تا بع المذهب الزيدي

هذه هي الاجابه علي الاسئله السابقه .

as salaamu alaykum!

We pray that all is well with you and yours!

We are glad that you have undertaken the research of differing Islamic groups and schools–esp. in terms of minorities! We pray that such strenuous effort is done for the sake of Allah and the promotion of mutual understanding and tolerance.

Regarding Ibadhis, there has been some books written about them, but the most beneficial are the ones written by Ibadhis themselves. There’s one called “Studies in Ibadhism” by Amr Ennami. The Ibadhis of Oman have a website:http://www.islamfact.com and the Ibadhis of North Africa have one: http://www.taddart.org/en/ This will get you started.

Ok, regarding your questions on the Zaydiya:

1. Diff b/n spiritual and political leaders amongst the Zaydis: I guess the answer will depend on what you mean by “spiritual leader.” The Zaydis do not have what some may term “Sufi shaykhs” so to speak. There are many of our scholars who have mastered the spiritual sciences, but we do not differentiate them as “spiritual leaders.” In the Zaydi school, the imam must be one who combines the political with the spiritual in that he must be a political leader with religious scruples.

2. Not sure what this question means. Maybe you can elaborate.

3. Regarding these groups: Of course we differ with them in many doctrinal issues, such as the imamate, the qualities of the imam, etc. If by your question you mean do Zaydis consider these groups to be Muslims, then yes. very rarely do you find Zaydis making takfir of other groups. Even during periods of heated conflict, our imams avoided calling other groups disbelievers. Imam al-Hadi (as) was asked about people who were known anthropomorphists and he said that they are still Muslims unless they openly state their deviant belief and firmly believe in their doctrine after having been shown their error. Otherwise, we give them the benefit of the doubt.

4. Refer to the last answer. We specifically addressed the issue of Sufism here: http://www.salvationark.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35:what-is-the-zaydi-view-on-sufism&catid=22&Itemid=116

5. Not sure about this one. The subsects that still exist are primarily divided based on fiqh positions, not belief. And they dont see themselves as a subsect of Zaydism, rather they see themselves as followers of the wide range of opinions amongst the imams of Ahl al-Bayt, upon them be peace. For example, you can find Zaydis who raise their hands at the beginning of the Takbir Ihram and others don’t raise their hands at all. One doesnt see the other as a follower of a different subsect, rather they just know that one person follows one position and they follow another. The core beliefs are the same and the fiqh differences are relatively minor.

6. Not to my knowledge. Most of the Zaydis of iran were completely subsumed by the 12ers or wiped out. Yemen is really the only place with high concentrations of Zaydis. Indeed, the school owes a huge debt of gratitude to Imam al-Hadi (as) because hadnt he migrated to Yemen and established the imamate there, the Zaydi school probably would have disappeared.

And Allah knows best!

More questions from Usman:

Thank you very much for your answers.