Lecture Series on
History of Islamic Thought and Civilization

🌐 Virtual, in Farsi | English Subs

🔹Sundays 10:00 am-12:00 pm (ET), Starting Jan 12, 2025
Lecture (in Farsi, Eng Subs), "The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", 6 Sessions
Speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
About Speaker:
https://www.ias.edu/hs/ansari

Abstract:
In this series of lectures, we will provide a summary of the history of the Zaydi schools and their literature in Iran and Yemen. We will also discuss the development of their ideological, political, and religious thoughts. The topic will include the Zaydis of northern Iran, Ray, and Khorasan, exploring their intellectual diversity and their contributions to various sciences, including the preservation of the Mu'tazilite heritage.

Zoom Webinar (lecture series):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/93933325521
Meeting ID: 939 3332 5521

🟥 Lectures are recorded in YouTube and can be watched later on our channel with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

https://youtu.be/xM0WhEEXhuA?list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=1

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 1
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Jan 12, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 1:
In the first session of this lecture series, we presented a new theory about the nature of the Zaydi religion in the second century AH. In this session, we stated that the Jarudiyya and Batriyya were not intellectual or religious sects of the Zaydis. Their only commonality was their inclination toward Zaydism, which represented merely a political faction. In fact, the Jarudiyya and Batriyya were two movements that preceded Zaydism, rather than being later developments of it.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMZxu8N8Ks&list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=1s

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 2
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Jan 19, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 2:
In this session, we first discussed the point that Zayd ibn Ali (a) is usually regarded as the figure from whom the Sayyids of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) in the second century AH took inspiration to rise against the Umayyads and Abbasids. This statement is correct; from his son Yahya to al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, to Husayn al-Fakhi. However, none of these Alawids revolted with the claim to Imamate in the sense that the Zaydiya later developed within their doctrinal framework. Ancient Shia narrations also emphasize that Zayd ibn Ali did not rise against the Umayyads claiming Imamate for himself. What, then, was the meaning of their revolt and uprising?

Who was the first among the Sayyids of the Ahl al-Bayt to rise with the claim to Zaydi Imamate? Neither al-Nafs al-Zakiyya nor Husayn al-Fakhi were Zaydi in their beliefs. The first person among the Sayyids to rise with the ideology of Zaydi Imamate was Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tabataba, at the end of the second century AH.

We also discussed that Zaydism as a sect is more closely associated not with Zayd ibn Ali (a) but with the early Zaydis of Kufa in the early third century AH on the one hand, and the school of Qasim al-Rassi and his descendants in Yemen at the beginning of the fourth century AH on the other hand. Without exception, everything that has been attributed to Zayd ibn Ali from texts and books is not originally his. The only work that has authenticity is the Musnad of Zayd ibn Ali, which, however, has its primary roots in Abu Khalid al-Wasiti, who in it attributes certain legal teachings to Zayd ibn Ali. Whatever is contained in this ancient Kufi text dates back to the mid-second century AH. The remaining works attributed to Zayd are not his.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGT00z_wiTU&list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=1s

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 3
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Feb 2, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 3:
In this session, the following topics were discussed:
1. How were the writings attributed to Zayd ibn Ali (AS) addressed?
2. From when did the Zaydi sect emerge as a doctrinal/legal school?
3. Qasim Rasi (d. 246 AH) and his influence from the concept of Imamate in the thought of Imam Sadiq (AS);
4. Under what circumstances did Qasim Rasi speak about the Imamate of the scholars of the Ahl al-Bayt, and what role did the period of Imam Reza’s Imamate and his appointment as the crown prince under Caliph Ma'mun play? What was the idea of "superiority" during this caliph's era, and what was the controversy over the legitimacy of the Abbasids during the trials? What was the nature of the Imamate theory that Qasim Rasi presented?
5. Why did Qasim Rasi speak about "migration" instead of the concept of "rising with the sword"?
6. We briefly discussed the theological beliefs of Qasim Rasi and debated that, in fact, the Zaydi sect was established in the mid-3rd century AH.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG7BW_vRCJQ&list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=1s

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 4
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Feb 9, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 4:
In this session, two topics were discussed: 1) From when did the Zaidis become acquainted with the views of the Mu'tazila and, in terms of religious identity, form a connection with them? 2) When did the Zaidi school of thought, as a theological, religious, and jurisprudential school, begin to have a theory about the imamate, and what were its prerequisites and consequences for the Zaidis over the centuries until today? In this context, we mentioned that the Zaidis only became a religious group with a theory about the imamate from the time of al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq, meaning the end of the third century, and in line with this transformation, they gradually turned into a school with a jurisprudential and theological identity.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKv35oljyew&list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=1s

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 5
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Feb 16, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 5:
In this session, three topics were discussed: 1) The history of the formation of the Zaidi school(s) of jurisprudence, particularly the three schools of Kufa, Hadiyyah, and Nasiriyyah. 2) The relationship between the Zaidis and the Mu'tazila in the 4th and 5th centuries AH and its impact on the Zaidi school of thought. 3) A study of Zaidi historiography: How did the Zaidis reconstruct their past history in the books of history and biographies of their imams, and how did this historiography aim to align the Zaidi narrative of their history with the changing identities of the Zaidis? How do schools of thought and religious doctrines attempt to establish and change their identities by determining and altering their sources of authority?

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljlk0OF7YjY&list=PLRagz8v-1fF50PxfxIwuE0dnm4TkaVspd&t=2s

"The History of Zaydiyya Theological and Jurisprudential Thoughts: From the 3rd Century to the 11th Century", Lecture 6
speaker, Dr. Hassan Ansari
Feb 23, 2025

🟥 Lecture in Farsi, can be watched with closed caption (CC) and auto-translate on our channel.

Session 6:
In this session, which was the last session of the lectures on the history of Zaydi thought, we presented a summary of the theological worldview of the Zaydis and their thoughts on the Imamate. We also had a detailed discussion about the most important differences between the Zaydis and the Imamites, as well as the influences of Zaydi Iran on the Zaydis of Yemen during the medieval Islamic centuries and the lasting effects of these influences on shaping the nature and fate of the Zaydis.

#zaydiyya_theology_jurisprudence