Zayd ibn ʿAlī

Muslim leader

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July 15, 2026

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Zayd ibn ʿAlī was a grandson of the Shiʿi imam al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī and a son of the fourth Shiʿi imam, ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn. He is significant as the figurehead for the Zaydiyyah sect of Muslims. The Zaydiyyah, also known as Fivers, believe that the imam should be the most knowledgeable descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, emphasizing religious learning and reasoning over divine designation. This doctrine makes them doctrinally closer to Sunni Muslims than other Shiʿi branches. Zayd ibn ʿAlī himself led an uprising against the Umayyads, establishing the principle that an imam must openly declare their claim to leadership. The Zaydiyyah became dominant in Yemen in the 10th century.123

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Shiʿi
Anti-Umayyad movements: the Zaydi Shiʿah and the ʿAbbāsids
…these risings was led by Zayd ibn ʿAlī, a half-brother of ʿAlī’s great grandson Muḥammad al-Bāqir by ʿAlī’s son Ḥusayn. In 740, encouraged by Kufan elements, Zayd rose against the Umayyads, on the principle that the imam could lay claim to leadership only if he openly declared himself imam. Zayd…
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…these risings was led by Zayd ibn ʿAlī, a half-brother of ʿAlī’s great grandson Muḥammad al-Bāqir by ʿAlī’s son Ḥusayn. In 740, encouraged by Kufan elements, Zayd rose against the Umayyads, on the principle that the imam could lay claim to leadership only if he openly declared himself imam. Zayd…
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imam
Imamate in Shiʿi Islam
…imam: while Zaydis believed that Zayd ibn ʿAlī should become the fifth imam because he had attained the highest degree of learning, many believed that Muḥammad al-Bāqir possessed superior ʿilm by pedigree. Zaydi Shiʿism, which survives today as the third largest sect of Shiʿi Islam, continues to view the imamate…
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…imam: while Zaydis believed that Zayd ibn ʿAlī should become the fifth imam because he had attained the highest degree of learning, many believed that Muḥammad al-Bāqir possessed superior ʿilm by pedigree. Zaydi Shiʿism, which survives today as the third largest sect of Shiʿi Islam, continues to view the imamate…
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Zaydiyyah
…Shiʿi Muslims owing allegiance to Zayd ibn ʿAlī, grandson of al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī. Zayd was a son of the fourth Shiʿi imam, ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn, and a brother of Muḥammad al-Bāqir. At a time when the designation and role of the Shiʿi imam was being defined, the followers of Zayd…
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…Shiʿi Muslims owing allegiance to Zayd ibn ʿAlī, grandson of al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī. Zayd was a son of the fourth Shiʿi imam, ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn, and a brother of Muḥammad al-Bāqir. At a time when the designation and role of the Shiʿi imam was being defined, the followers of Zayd…
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