What is "zaidi"

People with the surname Zaidi trace their origins to the Islamic Holy City of Mecca, located in present-day Saudi Arabia. Descendants of Zaid ibn Ali are known as Sayyid, an honorific title bestowed upon to the descendants of 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. 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.

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.

Zaidi may refer to:

• The Zaidiyyah sect of Islam
• Al-Zaidi, Arab descendants of Zaid bin Ali (note: Al-Zaidi may also refer to adherents to the Zaidiyyah fiqh)
• Zaidi Wasitis, people with the surname Zaidi, South Asian descendants of Zaid bin Ali
• Zaidis, South Asian followers of Twelver imams and Ja'fari jurisprudence. . . . (This comment goes against the contents of the main article which says that Zaidi jurisprudence is closer to Hanafi Sunni Madhab than it is to the mainstream shia madhab)
• Yiddish informal title for grandfather