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| Revolt of Zayd ibn Ali | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Umayyad Caliphate | Alids | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi Hakam ibn Salt | Zayd ibn Ali † Muawiyat ibn Ishaq † Salma ibn Kohayk Nasr ibn Khazima Abasi † Jafar as-Sadiq (spiritual support) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ≈12,000 | 218 | ||||||
| Part ofa series on |
| Islam |
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TheRevolt of Zayd ibn Ali was a revolt led byZayd ibn Ali against theUmayyad Caliphate, which had taken over theRashidun Caliphate since the death of his great-grandfather,Ali.
Unlike his brother,Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam of theTwelver andIsma'iliShi'as,Zayd ibn Ali believed the time was ripe for renewing the rebellion against theUmayyad Caliphs in support of the claims of his ownHashemite clan. On his trip to Iraq, he was persuaded by pro-Alid faction ofKufa that he had support of 10,000 warriors and could easily drive out a few hundred Umayyad soldiers stationed there.[1] Kufa had previously been the capital of his great-grandfatherAli. He started his propaganda in Kufa, Basra and Mosul and 15,000 people were enlisted on his army register.[1] The Umayyad governor of Kufa, however, learned of the plot, and commanded the people to gather at the great mosque, locked them inside and began a search for Zayd. Zayd with some troops fought his way to the mosque and called on people to come out.[1]
However, in events that echoedHusayn's own abandonment by the Kufans decades earlier, the bulk of Zayd's supporters deserted him and joined the Umayyads, leaving Zayd with only a few dozen outnumbered followers.
Nevertheless, Zayd fought on. His small band of followers was soundly defeated by the much larger Umayyad force, and Zayd fell in battle to an arrow that pierced his forehead. The arrow's removal led to his death. He was buried in secret outside Kufa, but theUmayyads were able to find the burial place, and, in retribution for the rebellion, exhumed Zayd's body and crucified it.[1] The corpse remained on the cross for three years. After the death of Hisham, the new caliph ordered his corpse to be burned. The ashes were scattered in theEuphrates. When theAbbasids, who, like Zayd, wereHashemites, overthrew theUmayyads in 750, they in turn exhumed Hisham's body, crucified it, and burned it, out of revenge forZayd.[2]
Zayd's desperate rebellion became the inspiration for theZaydi sect, a school ofShi'a Islam that holds that any learned descendant ofAli canbecome an Imam by asserting and fighting for his claim as Zayd did (the rest of theShi'as believe, in contrast, that the Imam must be divinely appointed). However, all schools of Islam, including the majoritySunnis, regard Zayd as a righteousmartyr (shahid) against what is regarded as the corrupt leadership of the Umayyads. It is even reported thatAbu Hanifa, founder of the largest school of Sunni jurisprudence, gave financial support to Zayd's revolt and called on others to join Zayd's rebellion.[citation needed]
Zayd's sonYahya, who managed to escape the suppression of the revolt, tried to recruit followers inKhurasan, but in vain; once the Umayyads were alerted to his presence there, he was pursued and killed. Zayd's rebellion inspired other revolts by members of his clan, especially in theHejaz, the most famous among these being therevolt ofMuhammad al-Nafs az-Zakiyya against the Abbasids in 762. Zaydi agitation continued until 785 and re-erupted inTabaristan under the leadership of the Zayd's son,Hasan ibn Zayd ibn Ali. His revolt attracted many supporters, among them the ruler ofRustamids, the son of Farīdūn (a descendant ofRostam Farrokhzād),Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam.[citation needed]
It is narrated in the Shi'a book, Uyun al-Akhbar al-Ridha it says that it is narrated from Fudhayl ibn Yasar, one ofZayd ibn Ali's companions who fought alongside him that :
I went to see Zayd ibn Ali ibn Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) on the morning of the day on which he revolted inKufa. I heard him say. ‘Which of you men will help me fight with the Anbats from Sham? I swear by Him who appointedMuhammad to the Prophethood and established him as one to give glad tidings and admonishments, that on the Resurrection Day I will grab the hands of whoever helps me in this battle and deliver him to Paradise with the permission of the Honorable the Exalted God.’I rented a horse when he got killed and set out for Medina. I went to see Imam As-Sadiq (s) there. I thought I should not tell him (s) aboutZayd getting killed since the Imam (s) might get upset. When I saw the Imam (s), he said, “What did my uncle Zayd do?” I got so upset I could hardly talk. I said, “They killed him.” He (s) said, “Did they kill him?” I said, “Yes. By God, they killed him.” He (s) asked, “Did they hang his corpse on the gallows?” I said, “Yes. By God, they hung his corpse on the gallows.”The narrator added, “The Imam (s) started to cry and his tears were flowing down his face like pearls. Then the Imam (al-Sadiq) said, ‘O Fudhayl! Were you present there in the battle with the people of Syria along with my uncle?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ The Imam (s) asked, ‘How many people did you kill?’ I said, ‘Six of them.’ The Imam (s) said, ‘Did you have any doubts about shedding their blood?’ I said, ‘No, I would not have killed them if I had had any doubts.’ Then I heard the Imam (s) say, ‘O God! Please give me a share of the reward for this battle. I swear by God that my uncle and his companions were martyrs just like Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) and his companions.[3]
