A Collection of Biographies of Prominent Zaydi Women
Safiyyah bint al-Murtada ibn al-Mufaddal
Safiyyah bint al-Murtada ibn al-Mufaddal ibn Mansur — a scholar, jurist, writer, and virtuous poet.
She was one of the most brilliant women of the 8th century AH (14th century CE).
She engaged in learning from a young age and studied under her father until she excelled and surpassed others in jurisprudence, legal theory, Arabic language, and history. She was an eloquent writer, producing refined and well-structured poetry. She had beautiful handwriting, by which she copied valuable books, and she was capable of issuing legal opinions, teaching, and authoring works.
It is mentioned that she wrote various letters and scholarly treatises. She corresponded with and consulted Imam al-Mahdi ibn ʿAli ibn Muhammad on many scholarly issues. At the age of thirty, she married Sayyid Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Qasimi. She passed away in the year 771 AH (1369/1370 CE).
Her Works:
- al-Jawāb al-Wajīz ʿalā Ṣāḥib al-Tajwīz (A Concise Reply to the Author of “al-Tajwīz”) — on the issue of compatibility in marriage.
- A Unique Treatise which she composed as a will for her daughter, the noble lady Huriyyah bint Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Qasimi. (It was said: this work testifies to her vast knowledge and broad learning.)
Source:
ʿAʿlām al-Muʾallifīn al-Zaydiyyah (Eminent Zaydi Authors), by Professor ʿAbd al-Salam ibn ʿAbbas al-Wajih.
Duhmāʾ bint Yaḥyā al-Murtaḍā
The noble lady Duhmāʾ bint Yaḥyā ibn al-Murtaḍā al-Ḥasanīyah, sister of the famous Imam al-Mahdī li-Dīn Allāh Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Murtaḍā.
She was a learned, virtuous woman, distinguished in many fields of knowledge.
After the death of her father, she took care of her brother, the Imam, and studied under him as well as under her other brother, al-Hādī ibn Yaḥyā. She later resided in Thulāʾ (in Yemen), where she taught. She married Sayyid Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Faḍāʾil, and they had a son named Idrīs.
She was an accomplished poet and author, known also for her asceticism, chastity, devotion, and piety. She passed away in Thulāʾ in the year 837 AH (1433–1434 CE), and her grave there is well-known and visited.
Her Works:
- al-Anwār fī Sharḥ Kitāb al-Azhār (The Lights: Commentary on the Book al-Azhār) — four volumes on jurisprudence.
- Sharḥ Manẓūmat al-Kūfī fī al-Fiqh wa al-Farāʾiḍ (Commentary on al-Kūfī’s Didactic Poem in Jurisprudence and Inheritance Laws).
- A Notebook on the Biographies of the Poets of Virtue — unfinished.
- Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar al-Muntahā fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh (Commentary on Ibn al-Ḥāj’s Mukhtaṣar al-Muntahā in Legal Theory).
- Kitāb al-Jawāhir fī ʿIlm al-Kalām (The Book of Jewels in Theology) — said to consist of three volumes.
Source:
ʿAʿlām al-Muʾallifīn al-Zaydiyyah (Eminent Zaydi Authors), by Professor ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbbās al-Wajīh.
Zaynab al-Shahāriyya
Zaynab bint Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Imām al-Nāṣir al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥasanīyah, from Yemen, known as al-Shahāriyya.
She was a learned, accomplished, virtuous woman — poet and writer.
She was born in the city of Shahārah in the region of Ahnūm, where she was raised in the care of her mother Asmāʾ bint al-Muʾayyad Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim and her maternal uncles. She studied grammar, logic, jurisprudence, astronomy, and geomancy, and she excelled in literature and poetry, gaining wide fame and becoming the most renowned Yemeni poetess after the year 1000 AH (≈1591 CE).
She married the well-known prince and poet ʿAlī ibn al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl, but later they separated. Between them were remarkable exchanges of poetry and letters.
After her separation from Prince ʿAlī al-Mutawakkil, she wrote to him reproachfully:
“Truly, the noble, when appealed to, show compassion,
and the free man closes his eyes, though he falters, and admits.
