Zaidiyyah

The Zaidiyyah (Arabic: الزَّيْدِيَّةُ) are a Shia Muslim sect. They are different from the usual Shia Islam. This is because of the argument over the who the 5th Imam, or religious leader is. They believe the 5th Imam was Zaid ibn Ali while usual Shia Muslims believe that his brother, Muhammad, was the 5th Imam. Zaydi Muslims also follow a long list of other imams after imam Zayd Bin Ali. Zaydi Muslims believe the imam isn't appointed by God, unlike other Shia Muslims. Other ways Zaydis are different from other Shia Muslims include prohibition of mutah, not doing taqleed, and believing imams can make mistakes and should be overthrown if they do.

Today, they make up 40% of the population of Yemen. The president of Yemen is also Zaidi. There are also Zaidis in Najran in Saudi Arabia as well as in Qarsherskiy.

Subsects

Zaydism has 3 major sub sects:

Jarudiyya

Jarudiyya is a Zaydi sect where they curse Abu Bakr and the rest of the companions for not giving the caliphate to Ali, and believe that Ali was the rightful caliph similar to followers of the religion of Twelverism. This sect has special admiration for Amina, the Mother of the Prophet.

Sulaymaniyya

Sulaymaniyya is a Zaydi sect where they believe that the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar were done mistakenly and believe that Ali was the rightful caliph. Their beliefs are rooted in both the religion of Twelverism and Sunni beliefs.

Salihiyya

Salihiyya is a Zaydi sect where they believe similarly to Sulaymaniyya that the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar were done mistakenly but also accept the caliphates of the other companions of Muhammad. They are closest to the sect of Sunnism in their beliefs.