Zayd ibn Hasan al-Mujtaba

Zayd was a son of Imam Hasan ibn Ali al-Mujtaba, peace be upon him, and Umm Bashir bint Abi Mas'ud al-Ansari. Ibn Sa'd and al-Mizzi preserve this parentage, and later biographical works call him Zayd al-Akbar to distinguish him from other men of the same name. He grew up in Medina within the Hasanid branch of the Prophet's family. His exact birth year is not securely recorded, although the report that he died at about 90 places his life across much of the first Islamic century and into the early second century.

He participated in the scholarly life of Medina as a transmitter. Biographical registers state that he related from his father, Abd Allah ibn Abbas and Jabir ibn Abd Allah. Among those who transmitted from him were his son Hasan ibn Zayd, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Mawali, Abu Ma'shar Najih al-Madani and others. Ibn Hibban included him among reliable transmitters, while later Sunni biographers counted him among the distinguished members of the Prophetic household.

A major public responsibility associated with Zayd was the supervision of charitable estates known in the sources as the charitable properties of the Messenger of Allah. During the rule of Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik he was removed from this responsibility, but Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz later ordered that it be restored to him, describing him as a senior and noble representative of Banu Hashim. The episode indicates recognized standing and administrative trust, not a claim to political or religious leadership.

The sources also preserve his role within the wider Hasanid family. After Hasan al-Muthanna died, Zayd took responsibility for the upbringing and education of his brother's children, while their financial property remained under another appointed manager. Al-Mizzi's account says the children lived with Zayd until adulthood and that he supported them from his own wealth. This report gives concrete substance to the repeated descriptions of his generosity and concern for kin.

Poets praised Zayd for generosity, hospitality and bearing the financial burdens of reconciliation. Al-Mufid's Imami account similarly describes him as dignified, generous in temperament, pleasant in character and abundant in good works. The same account explicitly says that Zayd did not claim the Imamate and that no established Muslim group put forward such a claim for him. This distinction is important because he is sometimes confused with Zayd ibn Ali, whose later uprising produced a different political and doctrinal history.

An early report places Zayd's death at al-Batha, about 6 miles from Medina. His relatives carried his body to the city, where it was washed and taken to al-Baqi for burial. Genealogical transmitters reported that he was about 90 years old, while al-Dhahabi only places his death after 100 AH; therefore an exact death year should not be treated as certain. The evidence supports burial in al-Baqi as a historical cemetery attribution, but it does not identify a separately verifiable grave.