Forgiveness is better, and forbearance is an honor,
and loyalty is a mark of a noble man’s character.
To pardon when able is generosity,
but estrangement after confession is extravagance.
Punish as you wish, but let estrangement be gone,
for estrangement destroys the hearts of lovers.”
She later married ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Imām al-Qāsim, the ruler of Ṣaʿdah, but he divorced her. She then addressed him with another poem:
“Is this how all those who grow weary make excuses,
and after praise they bring forth criticism anew?
You have burdened me with excess in commands and prohibitions
over one who does not obey.
My intention was only to support you,
to strive for good as best I could — I do not regret it.
Yet from you came harshness, with no compassion for an exile,
whom neither Zayd nor ʿUmar restrained from you.
I was led astray, not truly, but by a moon —
and am I the first traveler deceived by the moon?”
She then married Ṭālib, son of Imām al-Mahdī, but she did not love him, and so they too separated.
On another occasion, she wrote to Prince Mūsā ibn al-Imām Ismāʿīl ibn al-Qāsim, asking him for a copy of al-Qāmūs (the famous Arabic dictionary by al-Fīrūzābādī):
“My lord Mūsā, by Him who raised the heavens,
and by the right of the one who cast Mūsā into the sea,
Grant me the loan of a copy, to be returned,
be generous in your grace and send me al-Qāmūs.”
She also expressed her pride in her native city Shahārah over Ṣanʿāʾ, saying:
“O you who prefer Ṣanʿāʾ without shame
over Shahārah, home of virtue and perfection,
Shahārah is the head — nothing equals it in height —
while Ṣanʿāʾ is but the foot, lowly beneath.
Is not Ṣanʿāʾ beneath the (back) near (Ẓulʿ)?
While Shahārah rests above, upon the (chest) and the (eyes).”
She spent her final years in Shahārah, where she died in Muḥarram of the year 1114 AH (1702–1703 CE).
Her Works:
- A Literary Epistle (addressed to her husband, Prince ʿAlī ibn al-Imām al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl).
- Sixteen poems and shorter pieces, collected along with her epistle and an expanded biography of her life in the book Zaynab bint Muḥammad al-Shahāriyya by Professor ʿAbd al-Salām al-Wajīh.
Source:
ʿAʿlām al-Muʾallifīn al-Zaydiyyah (Eminent Zaydi Authors), by Professor ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbbās al-Wajīh.
Shams al-Ḥūr bint ʿAlī al-Mutawakkil
Shams al-Ḥūr, daughter of Prince ʿAlī ibn al-Imām al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh Ismāʿīl, was a learned, diligent, accomplished woman of letters and poetry — one of the most famous Yemeni women of the 13th century AH (19th century CE).
She was the mother of Imām al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Wajīh al-Shahārī.
She was born and raised in Shahārah, where she studied under her father and other scholars until she excelled in various disciplines. She even taught men the core texts of jurisprudence, from behind a curtain. Later, she migrated with her son, the Imām, to Ṣanʿāʾ, where he was given the oath of allegiance and held the imamate for six months, until he was overpowered by Imām Aḥmad ibn Hāshim al-Wīsī.
She spent the last years of her life in Shahārah, where she died in the year 1298 AH (1881 CE). She was buried in the cemetery of Dhū al-Sharafayn in the center of Shahārah.
Her Works:
- Qaṣīdat al-Rayḥānah fī al-Tawḥīd — a didactic poem on monotheism, arranged according to the Arabic alphabetical order.
- Kitāb Mawāʿiẓ wa-Waṣāyā (Book of Admonitions and Counsels).
Source:
ʿAʿlām al-Muʾallifīn al-Zaydiyyah (Eminent Zaydi Authors), by Professor ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbbās al-Wajīh.
Zaynab bint al-Qāsim al-Mutawakkil (Patron of Masjid al-Sharīfah)
Zaynab bint al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Mutawakkil.
She was a virtuous, charitable, and devout woman. She lived and died in the city of Ṣanʿāʾ.
She was known for her refinement and beauty, her love of good deeds, and her care for people. Imām ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās often visited her and stayed in her home. She was first married to the scholar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Mahdī, who died suddenly in his sleep at her residence. She later married the scholar Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh, known as Qāḍī al-Quḍāt (“Judge of Judges”), who was considered weak in judgment and reliant upon her guidance.
