المعنى الاصطلاحي :

A Shiite sect named after Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn. They hold that those guilty of major sins shall abide eternally in Hell; that it is permissible to rebel against unjust rulers; and that the leadership of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with them all, was legitimate.

الشرح المختصر :

"Az-Zaydiyyah" (a Shiite sect) is named after its founder Zayd ibn ‘Ali Zayn-il-‘Ābideen, who deemed the leadership of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with them, legitimate. None of them declared any of the Companions to be a disbeliever. Some of their beliefs: 1. In leadership, they allow the spiritual leadership of a good person, in spite of existing another one who is better than him; they do not believe that the spiritual leaders are infallible or in their trusteeship from the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, nor do they advocate "raj‘ah" (the return to life of a past historical figure after his physical death), nor do they believe in "ghaybah" (occultation; the absent leader who was born but disappeared and will return one day with peace and justice). 2. They hold that a believer who commits a major sin shall reside in Hellfire forever. 3. They hold that it is permissible to rebel against tyrannical rulers. 4. They hold that one should not pray behind a dissolute Muslim. 5. They incline to the view of Mu‘tazilites with regard to the Essence of Allah, the Exalted, and free choice in deeds. 6. They oppose the Shiites with regards to "mut‘ah" (temporary marriage) and denounce it. 7. They agree with the Shiites regarding the "khums" (one-fifth in Zakah) and the permissibility of practicing "taqiyyah" when necessary (precautionary denial of religious belief and practice in case of persecution). The "Zaydiyyah" later divided into three sects: 1. The "Jāroodiyyah", followers of Abu al-Jārood Ziyād ibn al-Mundhir al-‘Abdi (d. 150 H). They declare the Companions to be disbelievers because they did not pledge allegiance to ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. They also hold that the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, stated that ‘Ali should be his successor by mentioning his description, not his name. 2. The "Sulaymāniyyah", followers of Sulaymān ibn Jareer az-Zaydi. They are also called the "Jareeriyyah". They believe that the Imam should be chosen through "shura" (consultation) and that "shura" is valid if carried out by two good Muslim men, and that it is valid to choose the less excellent person although choosing the more excellent one is better in all cases. They acknowledge the leadership of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, but accuse ‘Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with him, of disbelief because of the events which he was blamed for. They also accused ‘A’ishah, Az-Zubayr, and Talhah, may Allah be pleased with them, of disbelief because they proceeded to fight against ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. They criticized the Rāfidites for believing in "badā’" (alteration of divine will) and "taqiyyah". 3. The "Batriyyah", followers of Katheer ath-Thawwāb al-Abtar (d. circa 169 H). They share the same doctrine with the "Sulaymāniyyah" regarding leadership. However, they do not accuse ‘Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with him, of disbelief because of the contradiction of the texts that state his virtue with the events attributed to him. They also do not accuse his killers of disbelief.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Az-Zaydiyyah": the followers of Zayd ibn ‘Ali, after whom their sect was named.