[Slonopotam845]

suleimanibnsalim;679859]If we're honest, sidi Rifai, wouldn't you agree that Zaydi fiqh has less to do with Imam Zayd than it has to do with Imam al-Hadi? The only link to Imam Zayd, perhaps, is his Musnad. The Hadawi Fiqh is without a doubt based on the Ijtihad of Imam al-Hadi and his grandfather Imam Qasim al-Rassi. Ijtihad has always been encouraged, and this is something that the Ahl al-Bayt and Muhaddithin had in common historically. You will be hard pressed to find ´ulama of the Ahl al-Bayt before the 4th century who followed any of the Four Madhhabs, nor will you find them blindly following the opinion of Imam Zayd or others. Their opinions often go against Musnad Zayd, which to some may be an indication that they did not rely on it, and that it therefore isn't authentic.

What is your opinion with regards to the authenticity of the Musnad al-Imam Zayd? Many have done Jarh on 'Amr b. Khalid al-Waisiti, the one who narrates all the ahadith in it. Of course, the Zaydis say that this was due to Nasibi-bias etc He has been criticized, but so has many of the principles of the Hanafi school, and even Imam Abu Hanifa himself. The same goes for Imam al-Shafi'i. I cannot vouch for Abu Khalid in terms of the Sunni muhaddithin of the Salaf's judgement, but I struggle to vouch for Imam Abu Hanifa using the same standards. Yet, I believe that Imam Abu Hanifa was an upright Imam of the Sunnah, radiya'Llahu ´anh. History tells us that it was accepted by scholars of Ahl al-Bayt, which must surely count for something. If I am not mistaken there is a copy of the Musnad with a foreword by Imam al-Kawthari, which includes a defense of its authenticity.

Other than the Musnad of al-Imam Zayd, the Zaydis relied heavily on the Amali of Ahmad bin Isa.
I believe you have studied in Tarim? Have you read "Fiqh al-Aal"?

The Zaydis are famous with the statement "li kulli mujtahidin nasib", hence Imam al-Hadi most likely made his own ijtihadaat. There is no doubt that he made his own ijtihad many times.

How do they determine ijma' of Ahl al-Bayt? Many Ahl al-Bayt differed with each other on many issues, so how do you establish that they all agree on a certain issue? What are some of these masaa'il? How is ijma' generally determined? This is a problem amongst all groups, including Ahl al-Sunnah. I have found some of the Zaydis quote ijma' of Ahl al-Bayt, while their own books attesting to Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq differing with them. Such an ijma' of Ahl al-Bayt becomes a problematic one to me, if you can exclude such major Imams and still claim a consensus. However, this is not to discredit their efforts as a whole.

Some of the masa'il where ijma' is claimed is the audible Basmala (also mentioned and attested to by al-Bayhaqi) and the abrogation of mas'h 'ala khuffayn. These are not only the opinions of the Hadawis, but of other Zaydi groups, the Ithna 'Ashariyyah, and what is found in the Musnad.

There is not, and never was, a uniform madhhab of the Ahl al-Bayt, rather this is a Twelver concept, developing from seeing the 4 Madhhabs reaching such uniformity. Rather, Imams of the Household would differ on minor things, as did other Mujtahid Imams.

wa'Llahu a'lam
wassalam