The historian ʿAllāmah Luṭf Allāh Jihāf recounts in his book Durar Nuḥūr al-Ḥūr al-ʿĪn that Imām al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Ḥusayn once sent to her husband a case involving the children of Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim al-Mutawakkil (her brother’s sons), who were disputing. Her husband was unable to issue a decisive ruling. Zaynab herself intervened, resolved the matter, and wrote to the Imām informing him of her decision. The vizier Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Nahmī admired her intelligence and famously remarked:
“If only he were not the judge,
and if only she were the judge instead.”
She effectively directed her husband in his judicial affairs. When she died, he grieved deeply, and his life was filled with sorrow until his own death.
Zaynab is remembered for having built, at her own expense, a mosque still known as Masjid al-Sharīfah, located to the right upon exiting Bāb al-Rūm toward the quarter of Shaʿūb, one of the oldest neighborhoods of Ṣanʿāʾ.
Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan
(known as al-ʿAdīniyyah)
Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥasan, known as al-ʿAdīniyyah, in reference to the land of al-ʿUdayn in Ibb province, where she was born, raised, and lived during the 12th century AH / 18th century CE.
She was a scholar, poet, and woman of letters, and the sister of the famous writer Zaynab bint Muḥammad al-Shahāriyyah.
Her father was governor of the land of al-ʿUdayn, where he married a woman from the region who bore him Fāṭimah.
Among her poetry is a moving petition she wrote to Imām al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl ibn al-Qāsim, when his governor confiscated from her a piece of land she had inherited from her mother. She addressed the Imām with these verses:
مولاي بنت رسول الله فاطمة *** تملكت (فدكًا) قدمًا بإنحـالِ
فنوزعته فماتت غير راضيةٍ *** عن الخليفة في حكم وإبطال
وكان شاهدها زوج النبي بـه *** وابناه ثم عليٌّ سـيد الآلِ
وها أنا ابنتها سمِّيت فاطمةً *** وأنحلتنيَ أمي بعض أمـوالِ
وكان في صحة منها وعافية *** وعمَّرت بعد هذا بعض أحوالِ
فنازعوني وقالوا: لا سبيل إلى *** ملكي، كذلك فانظر أنت في حالي
وانظر إلى حظِّ هذا الاسم كيف لقا *** في سالف الدهر ما لاقاه في الحالِ
لا يظلموني أمير المؤمنين وأنـ *** ـت الحمد لله فينا الحاكم الوالي
The Imām was struck by her eloquent analogy and graceful lament, and he immediately ordered his governor to restore to her the land that had been taken.
Several poets later composed taḫmīs (five-line strophic expansions) of her poem, honoring her artistry.
Source:
Nashr al-ʿUrf li-Nubalāʾ al-Yaman baʿd al-Alf, vol. 1, p. 917.
Shams al-Ḥūr bint al-Imām al-Hādī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Wazīr
Shams al-Ḥūr was the daughter of Imām al-Hādī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Wazīr ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Murtaḍā.
She was born in the city of Ṣaʿdah and died in Ṣanʿāʾ in the year 894 AH / 1489 CE, where she was buried.
She was a learned woman, an accomplished writer, a poet, and a benefactor. She grew up in a household of knowledge: her father was the renowned scholar of jurisprudential principles and great historian, Imām al-Hādī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Wazīr, and her uncle was the eminent scholar Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Wazīr, famously known as Ibn al-Wazīr al-Yamānī.
She studied many books, devoted herself to learning, and memorized histories, poetry, and genealogies. She was known for her noble character and her compassion toward the poor and orphans. She gave charity both privately and publicly, personally sponsored orphans, and opened her home to anyone who sought her aid, regardless of background.
The historian Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Abī al-Rijāl, in his book Maṭlaʿ al-Budūr, wrote of her:
“She, may God be pleased with her, possessed noble character and admirable virtues beyond measure. She was devoted to reciting the Qurʾān, praying at night, fasting regularly, and persevering in acts of devotion.”
