Zaidi (surname)
People with the surname Zaidi trace their origins to the Arabian Peninsula and in particular to what is now present-day Saudi Arabia. Zaidi's are a part of the Arab Tribe of Banu Hashim, the tribe of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.The Zaidi surname is derived from Zaid ibn Ali, the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin, who was the great grandson of the Prophet, Muhammad. People with the surname Zaidi trace their lineage to Zaid ibn Ali. Descendants of Zaid ibn Ali who chose to move away from the Arabian Peninsula and have the surname Zaidi are commonly located in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Descendants of Zaid ibn Ali are known as Sayyid as they are descendants of Muhammad.
The surname Al-Zaidi (Az-Zaidi) can denote one or both of the following:
- Sayyid Arab descendents of Zayd bin Ali that either stayed in Kufa, Iraq or returned to Al-Hijaz.
- The use of the surname Al-Zaidi to designate one's madhhab, which is akin to the use of the surnames Al-Hanafi, Al-Maliki, Al-Shafi'i, etc.
Also note people of the Indian subcontinent with the surname Zaidi are not associated with the Zaidiyyah madhhab but are generally Ithna Ashari.
The Wasitis/Zaidis in South Asia
The Zaidis of the Indian subcontinent are known as Wasitis. Zayd ibn Ali was martyred in Kufa, Iraq; many of his descendants either returned to al-Hijaz or remained in Iraq. Some of those who stayed in Iraq settled in Wasit. Some descendants from Wasit then moved to the Indian subcontinent. Most of the Zaidis migrated after the Mongol Siege of Baghdad in 1258. Majority Zaidis are part of Twelver Shiism. Most of them are settled in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.[1]
The largest group of Zaidis is known as Saadat-e-Bara. Saadat means descendant of Muhammad and Bara means twelve in Urdu. There are many interpretations of word bara and many spellings are current: Bara, Bahera, Barha (as spelled in Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri, Akbarnama and other Moghul sources) and Bahira meaning "bright" in Arabic language. One explanation of the word is as mentioned above; another is that there are twelve villages in Muzaffarnagar District and their residents were called Sadat Barha. This explanation is mentioned by the Emperor Jahangir in his autobiography Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri or Memoirs of Jahangir. Living outside of imperial camps and not indulging in hedonism of court life is another explanation of the term, as these families avoided the wrath of the noble families of Moghul court, most popular belief about Barha epithet is that they live in twelve villages in Muzaffarnagar district.
These Sayyeds are descendants of Abul Farah Wasti who came to India from Wasit (Iraq) in the late 13th century along with his four sons who settled in four villages of Punjab, Kundli, Chhatbanur, Tihanpur and Jajner giving names to all four clans of Sadat Barha. Their numbers are highest in Karachi (Pakistan) and Muzaffarnagar (India). The Kundliwal clan mainly live in Mujhera, Hashimpur, Valipura, Saifpur, Sikrehra Khola, Tandhera, Khujhera, Khedhi Pachenda and Sarai Rasulpur. The Chhatraudi clan live in Sambalhera, Luckhmapur (Jaunpur), Peeropur (Bhadohi), Kakrauli,Miranpur, Saidpura Kalan, Morna, Senthal and Kaithora(Gothada)Gujarat. Zaidi Sayyed also migrated from Jansath to the villages of eastern part of Uttar Pradesh namely Sikanderpur,Kandipur in Ambedkar Nagar district.
Notable people with the surname Al-Zaidi
- Muntadhar al-Zaidi (born 1979), Iraqi broadcast journalist who serves as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egyptian-based Al-Baghdadia TV
Notable people with the surname Zaidi
- Art & literature
- Ali Naqi Zaidi (Safi Lakhnavi), Urdu poet
- Mustafa Zaidi, Urdu poet of Pakistan
- Ustad Sibte Jaafar Zaidi, poet, professor and head of various institutions in Pakistan
- Askari Mian Zaidi (Askari Mian Irani, Presidential Pride of Performance), Pakistani artist, professor at National College of Arts
- Architecture
- Nayyar Ali Zaidi, Pakistani architect
- Government
- Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) of India.
- Ijlal Haider Zaidi, retired member of the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP)
- Military
- Politics
- Bashir Hussain Zaidi, member of the first Lok Sabha and Vice Chancellor of AMU
- Media
- Tanveer Zaidi, Indian actor, Businessman and Educationist
- Shama Zaidi, Indian screenwriter, costume designer, art director, theatre person, art critic, and documentary filmmaker
- Zaigham Zaidi, Pakistani photographer
- Ashar Zaidi, broadcast sports journalist from Pakistan
- Zeeshan Zaidi, lead singer and guitarist for The Commuters
- Religion
- Ali Ausat Zaidi, was a renowned Urdu Soazkhawan
- Sport
- Ashar Zaidi, Pakistani first-class cricketer
- Ashish Zaidi, Indian cricketer
- Zulqarnain Zaidi, former Pakistani cricketer
- Farhan Zaidi, general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball
Notable people with the surname Wasti
- Maria Wasti, Pakistani film and television actress
- Nasir Wasti, Pakistani first class cricketer who played for Pakistan National Shipping Corporation
- Wajahatullah Wasti, Pakistani cricketer
See also
References
- ↑ Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A Short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005)