There is a small sub sect of Shias in Yemen, which calls itself Zaidiyah. But what is interesting is that most of their beliefs are closer to Hanafis rather than any other Shia sub sect.
There are many Sunnis who do agree with Shias on certain points but still stay away from calling themselves Shias due to dislike of certain mainstream Shia beliefs and practices. I think following are some of those things:
INFALLIBILITY OF IMAMS: This is major reason Sunnis stay away from Shiism. But in case of Zaidiyah, while they accept Imamate, they reject the concept of infallibility. To Zaidiyah, there could be more than one imams in different places or countries. So Imamate to them is not a divine guidance.
ALI’S RIGHT TO CALIPHATE: Mainstream Shias not only proclaim Ali’s right to be the first caliph but they also renounce others who became caliphs instead. There are many Sunnis who agree with Ali’s suitability and right to be the first caliph but they also are happy with other caliphs who came instead.
The Zaidiyah position is like such Sunnis. Zaidiyah also accept that Ali should have been the first caliph but they also are fine with all other caliphs as well.
FIQH: The fiqh Zaidiyah is closer to fiqh Hanafiyah than fiqh Jafriyah.
So I think that Zaidiyah Shiism answers most reservations of those Sunnis who are disenchanted by both mainstream Shia and Sunni beliefs. It can represent such people more honestly.
And if this is the case then why is Zaidiyah Shiism not popular among Sunnis?
For those who don’t know, Zaidiyah are named after Imam Zaid bin Imam Ali Zainul Abedin. Zainul Abedin was the son of Imam Hussain, and he was present during the ordeal of Karbala.
Zaid bin Ali is credited to have written the FIRST book of fiqh in Islam. Majmu al Fiqh. This book is still present today.
Am I preaching Zaidiyah Shiism? No. I am just interested to know why he is abandoned by those Sunnis who get attracted to School of Ahlul Bayt but are turned off due to certain Shia beliefs they find hard to digest.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
I have heard of this Shiism (are they zaidis in pakistan?) for the first time. Sunnis as such are happy with the caliphs as they are. I personally believe that the aal had a more important role, and that was preaching the religion which they did. Getting bogged down in caliphates that role could have been compromised.
instead of asking sunnis who are happy with their strong connection to sunnah, why not ask the loons amongst the shia ie twelvers about their distance from zaidi school and their closeness to trinity based christianity and hinduistic evil ritiuals?
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
I have heard of this Shiism (are they zaidis in pakistan?) for the first time. Sunnis as such are happy with the caliphs as they are. I personally believe that the aal had a more important role, and that was preaching the religion which they did. Getting bogged down in caliphates that role could have been compromised.
Zaidiyah in Pakistan are Twelver or Ithna Ashari Shias. In other words, the mainstream Shias. They follow fiqh Jafariyah. They are called Zaidis because they are descendants of Imam Zaid bin Ali.
But follower of fiqh Zaidiyah are not necessarily descendants of Zaid bin Ali. They are called Zaidis because they FOLLOW Zaid bin Ali.
i know most Sunnis are happy with caliphate hierarchy as is. But still there are may who think that it would have been BETTER (not necessary) if Ali had become caliph first. This is the position of Zaidiyah too.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
instead of asking sunnis who are happy with their strong connection to sunnah, why not ask the loons amongst the shia ie twelvers about their distance from zaidi school and their closeness to trinity based christianity and hinduistic evil ritiuals?
Well, you show of hatred devoids any chance of having a discussion. A trait of nasibi and kharijis.
But obviously any Shia can be a Zaidi too. Although I think most who disavow standard Twelver beliefs become a Hanafi instead. Probably because they also do not know much about Zaidiyah either. Otherwise they might have become Zaidiyah too.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
You are just pointing to a long article without even elaborating what exactly you want to emphasize. This is equivalent to not saying anything at all.
You need to explain how thin link is related to Zaidiyah.
The purpose is not to engage in endless argument but to understand a point of view.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
You are just pointing to a long article without even elaborating what exactly you want to emphasize. This is equivalent to not saying anything at all.
You need to explain how thin link is related to Zaidiyah.
The purpose is not to engage in endless argument but to understand a point of view.
Noorbakshis are shias but have similarity in some aqaidh with sunnis. It is clear from the title (sufiya imamia) why i shared this.If you could just scroll down the article is not long.
You did not answered my query in the earlier post.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
I don't know what is to answer about your query. It is pretty self explanatory to me. My question was pointed towards those Sunnis who agree to certain shia positions but disagree with things I mentioned in the first post.
On your insistence I did indulge in going through the material you gave about noorbakhshia, even though you still don't say what you are pointing at. It looks like they were Sunnis who accepted infallibility of imams. Well, if that is the case then no Sunni would want to be noorbakhshi.
So why talk about them here?
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
I don't know what is to answer about your query. It is pretty self explanatory to me. My question was pointed towards those Sunnis who agree to certain shia positions but disagree with things I mentioned in the first post.
On your insistence I did indulge in going through the material you gave about noorbakhshia, even though you still don't say what you are pointing at. It looks like they were Sunnis who accepted infallibility of imams. Well, if that is the case then no Sunni would want to be noorbakhshi.
So why talk about them here?
i will wait to see how your thread proceeds, then ishallah i will make my point more clear.
Re: Some Sunnis closer to be Zaid Shia than Hanafi Sunni?
Well I don't personally know any Sunni who thinks that it would have been better to have Ali (RA) as the first khalifa so I can't answer your question.