Many dignitaries of her time sought her hand in marriage, and she eventually married her cousin, Aḥmad ibn Ṣalāḥ ibn Ibrāhīm al-Wazīr.
She also exchanged eloquent letters with several leading men of letters of her era.
Her Writings:
- Letters and correspondences.
- Various poems.
Samples of her poetry:
In praise of Muḥammad (likely a relative in her scholarly family), she wrote:
“Muḥammad, I would sacrifice myself for you, heir
to your noble forefathers of glory.
You inherited eloquence, my master,
along with knowledge, wisdom, and honor.
By God, how excellent you are,
following their path, guided by their example!
Yet, O beloved of the heart, I fear for you,
lest envy should afflict you.
For I have read lines that came from your hand,
quenching the thirst of the longing heart.
Pearls of wisdom — some were replies,
and others were the very beginning of discourse.”
And when her uncle, the great scholar Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm (Ibn al-Wazīr), passed away, she composed an elegy in which she said:
“May God have mercy on the noble bones they buried,
in al-Rawiyyāt, south of the muṣallā.”
Badrāʾ al-Ḥusainiyyah
She was Badrāʾ bint Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥusainiyyah, a descendant of Imām ʿAlī ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn.
She lived in Ṣaʿdah and passed away in Ṣanʿāʾ in the year 1488 CE (around 893–894 AH).
A woman of learning and literature, she played an active role in the intellectual and political life of her time.
She was first married to Imām al-Nāṣir Muḥammad ibn al-Nāṣir. However, while he was away in the southern regions in 849 AH / 1445 CE, leading battles against the Ṭāhirids, the jurists decreed the annulment of her marriage to him.
Later, she married Imām al-Muṭahhar ibn Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān, who was deeply enamored of her and composed some of his finest poems in her praise. Among his verses expressing love for her are:
“I marvel at the one who has settled in my heart —
since entering, he has only increased my torment.
He tortures me with coldness and distance,
though my only fault is my passion for him.
My passion for a gazelle, enamored with staying far,
while I am enamored with drawing him near.
Such is the nature of every gazelle in the wild,
and of the deer of the clan, who captivate all hearts.
My tormentor chooses my oppression, though he is of a people
who established justice and became famous for it.
He is my sickness and my healer —
who has ever seen the likes of me, a patient destroyed by his own physician?”
Badrāʾ herself was also engaged in the political affairs of her age, not merely a passive figure but a participant in shaping events.
After her death, she was mourned by a number of scholars and men of letters, including Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Qāsim al-Nuʿmān and Ṣalāḥ ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh, among others.
Fawz al-Wazīr
She was Fawz bint Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī al-Wazīr, who lived during the 11th century AH / 17th century CE.
She passed away in Ṣanʿāʾ and was buried near the grave of Wahb ibn Munabbih.
Fawz was a scholar of the Arabic language and was known for her beautiful handwriting.
She was among the learned women of her time, excelling in the sciences of Arabic grammar and linguistics, and she used to teach the Arabic sciences to her male relatives (maḥārim) in private settings.
Shams bint Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Badr al-Dīn al-Muʾayyad
Known as al-Shamsiyyah, she lived in Ṣanʿāʾ during the 8th century AH / 14th century CE.
She was a scholar, devout worshipper, and righteous woman.
The historian Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Abī al-Rijāl, in his book Maṭlaʿ al-Budūr, described her as:
“The learned, devout, pious woman.”
And he cited the words of the scholar Ṣāliḥ ibn al-Jalāl, who said:
“This Shamsiyyah was a great woman, of virtue and insight, well-known, and renowned for her blessing.”
She married the prince al-Muʾayyad ibn Aḥmad, and bore him a son named Muḥammad al-Aṣghar (“the Younger”).
Zaynab bint al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī al-Ḍuḥayānī al-Ḥasanīyyah
She was the daughter of Imām al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā al-Ḍuḥayānī.
A scholar, jurist, and virtuous woman, she lived and died in the town of Ḍuḥyān, north of Ṣaʿdah.
Unfortunately, no further details of her life have been preserved.
She passed away in 1946 CE.
Fāṭimah bint ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muṭahhar ibn Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān
She died in Ṣanʿāʾ in the year 1504 CE (910 AH).
