People with the surname Zaidi trace their origins to the Islamic Holy City ofMecca, located in present-day Saudi Arabia. Descendants of Zaid ibn Ali are known as Sayyid and Sayyida, an honorific title bestowed upon to the descendants of Muhammad. The Zaidi surname is derived from Zaid ibn Ali, the son of Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin, who was the great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. 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,India and Pakistan. The surname Al-Zaidi can denote one or both of the following:
Sayyid Arab descendants of Zayd bin Ali that either stayed in Kufa, Iraq or returned to Al-Hijaz.
The use of the surname Al-Zaidi to designate association may be with the Zaidiyyahmadhhab, whose adherents are found in Yemen. This is akin to the use of the surnames Al-Hanafi, Al-Maliki, Al-Shafi'i, etc.
The Wasitis/Zaidis in South Asia
The Zaidis of the Indian subcontinent use the proper noun "Wasiti" as a form of self-identification. Zayd ibn Ali is believed to have succumbed to injuries he sustain during a battle 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. Most of them are settled in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. The largest group among those identifying themselves as Zaidi is 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 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. These Sayyeds are descendants of Sayyid Abu'l Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti who came to India from Wasit in the 11th century along with his four sons who settled in four villages of Punjab, Kundliwaal, Chhatbanur, Tihanpur and Jajner giving names to all four clans of Sadat Barha. Their numbers are highest in Karachi and Muzaffarnagar. 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,Tissa,Yousufpur, Luckhmapur, Peeropur, Kakrauli, Miranpur, Kawal Saidpura Kalan, Morna,Jauli, Senthal,Sirdhani and Kaithora & Village Gothada, Thasra & Pali in the State of Gujarat. Zaidi Sayyed also migrated from Jansath to villages located in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, namely Sikanderpur, Kandipur in Ambedkar Nagar district.
