The zaydi fikr

Asalamu 3lykum,

I have two questions,

1- I read and hear from the zaydis that they have some similarities with the ashaari / maturidi schools in terms of asking what god is and where he is. However, I can’t help but wonder, how old are these questions? Did they exist at the time of zayd ibn ali (AS) and before? Or did they come afterwards? And if they came afterwards then what is the point of asking the questions that were not asked by the best of the ummah (being ahlul Alkisaa). If they didn’t ask or answer these questions, does it not signal that they were not supposed to be asked or answered?

2- In terms of Islamic history (the seera of different prophets, and the seera of our prophet and his ahlulbayt) is there a conclusive book that summarizes the key events of the human race? 

wa alaikum as-salam,

1- I read and hear from the zaydis that they have some similarities with the ashaari / maturidi schools in terms of asking what god is and where he is. However, I can’t help but wonder, how old are these questions? Did they exist at the time of zayd ibn ali (AS) and before? Or did they come afterwards? And if they came afterwards then what is the point of asking the questions that were not asked by the best of the ummah (being ahlul Alkisaa). If they didn’t ask or answer these questions, does it not signal that they were not supposed to be asked or answered?

Firstly, I do not fully understand what the Zaydis you spoke to meant when they claimed that we are similar to the Ashʿarīs or Māturīdīs.
Perhaps what they intended was that we share with them a willingness to employ ʿilm al-kalām in analyzing the subtleties of ʿaqīdah. However, in terms of actual theological positions, I would say that we Zaydis differ from the Ashʿarīs/Māturīdīs just as much as we differ from the Salafīs. Our disagreements with each group extend into several major and foundational areas of theology.

Regarding the matter of the mentioned questions: such questions were indeed posed frequently by the Aṣḥāb (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhum).
Even though not every individual question has a preserved report, the Qurʾān itself testifies to the fact that they asked the Prophet ﷺ about Allah:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ (البقرة ١٨٦)

“When My servants ask you, O Prophet, about Me, indeed, I am near. I respond to the call of the one who calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided.”

This verse clearly indicates that the Companions actively asked about Allah ʿAzza wa Jall.

If your discussion involves debate with some from Ahl al-Ḥadīth/Hashawiyyah/Salafiyyah, then you may also cite the following ḥadīth, which they themselves consider proof:

A man said: “Messenger of Allah, I have a slave-girl whom I struck.” This distressed the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He asked: “Should I not free her?” The Prophet replied: “Bring her to me.” When she was brought, he asked her: “Where is Allah?” She said: “In the heaven.” He said: “And who am I?” She replied: “You are the Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Free her, for she is a believer.”
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3282]

Although this report is not ṣaḥīḥ according to Zaydī standards, it nonetheless counts as valid evidence for Sunnis themselves, and can therefore be used to show them that such theological questions were indeed asked.

Let us not forget that questions are asked by those who do not know, in order to attain knowledge. Even if certain questions were not raised by the Companions, it is natural that later generations encounter new issues that require clarification. Islam does not teach us to avoid questioning; rather, it instructs us explicitly to seek knowledge and to refer matters to the Aimmah alayhim as-salam and the scholars:

فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ (النحل ٤٣)
“So ask the People of the Dhikr if you do not know.”

Therefore, there is no indication that such questioning is improper. The ignorant will always ask, and it is upon the Aʾimmah (ʿalayhim as-salām) and the scholars of Islam to clarify what can be explained and to guide us regarding where we must refrain. 

2- In terms of Islamic history (the seera of different prophets, and the seera of our prophet and his ahlulbayt) is there a conclusive book that summarizes the key events of the human race? 

History is the discipline in which speculation and weak reports are most prevalent, and for that reason I would never treat historical works as conclusive evidence. While we Zaydis possess our own literature in the field of history, much of it overlaps with Sunni historical writings because many of the sources are shared or similar. The main difference lies in the accounts concerning our Aʾimmah (ʿalayhim as-salām), whose histories we preserve and prioritize, whereas Sunni historians often overlook or minimize these narratives.

wa salam