A woman of virtue, jurisprudence, and theology, she studied several key works of her era:
- al-Nukat
- some books in uṣūl al-dīn (theology)
- the commentary of Ibn Haṭīl in Arabic linguistics
She received this learning from scholars of her time.
She married Imām Yaḥyā ibn Shams al-Dīn before he assumed the imamate, and was his first wife. She read with him the book Jāmiʿ al-Uṣūl in ḥadīth studies.
In the later years of her life, beginning in 895 AH / 1490 CE, she was afflicted with numerous illnesses. Despite her suffering, she remained devout until her death. She passed away far from her husband, who had moved to Ḥiṣn Kawkabān after Sultan ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Ṭāhirī captured Ṣanʿāʾ and took control of Yemen.
Fāṭimah was described as a woman of exceptional beauty, perfection, intelligence, and acumen. She had memorized most of the Qurʾān and recited a portion (juzʾ) daily.
Her husband, Imām Yaḥyā, composed a long elegy mourning her, from which these lines survive:
The soul has longed in grief and moaned,
so why reproach the eye if it pours forth tears?The furnaces of sorrow have kindled in my heart,
and from their blaze, these flowing tears descend.Should I be expected to find solace today,
while Fāṭimah lies hidden in the depths of the grave?Lady of the noble House of the Chosen Prophet,
adorned with every righteous quality.Delight of my heart, essence of my soul,
my desire above all things, my only wish.Was not Fāṭimah but one of the ḥūr,
sent down so we might know their worth, then returned?
Fāṭimah bint ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā al-Ḥūthī
She was affiliated with the town of Ḥūth, in today’s ʿAmrān province, Yemen.
A woman of scholarship, virtue, jurisprudence, and ḥadīth, she studied alongside her husband, the scholar Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf, under a number of the leading teachers of their time.
Through this training, she excelled in fiqh (jurisprudence), ḥadīth (Prophetic traditions), Arabic grammar, and other sciences.
She lived during the 18th century CE (12th century AH).
Fāṭimah bint Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥasanīyyah, al-Qāsimiyyah, al-Hāshimiyyah
She lived, studied, and died in the town of Ḍuḥyān, north of Ṣaʿdah.
A scholar, jurist, and virtuous woman, she was the sister of Imām al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā al-Ḍuḥayānī.
She studied under her mother, the learned woman Nūr bint ʿAlī al-Ḍuḥayānī, as well as other male relatives who were scholars.
She later married the scholar al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥūthī, and bore him two sons:
- Amīr al-Dīn ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḥūthī
- Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn
Fāṭimah was known for her piety, devotion, frequent remembrance of God, and continuous recitation of the Qurʾān.
Her exact date of birth and death are not recorded.
Maymūnah bint Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā ibn Shams al-Dīn al-Ḥusainiyyah, al-Shabāmiyyah
She was affiliated with Shibām Kawkabān in the region of al-Maḥwīt, where she lived and died.
A scholar, jurist, and virtuous woman, she was described by the historian Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Qāṭin in his book Dumyat al-Qaṣr:
“The noble, pure lady, the precious pearl — she taught me grammar, morphology, and other sciences. She also raised my elder children and cared for them with the utmost attention.”
She possessed knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence), history, and was skilled in manuscript copying. With her fine handwriting, she transcribed many books and even began copying al-Kashshāf.
She was known for her generosity and noble character.
Qāṭin did not explain why his children were in her care, nor why his eldest son, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, died while living with her. It is possible she was related to them, or that they studied under her.
Nūr bint ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Ḍuḥayānī
She was the mother of Imām al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Muʾayyidī.
She lived and died in the town of Ḍuḥyān in Ṣaʿdah province in 1860 CE, where she was buried. Her grave is still known today.
A woman of jurisprudence and virtue, she memorized and studied the Qurʾān under her father, and deepened her understanding of fiqh with her husband, the scholar Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad. Through this, she mastered the branches of the madhhab.
She devoted herself to guidance and teaching, regularly gathering large groups of women in mosques to instruct them in matters of religion.
Among her students was her own son, the aforementioned Imām al-Ḥasan.