designated by a clear text, with the succession of the Sahabah being an opposition to this text, but suspend from declaring them transgressors. This group represents the Zaidis of Yemen today.

[7] Named after Muttarrif ibn Shihab, a prominent figure of the late fourth and early fifth century AH. They believe that Allah’s influence is in the fundamentals of things, not their branches, and permit the Imamah in non-descendants of al Hassan and al Hussain.

[8] Named after Abu al Jarud, a prominent figure of the late second century AH. They claim that the Imamah of ‘Ali was designated by description and indication without explicit naming. This includes the Mukhtari’ah, the Muttarrifiyyah, and the Hussainiyyah.

[9] Named after al Hassan ibn Salih al Hamadhani (d. 169 AH/786 CE). They believe that ‘Ali is the best person after the Messenger and the most deserving of the Imamah and that the pledges of allegiance to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were not wrong since ‘Ali accepted them and was content with it.

[10] Named after al Hussain ibn al Qasim al ‘Iyyani (d. 404 AH/1014 CE). He claimed Imamah for himself, titled himself al Mahdi, and claimed to be the awaited Mahdi, asserting that he was superior to the Messenger, that his words and writings were better than the Qur’an, more illuminating in revealing meanings, as well as in silencing opponents.

[11] Named after Imam al Mu’ayyad Ahmed ibn al Hussain, previously mentioned.

[12] Named after Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain ibn al Qasim al Rassi.

[13] Named after al Nasir (al Atrush), previously mentioned.

[14] Named after Imam al Qasim ibn Ibrahim ibn Ismail, who claimed the Imamah for himself from Kufah in 220 AH/835 CE and settled in al Rass near Madinah in 242 AH/856 CE.

[15] Al Hassan ibn Yahya was a Zaidi jurist in Kufah.

[16] Al Jami’ al Kafi by Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al Hassan ibn ‘Abdur Rahman al ‘Alawi al Kufi, a compilation of the jurisprudence of Ahmed ibn ‘Isa, the jurisprudence of al Qasim ibn Ibrahim, and the jurisprudence of Muhammad ibn Mansur al Muradi, also known as Jami’ Al Muhammad.

[17] Abu al ‘Abbas: Ahmed ibn Ibrahim ibn al Hassan, who was an Imami, then reverted to the Zaidi school, though it is said he did not revert. He assumed leadership in 353 AH/964 CE.

[18] Al ‘Awasim wa al Qawasim, 3/458.

[19] Abu ‘Abdullah al Da’i is Imam al Mahdi Muhammad ibn al Hassan ibn al Qasim, who was given allegiance for the Imamah in the season (of Hajj), then the people of Daylam wrote to him, and he reached them in 353 AH/964 CE. He then headed to Hawsam, seized it after many sieges, was captured many times, and died from poisoning in Hawsam in 360 AH/971 CE.

[20] Al Munyah wa al Amal, pg. 96.

[21] He declared himself Imam in 533 AH/1139 CE and died in Haydan, in the land of Khawlan ibn ‘Amr, near Sa’dah, in 566 AH/1171 CE.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents