Abd al-Rahman bin Zayn Mawla Aidid was a Ba Alawi scholar and devotional figure of Tarim. Al-Mashra al-Rawi records that he was born in Tarim in 907 AH, memorised the Quran and grew into a life centred on knowledge, worship and companionship with senior scholars and spiritual figures of his time.
Among those whose company he kept were Abdullah bin Shaykh bin Abdullah al-Aydarus and Umar bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Bashayban. The biography says that he paid particular attention to works of tasawwuf, especially Ihya Ulum al-Din. It also remembers his constancy in the Friday prayer and congregational prayers, Quran recitation, night worship and a life of wara and zuhd.
Tarikh al-Shihr wa Akhbar al-Qarn al-Ashir independently records the same Abd al-Rahman in the events of 950 AH, giving his lineage through Zayn and Abd al-Rahman to Muhammad bin Ali Mawla Aidid. It records that he died in Tarim in Dhu al-Qadah and remembers him among the righteous figures of the Ba Alawi family. It also notes that traditional accounts of karamat were related about him, preserving that devotional remembrance as part of his received biography.
Al-Mashra al-Rawi gives his death as 950 AH and says that he was buried at Zanbal Cemetery in Tarim.
Lineage and source note
Primary source: Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, full mapped biography section. The section records his birth in 907 AH, Tarim upbringing, Quran memorisation, named scholarly and spiritual associations, devotional practice, death in 950 AH and burial at Zanbal. Tarikh al-Shihr wa Akhbar al-Qarn al-Ashir, under the events of 950 AH and citing Al-Nur al-Safir, independently preserves the same Mawla Aidid lineage and records his death in Tarim in Dhu al-Qadah. Its notice also preserves the tradition that karamat were associated with him.
Scholarly connections
Al-Mashra al-Rawi names Abdullah bin Shaykh bin Abdullah al-Aydarus and Umar bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Bashayban among the senior figures whose company Abd al-Rahman kept.