Concluding Remark about Jarudiyya

Jarudiyya is the earliest of the Zaydi sect. They came before Battriya, another sub sect of Zaydi.

Both sects have some degree of similarity, such as, not restricting the Imamah solely on the line of the twelve Imams of the Shias.

The most striking difference between the two sects is the level of tolerance shown at the governance of the first two Sunni Caliphs (Abu Bakr and Umar).

Jaruddiya, the earliest of the Zaydi sect, considered anyone who refused to recognize the Imamah of Ali ibn Abi Talib as unbeliever. They completely reject the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar al-Khattab.

Battriya, the sect that came later, acknowledge the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar al-Khattab and also Ali Ibn Abi Talib. They have also rejected the later Imams of the Shias, some preferring to go with the descendants of Zayd.

What did al-Sharastani say about Jarudiyya Zaydi

Al-Sharastani in his book [1]  said that the Zaydis are split into the following sub sects
- Jarudiyya
- Sulaimaniya
- Batriyya

He then gave more specific about the Jarudiyya sect

• These were followers of Abu al-Jarud Ziyad b. Abu Ziyad
• Jarudiyya believe that the Prophet appointed Ali to be the next Imam (Prophet successor) by description and not by name.
• The Jarudiyya also believe that many men failed in their duty by not recognizing Imam Ali. And when men made Abu Bakr as the caliph, they became unbeliever.
• The Jarudiyya differ among themselves as to the interruption of the Imamate and its continuation.

...to be continued

Reference
[1] Al-Shahrastani. al-milal wa al-nihal, page 135

Jarudiyya

I have not been reading al-Baghdadi's book Moslem Schisms and Sects for a while now. I guess I lost interest after realizing how sectarian he is. But yesterday, I opened his book to find out about Jarrudiya, a Zaydi sub sects.

Zaydi is perhaps Sunni's favorite Shia sub sect. I've been noticing for many years now, the Sunnis really like Zaydi sect. Is it because the Zaydis have ceased to insult the Sunni companions? Or because the Zaydis have adopted one of the Sunni Fiqh system? Yes to both, so it's no wonder why the Sunnis and the Zaydis can get along fine. It's like watching yourself in the mirror.

Moving on, the following key points describe Jarudiyya according to al-Baghdadi, in his book on page 45

• They follow Abd al Jarud
• They believe that the Prophet has designated Imam Ali ibn Talib as Imam by characteristics and not by name
• They consider all the companions to have become unbeliever because of their refusal to recognize Ali
• They believe that the next Imam after Ali is his son Hassan ibn Ali and then followed by his other son, Hussein ibn Ali
• After the demise of Hussein ibn Ali, the Jarudiyya split into two sects.
• One sect refrain from recognizing anyone after Hussein as Imam. They believe anyone among the children of Hassan or Hussein, who unsheathe his sword and summon to his faith is an Imam
• Other awaited Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn al-Hassan ibn Ali. They did not believe that he was killed or died, and they awaited him as the expected Mahdi who will come and reign the world
• Other member of this sect awaited a number of other personalities

Reference 
Abd al-Qahir Ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi, Moslem Schisms and Sects: (Al-Fark Bain Al-Firak) Being the History of the Various Philosophic Systems Developed in Islam (1920)

It is too early to post something about the Zaydis

Don't have anything interesting to report today. I am completely out of ideas. I recently posted a number of posts about the Butris, a sub-sect of the Zaydi. It seems too early to be revisiting them again but I am going to anyway.

A kindly brother suggested that I write about Jarudiyya another sub-sect of Zaydis. I have nothing on hand about them.

Click here to see a good discussion about Zaydia


See post #14. Here are some key points

• They are incorrectly referred to as the Fivers
• They seek to justify the rule of the first two caliphs of the Muslim by denying the specific designation of Imam Ali as the successor of the Prophet
• They believe in the Imamah of both grandsons of the Holy Prophet, Hassan and Hussein
• They believe that anyone from the family of Hassan or Hussein can be Imams after them (the grandsons of the Holy Prophet)
• They don't believe in the concept of divinely guided. The candidate for the Imam must only possess religious credential (regularly scholars).
• They reject the 4th Shia Imam, Ali ibn al-Hussain Zayn al-Abidin
• They claim that Zayd son of Ali ibn al-Hussein rose to the position of Imamah because he raise his sword against the Ummayad
• The next Imam after the killing of Zayd was his son Yahya
• There were Zaydi's political dynasties that ruled Yemen

The poster also concluded by  offering a revealing portrait of the evolution of the Zaydis from past till the present time

The problem with narrowing down precisely what Zaydism is that over the centuries it has morphed and changed itself several times. For instance, the early Jarudiyya Zaydis apparently believed that there would be twelve Imams and understood the position of an Imam to be something closer to what we Imamis believe. Eventually, they largely went over to the Imamiyya and left Zaydism. In fiqh, they apparently do not even use the earlier Zaydi collection of hadiths, the so-called Musnad Zayd, but instead follow the fiqh of their Imam al-Hadi ila al-Haqq Yahya b. al-Husayn, the founder of the Zaydi dynasty in Sana`a, Yemen. Nowadays, from what I've heard the situation is even more confused. They have no Imam they recognize, with some Zaydis converting to Wahhabism and others forming around groups Al-hamdu lillah, some have been coming over to Twelver Shi`ism now also.