Rassids

The Rassids were the first Zaidi Imams of Yemen, with their capital at Sa'da, in the highlands. [Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005)]

In 893 al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi (a descendant of Imam al-Hasan), was invited from Medina to the Northern Highlands of Yemen as an arbiter between the local tribes. Later with the help of the Hamdan tribes of Hashid and Bakil, al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi founded the Zaidi Imamate of Yemen at Sa'da, in 893-7 C.E. He made Zaidi Islam the state religion. The Zaidi Imamate continued until the middle of the 20th century, until the revolution of 1962 C.E. that deposed the Zaidi Imam. [Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005)] The founding Zaidism of Yemen was of the Jarudiyya group, however with the increasing interaction with Hanafi and Shafi'i Sunni Islam, there was a shift from the Jarudiyya group to the Sulaimaniyya, Tabiriyya, Butriyya or Salihiyya groups. [Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005)]

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