The Zaidi’s follow Zaid Ibn Ali Ibn Husayn. They consider the 4th Imam Zayn ul-Abidin's son, Zaid, to be his successor. At present these people are found in large numbers in Yemen and its surroundings. They believe that of the descendants of Ali ('a) and Fatimah ('a), he is the Imam who is learned, pious, and brave. He draws the sword and rises against the enemy.

During the time of the oppressive Umayyad Caliph, Hisham Ibn Abd ul-Malik, Zaid rose against those in authority and courted martyrdom and was therefore acknowledged as Imam by the Zaidi’s.

The fact is that Zaid possessed a far higher position than that which the Zaidi’s claim for him. He was a great Sayyid of the Hashimi dynasty, and was known for his piety, wisdom, prayers, and bravery. He passed many sleepless nights in prayer and fasted frequently. The Prophet (S) prophesied his martyrdom, as narrated by Imam Husayn ('a): “The Holy Prophet put his sacred hand on my back and said: 'O Husayn, it will not be long until a man will be born among your descendants. He will be called Zaid; he will be killed as a martyr. On the day of resurrection, he and his companions will enter heaven, setting their feet on the necks of the people.'“

Zaid himself never claimed to be an Imam. It is sheer slander for people to say that he did. In fact, he recognized Muhammad Baqir as the Imam and pledged his full obedience to him. It was only after Muhammad Baqir's demise that unknowing people adopted the doctrine that “he is not the Imam who remains sitting at home and hides himself from the people; the Imam is one who is a descendant of Fatimah ('a), an Alim, and who draws the sword and rises against the enemy and invites people to his side”

Historians of both Shi’as and Sunnis recorded that when Hisham Ibn Abd ul-Malik became the caliph, he committed many atrocities. Regarding the Bani Hashim, he was particularly cruel.

At last, Zaid Ibn Ali, the son of Imam Zayn ul-Abidin ('a) and well known as a great scholar and a pious theologian, went to see the caliph to seek redress for the grievances of the Bani Hashim. But as soon as Zaid arrived, the caliph, instead of greeting him as a direct descendant of the Holy Prophet (S), abused him with such abominable language that I cannot repeat it. Because of this disgraceful treatment, Zaid left Syria for Kufa, where he raised an army against the Bani Umayyad. The governor of Kufa, Yusuf bins Umar Thaqafi, came out with a huge army to face him. Zaid recited the following war poem: “Disgraceful life and honourable death: both are bitter morsels, but if one of them must be chosen, my choice is honourable death”

Although he fought bravely, Zaid was killed in the battle. His son, Yahya, took his body from the field and buried him away from the city near the riverbank, causing the water to flow over it. However, the grave was discovered, and under Yusuf's orders, the body was exhumed, Zaid's head was cut off and sent to Hisham in Syria. In the month of Safar, 121 A.H., Hisham had the sacred body of this descendant of the Prophet (S) placed on the gallows entirely naked. For four years the sacred body remained on the gallows. Thereafter, when Walid Ibn Yazid Ibn Abd ul-Malik Ibn Marwan became caliph in 126 A.H., he ordered that the skeleton be taken down from the gallows, burnt, and the ashes scattered to the wind.

This accursed man committed a similar atrocity to the body of Yahya Ibn Zaid of Gurgan. This noble man also opposed the oppression of the Bani Umayya. He too was martyred on the battlefield. His head was sent to Syria and, as in the case of his revered father, his body was hung on the gallows - for six years. Friend and foe alike wept at the sight. Wali ud-din Abu Muslim Khorasani, who had risen against the Bani Umayya on behalf of Bani Abbas, took his body down and buried it in Gurgan, where it is a place of pilgrimage.1

• 1. Peshawar Nights by Sultanul Waizin Shirazi.