Do the Zaydīs believe in the Imamate of Mūsā al-Kāẓim? And how do you affirm the Imamate of ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā when he neither proclaimed nor rose up?
The question was:
Do the Zaydīs believe in the Imamate of Mūsā al-Kāẓim? And how do you affirm the Imamate of Imām ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā when he neither proclaimed (the call) nor rose up?
The answer:
The question consists of two parts:
- Do the Zaydīs believe in the Imamate of Mūsā al-Kāẓim (peace be upon him)?
- What is the Zaydī position regarding the Imamate of Imām ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) when he did not rise up nor openly call (to it)?
As for the first part, we explain it with a simplified introduction: according to the Zaydīs, Imamate is of two kinds:
The first Imamate:
The Imamate of knowledge — the rank of scholarship and moderation. This applies to figures such as Imām ʿAbdullāh al-Maḥḍ, Imām al-Ṣādiq, Imām Mūsā al-Kāẓim, and others among the nobles of the Prophet’s Household.
The second Imamate:
The supreme Imamate — the rank of the scholar who is foremost in good deeds, who rises with the call, enjoins what is right, and undertakes jihād within the community. Examples include Imām Zayd ibn ʿAlī (peace be upon him), Imām al-Nafs al-Zakiyya Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan, and others.
This is the position of Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon him), and it is also the view of the Imāms al-Bāqir, al-Ṣādiq, and al-Kāẓim (peace be upon them). It is likewise transmitted from them through non-Zaydī chains: that the Imamate and the rank of being foremost in good deeds belong to the one who rises and calls openly in the face of oppression.
1. Among these reports is what al-Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī al-Ḥanafī narrates with his chain from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, who said:
“I was sitting with him when two men from Iraq came and said: ‘O son of the Messenger of God, we have come to ask you about verses from the Qurʾān.’ He said: ‘Which ones?’ They said: God’s saying, “Then We caused the Book to be inherited by those whom We chose from Our servants…” He said: ‘O people of Iraq, what do they say about it?’ They replied: ‘They say it was revealed about the community of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).’
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn said: ‘Then the entire community of Muḥammad would all be in Paradise!’
I said from among the people: ‘O son of the Messenger of God, about whom was it revealed?’
He said: ‘By God, it was revealed about us, the People of the House.’
I said: ‘Tell us, who among you is the one who wrongs himself?’
He said: ‘The one whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal; he is in Paradise.’
I said: ‘And who is the moderate one?’
He said: ‘The one who worships God in his home until certainty comes to him.’
I said: ‘And who is the one foremost in good deeds?’
He said: ‘The one who unsheathes his sword and calls to the path of his Lord.’”
(Shawāhid al-Tanzīl, 2/157)
Yes—reflect carefully on the statement of Imām al-Sajjād (peace be upon him):
“The one who unsheathes his sword and calls to the path of his Lord.”
2. And from the route of Shaykh al-Ṣadūq (from the Imāmī tradition), with his chain from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, who said:
“I was sitting in the Sacred Mosque with Abū Jaʿfar (peace be upon him) when two men from Baṣra came to him and said: ‘O son of the Messenger of God, we wish to ask you about a matter.’ He said: ‘Ask what you have come for.’
They said: ‘Tell us about the saying of God, Exalted is He: Then We caused the Book to be inherited by those whom We chose from Our servants; among them is one who wrongs himself, among them is one who is moderate, and among them is one foremost in good deeds by God’s permission…’
He said: ‘It was revealed about us, the People of the House.’
Abū Ḥamza said: ‘I said: May my father and mother be ransomed for you—who among you is the one who wrongs himself?’
He said: ‘The one whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal among us, the People of the House—he wrongs himself.’
I said: ‘Who among you is the moderate one?’
He said: ‘The one who worships God in both states until certainty comes to him.’
I said: ‘And who among you is the one foremost in good deeds?’
He said: ‘By God, the one who calls to the path of his Lord, enjoins what is right, forbids what is wrong, does not support the misguided, does not defend the treacherous, and does not accept the rule of the corrupt—except if he fears for himself and his religion and finds no supporters.’”
(Maʿānī al-Akhbār, p. 105)
Reflect upon the words of Abū Jaʿfar Imām al-Bāqir (peace be upon him):
“The one who calls, by God, to the path of his Lord, enjoins what is right, and forbids what is wrong.”
The meaning of “fear for oneself” is the absence of supporters and helpers. This is the Zaydī doctrine: it is not obligatory for the openly declared Imām who calls to rise up if he does not find supporters and helpers; but when he does find them, rising becomes obligatory. This is the statement of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him):
“By the One who split the grain and created the soul: had it not been for the presence of the people, the establishment of proof by the existence of supporters, and God’s covenant upon the scholars that they must not remain silent in the face of a gluttonous oppressor or a hungry oppressed person, I would have cast the rope of authority upon its back.”
(Nahj al-Balāgha)
Yes—this is the Zaydī belief regarding the Imamate: the supreme Imamate is the rank of those foremost in good deeds. It is not based on explicit texts or bequests, but on action, merit, public calling, and struggle against oppression. The substance of these two narrations—one from al-Ḥaskānī the Ḥanafī and the other from al-Ṣadūq the Imāmī—is also transmitted from Imām al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʿAlī (peace be upon him) and from Imām al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) regarding the characteristics of the one foremost in good deeds.
As for the answer to the second part of the question, concerning the Zaydī position on the Imamate of ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) despite the fact that he did not rise up nor openly call:
Imām al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) was exposed to the office of the Imamate and the call. He accepted the position of heir apparent; sermons were delivered in his name from the pulpits; among the believers he was regarded as the Imām rather than the ʿAbbāsid al-Maʾmūn; and coinage was struck in his name. Thus, he was an Imām publicly installed to manage the affairs of the community.
Indeed, even the early Imāmīs expressed astonishment that he openly proclaimed his Imamate—this being the meaning of “public installation to the Imamate and the call” according to the Zaydīs. Al-Ḥumayrī (from the Imāmī tradition) narrates with his chain:
“ʿAlī ibn Abī Ḥamza al-Baṭāʾinī, Ziyād al-Qandī, and Ibn Abī Saʿīd al-Makkārī gathered and went to al-Riḍā (peace be upon him). They entered upon him and said: ‘Are you the Imām?’
He said: ‘Yes.’
They said: ‘Do you not fear what Hārūn has threatened you with? None of your forefathers proclaimed himself as you have proclaimed yourself…’”
(Musnad al-Imām al-Riḍā, 1/166)
Observe this astonishment of the Wāqifiyya, because Imām al-Riḍā (peace be upon him)—unlike his forefathers al-Kāẓim, al-Ṣādiq, and al-Bāqir—openly declared the call and the matter of his Imamate, which caused their surprise.
Thus, from these considerations in general, the Zaydīs have held that he is among the Imāms of knowledge and the call, even though authority was not completed for him due to al-Maʾmūn’s treachery and his poisoning. Rising up is obligatory upon the caller only when supporters and helpers are available. His call was complete, and it is a condition of the Imamate alongside the fulfillment of the remaining conditions of the Imamate in him (peace be upon him), without doubt.
May God grant you happiness.
O God, send prayers and peace upon Muḥammad and upon the family of Muḥammad
Translation of Ustadh Kadhim Al Zaydi (May Allah reward him)