Zaydī Theology in Yemen

This chapter reviews Zaydī theology in Yemen, from the period before and after the unification of the Yemeni and the Caspian imamates to theologians from the ninth/fifteenth century. It traces the foundation of the Zaydī imamate in the northern highlands of Yemen by Imam al-Hādī ilā l-Ḥaqq, and how the Yemeni Zaydīs developed a canon of doctrinal writings of the Imams which remained authoritative over the coming centuries. It considers the role played by Jaʿfar b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Salām al-Buhlūlī in the intellectual development of Yemen’s theological landscape, as well as the legacy of al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ with respect to Bahshamite theology in the country. It also examines the continuity of Bahshamite theology from the seventh/thirteenth century and concludes with a discussion of the emergence of growing opposition among the Zaydīs of Yemen against Muʿtazilism in general and the theological views of the Bahshamiyya in particular.When preparing this chapter, Jan Thiele received funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation’s M4HUMAN programme.Peer reviewe