Imam Zayd ibn ʿAlī: Did he believe in the Mahdi according to the Imami doctrine?
The Imami said:
Imam Zayd the Martyr (peace be upon him) — something well known to everyone — when people asked him about the Mahdi (peace be upon him), he did not say that he was a myth, nor that he was a legend, nor that he was an American fabrication (for how could America have existed in his time?). Nor did he say that the Mahdi is the Qur’an; rather, he said that the Mahdi is the interpreter of the Qur’an. Had the Mahdi been a myth, a legend, an American fabrication, or even the Qur’an itself (assuming such a hypothesis), he would have said so. But his answer was the answer of a scholar well-versed in the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt, when he said: “Rather, he is real (bal huwa kāʾin)”, meaning that there truly will be a Mahdi who will rise, crush the thrones of tyrants and oppressors, fill the hearts of criminals and arrogant ones with fear by God’s will, remove all their kingdoms, and fill the earth with justice and equity as it had been filled with oppression and injustice. By this, it is established that the Mahdi is true, cutting off the path before anyone who tries to deny this matter.
Discussion and commentary on the Imami’s statement:
It is good that the Imami says that Imam Zayd ibn ʿAlī’s answer in this context was “the answer of a scholar well-versed in the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt,” because the answer of such a scholar regarding the Mahdi is: “He will be from whomever God wills, from the descendants of al-Ḥasan or from the descendants of al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon them).”
This refutes the Imami doctrine and proves that Zayd (peace be upon him) affirmed the existence of the Mahdi, yes, but not according to the belief that he is the twelfth descendant of al-Ḥusayn. Rather, he held that he would be born at the end of time from whomever God wills, from the descendants of al-Ḥasan or the descendants of al-Ḥusayn.
Far be it from Imam Zayd, peace be upon him, to have lied in what he said, for the matter of Imam al-Mahdi is clear and universally accepted. It was stated by the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), by Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him), and by his infallible sons (peace be upon them).
Imam Zayd (peace be upon him) is the son of an infallible Imam from the purified Ahl al-Bayt.
And I say decisively: it is among the seven impossibilities that the infallible Imam did not inform his son Zayd (peace be upon him) of this matter.
And the people of the house know best what is in the house.
He also indicated, peace be upon him, that the Mahdi is from the descendants of Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (peace be upon her), not from here or there. By this he blocked the way for anyone who might be tempted to claim that he is the Mahdi — and how many such claimants there are these days.
The truth is that the statement of the great Imam Zayd ibn ʿAlī (peace be upon him), that the Mahdi will be from whomever God wills, from the descendants of al-Ḥasan or al-Ḥusayn, is evidence that his father Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (peace be upon him) did not inform his son Zayd that the Mahdi would be from the descendants of al-Ḥusayn, nor that he would be from the line of al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī. Therefore, it is not valid to say “among the seven impossibilities” while you are reading and inferring from the very text itself. Yes! According to us, Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (peace be upon him) indeed did not say that the Mahdi is the twelfth, nor did he speak of twelve Imams. Rather, the Imamis fabricated this claim against him.
Yes, and I will now cite for you an authentic narration from your own books — strengthened by al-Khūʾī, authenticated by al-Majlisī and al-Bahbūdī, and narrated by the trustworthy of the Imamis, al-Kulaynī — stating that Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (peace be upon him) did not teach his son Zayd the Imamate of himself (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn), nor the Imamate of his brother (al-Bāqir), nor the Imamate of his nephew (al-Ṣādiq). Rather, this was known only by Muʾmin al-Ṭāq and the early Imamis.
Far be it from the status of Imam Zayd ibn ʿAlī that he would be ignorant of the religion while people like Muʾmin al-Ṭāq would know it. Rather, Zayd spoke the truth, and the fabricator lied. Al-Kulaynī narrates with his chain of transmission:
“From Abān, who said: al-Aḥwal — that is Muʾmin al-Ṭāq — informed me that Zayd ibn ʿAlī sent for him while he was in hiding. I came to him and he said to me: ‘O Abū Jaʿfar! What do you say if one of us were to come knocking at your door — would you go out with him?’
I said: ‘If it were your father or your brother, I would go out with him.’
He said: ‘I want to go out and fight these people; so go out with me.’
I said: ‘No, I will not do that — may I be ransomed for you.’
He said: ‘Do you value your own life over mine?’
I said: ‘I have only one life. If God has a proof (ḥujjah) on the earth, then the one who stays back from you is saved, and the one who goes out with you is doomed. And if God has no proof on the earth, then the one who stays back from you and the one who goes out with you are equal.’
He said to me: ‘O Abū Jaʿfar! I used to sit with my father at the table; he would put the best morsel in my mouth and cool hot food for me out of compassion — yet he did not have compassion for me regarding the fire of Hell, such that he informed you about the religion but did not inform me?’
I said: ‘May I be ransomed for you. Out of compassion for you from the fire of Hell, he did not inform you, fearing that you would not accept it and thus enter the Fire. He informed me; if I accepted it I would be saved, and if I did not accept it, he would not care if I entered the Fire.’
Then I said to him: ‘May I be ransomed for you, are you better or are the prophets?’
He said: ‘The prophets.’
I said: ‘Jacob said to Joseph: “O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers lest they plot against you” [Qur’an 12:5]. He did not inform them until they were no longer able to plot against him, but he concealed it from them. Likewise your father concealed it from you because he feared for you.’
He said: ‘By God, if you say that, then your companion in Medina has informed me that I will be killed and crucified in al-Kunāsah, and that he has a document in which my killing and crucifixion are recorded.’
I then went on pilgrimage and informed Abū ʿAbd Allāh of what Zayd had said and of what I had said to him. He said to me: “You seized him from in front of him, behind him, from his right and from his left, from above his head and from beneath his feet, leaving him no path at all.”’
(Uṣūl al-Kāfī 1/174)
Reflect on how Imam Zayd ibn ʿAlī (peace be upon him) was responding to the Imami methodology.
Conclusion
Imam al-Mahdi is established in the Muhammadan Sharīʿah. He will be born at the end of time, and he will be from whomever God wills, from the descendants of al-Ḥasan or from the descendants of al-Ḥusayn. This is the doctrine of the Zaydi Imams: Zayd ibn ʿAlī, al-Nāṣir al-Aṭrūsh, and others.
Translation of Ustadh Kadhim Al Zaydi (May Allah reward him)