The surname Al-Zaidi (Az-Zaidi) can denote one or both of the following:
The descendants of Zayd ibn Ali (the grandson of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), who either stayed in Kufa, Iraq or returned to Hijaz (present-day Saudi Arabia. In the non-Arab Muslim majority countries, they often use the title Sayyid in their names. The use of the surname Al-Zaidi to designate association may be with the Zaidiyyah madhhab, whose adherents are found in Yemen. This is akin to the use of the surnames Al-Hanafi, Al-Maliki, Al-Shafi'i, etc. People with the surname Zaidi trace their origins to the Islamic Holy City of Mecca, located in present-day Saudi Arabia. Zaid ibn Ali was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin who was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad thus the descendants of Zaid ibn Ali are known as Sayyid- an honorific title bestowed upon to the descendants of Muhammad. In Present times, the Descendants of Zaid ibn Ali can be found in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. The ones in India and Pakistan carry the surname Zaidi along with Wasti (denoting Zayd ibn Ali's descendants from Wasit) with Sadaat-e-Bara and Sadaat-e-Bilgram as prominent communities, they are followers of Twelver Shi'ism not Zaydism which is largely restricted to Yemen.
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 (as spelled in Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri, Akbarnama and other Moghul sources) 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.
Aurangzeb wrote about the Syeds of Barha:"You should be extremely cautious in dealing with the Syeds of Barha...because a strong partner in government would soon seize the kingship for himself."
The Barha Sayyids in Muzaffarnagar rose as the de facto rulers of the Mughal empire, under their leaders Qutb-ul-Mulk and Ihtimam-ul-Mulk who deposed the Emperors Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi ud-Darajat and Shah Jahan II.
These Sayyeds are descendants of Sayyid Abu'l Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti who came to India from Wasit (Iraq) 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 (Pakistan) and Muzaffarnagar (India). The Kundliwal clan mainly live in Mujhera, Hashimpur, and Sikrehra Khola. The Chhatraudi clan mainly live in Sambalhera. Many of them migrated to Pakistan during the partition of India.
Notable people with the surname Al-Zaidi
Muntadhar al-Zaidi (born 1979), Iraqi broadcast journalist who serves as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egyptian-based Al-Baghdadia TV
Notable people with the surname Zaidi
Art and literature
Ali Jawad Zaidi, Urdu poet and writer of India
Ali Naqi Zaidi (Safi Lakhnavi), Urdu poet of India
Annie Zaidi, India English-language writer
Askari Mian Zaidi (Askari Mian Irani), Pakistani artist, professor at National College of Arts Mohsin Zaidi, Indian Urdu poet Mustafa Zaidi, Urdu poet of Pakistan Nusrat Zaidi, Pakistani Urdu poet Sajida Zaidi, Indian educationist, Urdu writer and poet Ustad Sibte Jaafar Zaidi, poet, professor and head of various institutions in Pakistan Zahida Zaidi, Indian writer and critic
Architecture
Nayyar Ali Zaidi, Pakistani architect
Government
Ijlal Haider Zaidi, Pakistani civil servant
Ali Haider Zaidi, Pakistani Politician,Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs
Bashir Hussain Zaidi, member of the first Lok Sabha and Vice Chancellor of AMU
Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner of India
Sibte Hasan Zaidi, Indian toxicologist, head of the Industrial Toxicology Research Center Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner of India