Zaydi
(Shia)
Zaydiyyah School, Zaydi, Zaydiyyah
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Doctrines
Zaydiyyah is a Shi'ite
school of law which, of all the groups in Shi'a, is closest to the Sunni
tradition. The Zaydis are principally distinguished from other Shi'ite
groups in their conception of the nature of the Imamate. Unlike the
Imamis and Isma'ilis, who believe that the Imamate is handed down through
a particular line of descendants, the Zaydis believe that anyone in the
house of Ali is eligible for the Imamate. The Zaydis reject the doctrine
of the Hidden Imam and the return of the Mahdi. The Imam is regarded as
neither infallible nor capable of performing miracles. Personal merit,
rather than investiture, governs who should be made Imam.
The Zaydis reject any form of 'sufi' tradition. Theologically they
are closest to the Mu'tazila school.
History
The term "Zaydi" is
applied to the followers of Zayd b. Ali, the grandson of al-Husayn (the
son of the fourth caliph, Ali) and half-brother of the fifth Imam,
Muhammad al-Baqir. Zaid b. Ali was killed in 740 in an uprising against
the Ummayad Caliph al-Hisham.
In the 9th century two Zaydi states were established: one in
Tabaristan, a region south of the Caspian Sea, and the other in Yemen.
The Zaydi state came to an end in 928 when its ruler, al-Hasan ibn
al-Qasim, fell in battle. However, in 964 a second Zaydi Imamate was
established; this lasted until the twelfth century. From the twelfth
century the Zaydi communities declined in importance, and during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were gradually incorporated into the
Twelver Shi'a. The Yemeni state of Zaydis was founded in 890 by Yahya ibn
al-Husayn and has lasted up until the present day. In spite of internal
fighting over succession and attacks from the Isma'ilis, the Yemeni state
retained its independence until 1539 when it was conquered by the Ottoman
Turks and became a province within the Ottoman empire. In 1595 the Yemen
Zaydis declared war on the Turks, which finally led to the departure of
the last Ottoman governor in 1635. The Yemen retained its independence
until 1872 when once again it became a province within the Ottoman empire.
De facto independence was achieved during the first world war and actual
independence with the fall of the Ottoman empire after the first world
war.
Following the dissolution of the Ottoman empire Imam Yahya was left
in control of the Yemen. In 1948 Imam Yahya was assassinated in an
attempted palace coup. The coup was defeated by Yahya's son, Ahmad, who
succeeded his father as Imam. When Imam Ahmad died in September 1962 he
was succeeded by his son, Muhammad. A week later an army coup deposed the
Imam established the Yemen Arab Republic. Since that time the Imamate has
remained vacant.
Symbols
Zadiyyah does not have a distinctive symbol system.
Adherents
Zaydis are estimated to
constitute 8 million of the some 70 million Shi'ite population of the
world. (Yann Richard, Shi'ite Islam (Oxford University Press, 1995 )).
Headquarters / Main Centre
Zaydiyyah has no headquarters or such. It is,
however, the official school of the Yemen.
Bülent Şenay
Overview of World Religions Project
Zaydi
Advanced Information
Unfortunately, we are not aware of any scholarly texts on this
subject which have yet been translated into English. We know
that a number of Arabic scholars have written wonderful texts
in Arabic, and look for the day when we will be able to add
higher quality texts to this presentation.
Also, see:
Islam, Muhammad
Koran, Qur'an
Pillars of Faith
Abraham
Testament of Abraham
Allah
Hadiths
Revelation - Hadiths from Book 1 of al-Bukhari
Belief - Hadiths from Book 2 of al-Bukhari
Knowledge - Hadiths from Book 3 of al-Bukhari
Times of the Prayers - Hadiths from Book 10 of al-Bukhari
Shortening the Prayers (At-Taqseer) - Hadiths from Book 20 of al-Bukhari
Pilgrimmage (Hajj) - Hadiths from Book 26 of al-Bukhari
Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihad) - Hadiths of Book 52 of al-Bukhari
ONENESS, UNIQUENESS OF ALLAH (TAWHEED) - Hadiths of Book 93 of al-Bukhari
Hanafiyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Malikiyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Shafi'iyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Hanbaliyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Maturidiyyah Theology (Sunni)
Ash'ariyyah Theology (Sunni)
Mutazilah Theology
Ja'fari Theology (Shia)
Nusayriyyah Theology (Shia)
Zaydiyyah Theology (Shia)
Kharijiyyah
Imams (Shia)
Druze
Qarmatiyyah (Shia)
Ahmadi
Ishmael, Ismail
Early Islamic History Outline
Hegira
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Avicenna
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Kaaba, Black Stone
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Sunnites, Sunni
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Islamic Calendar
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