Imam Ahmad Ibn Isa Ibn Zayd (D. 247AH)
Imam Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā ibn Zayd
The Jurist of the Family of Muḥammad — Peace Be Upon Him
Imam Abū ʿAbdullāh Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā ibn Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Sibt (peace be upon them) — the jurist of the family of Muḥammad ﷺ. Al-Rashīd imprisoned him; then he escaped from his imprisonment and remained in Baṣra until he died, having passed eighty years of age, in the year 247 AH.1
- Al-Amālī — known as ʿUlūm Āl Muḥammad The Sciences of the Family of Muḥammad. Named Badāʾiʿ al-Anwār by Imam al-Manṣūr Billāh.
- Muḥammad
- ʿAlī
The author (peace be upon him) provides an important clarification regarding the inclusion of Imam Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā and those like him among the Imams — notwithstanding that they were not able to draw the sword openly:
There is no difficulty in mentioning Imam Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) and others of the Imams who were not able to draw the sword openly, since what is intended in the words of those Imams who stipulated it as a condition of the Imamate is only the call (daʿwa) and struggle (jihād) when able — not the drawing of the sword specifically; for it is merely a metonym for the call and struggle when able.
Their intent thereby is to refute whoever claims the Imamate for those from whom no call or struggle issued at all. The Zaydiyyah have agreed upon the Imamate of Imam al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) and others who were not able to undertake struggle. And God is the Granter of success.
Scholarly References & Annotations
There is no difficulty in mentioning Imam Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) and others of the Imams who were not able to draw the sword, since what is intended in the words of those Imams who stipulated it as a condition of the Imamate is only the call and struggle when able — not the drawing of the sword specifically; for it is merely a metonym for the call and struggle when able. Their intent thereby is to refute whoever claims the Imamate for those from whom no call or struggle issued. The Zaydiyyah have agreed upon the Imamate of Imam al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) and others who were not able to undertake struggle. And God is the Granter of success — noted by the Author (peace be upon him).