Zaiddiyah
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Zaidiyah (Arabic:الزيدية Transliteration: Az-Zaydiyyah, Zaydi, or sometimes, Zaidi. Occasionally called Fivers in the West) Zaydis are the descendants of Zayd ibn Ali and Zaydiyah is a sect of the followers of Zayd as imam.
Zaydiyyah separated from the main branch of Shi'a Islam - the Shia Ithna 'Asharia or Twelvers - over a disagreement as to who the fifth Imam was. Twelvers believe it was Muhammad al-Baqir, while Zaidis hold that it was his half-brother, Zayd ibn Ali.
Zaidis see Zayd as the fifth Imam because of the rebellion he led against the Umayyad dynasty, which he believed was corrupt. Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action, whereas Zayd preached that a true Imam must fight against corrupt rulers.
The Zaidi have a unique belief in Islam in which they believe there are 99 gods as opposed to one god, Allah with 99 names. The Zaidi believe that Mohammed, the prophet will come back to earth as the Mahdi, and many believe he is already here. The Zaidis do not believe in the infallibility of the Imams, nor that they receive divine guidance. Zaidis also do not believe that the Imamate must pass from father to son, but believe it can be held by any descendant of Ali. They also reject the Twelver notion of a hidden Imam, and like the Ismailis, believe in a living imam, or even imams. Zaidi views on the three Caliphs that preceded Ali also differ from those of most other Shi'a groups; like Sunnis, Zaidis believe that the Caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Uthman ibn al-Affan were legitimate.
In matters of law or fiqh, the Zaidis are actually closest to the Sunni Hanafi school.
Zaidis form the dominant religious group in Yemen, and the leader of the Zaidi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph, and this system continued until the middle of the 20th century (1962).
Not All Zaidis believe that Zaid is the true Imam but believe a fighter of ture. (fight against corrupt rulers)
Some Zaidis, known as Wasitis (Zaid's descendants), believe in twelve Imams and are part of the Shia Ithna Asharia. Most of them settled in India and Pakistan. The biggest group of Zaidis believing in twelve Shia Imams is known as Saadat-e-Bara. Saadat means descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and Bara means twelve in Hindi and Urdu. Saadat-e-Bara's numbers are highest in Karachi (Pakistan) and Muzaffarnagar (India).
By: Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi
The Zaidi sect was started by the Sahaba of Zaid bin 'Ali (as) companions Abu'l Jarud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, Sulayman ibn Jarir, Kathir an-Nawa Al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih.
The Zaidi sect then divided into three groups:
The earliest group called Jarudiyya (Abu'l Jarud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad), was opposed to the approval of the companions of Muhammad. They held that there was sufficient description given by the Prophet (saw) so that all should recognised Imam 'Ali. They therefore consider the companions sinful in failing to recognise Imam 'Ali. They also denied legitamacy to Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, they also denounce Talha, Zubair, and Aisha. This sect was active during the late Umayyad and earky 'Abbasid period. Its views although predominated among the later Zaidis, became extinct due to similarities with the Ithna 'Ashari sect.
The second group, Sulaimaniyya (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 Imam 'Ali but did not amount to sin. Talha, Zubair, and Aisha became disbelievers.
The third group is Tabiriyya, Butriyya or Salihiyya (Kathir an-Nawa Al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih). They are identical with the Sulaimaniyya. The only difference is that this group do not revile 'Uthman.
Zaidi beliefs are moderate compared to other Shi'i sects. The Zaidis do not believe in the infallibility of the Imams, nor that they receive divine guidance. Zaidis also do not believe that the Imamate must pass from father to son, but believe it can be held by any descendant of Imam 'Ali. They also reject the Twelver notion of a hidden Imam, and like the Ismailis believe in a living imam, or even imams.
In matters of theology, they adhere to the Mu'tazalia (as the other Shi'i sects). In matters of law or fiqh, the Zaidis are actually closest to the Sunni Shafi'i school, with elements of the Sunni Hanafi and Shi'i schools.
(Momen, p.50, 51. and S.S. Akhtar Rizvi, "Shi'a Sects")
The first Zaidi state was established in Tabaristan (northern Iran) in 864 (AD); it lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the Samanids in 928 (AD). Forty years later the state was revived in Gilan (north-western Iran) and survived under Hasanid leaders until the 12th century.
Zaidis form the dominant religious group in Yemen, and the leader of the Zaidi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph, al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim (a scion of Imam al-Hasan (as), grandson of the Prophet) who, at Sa'da, in the last decade of the 9th century, founded the Zaidi Imamate and this system continued until the middle of the 20th century, due to the revolution of 1962.
(The Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition) (Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran, Wilferd Madelung, Albany 1988)
Who was Zayd ibn Ali?