The Batriyya were instrumental in shaping the early Zaydī movement alongside Jārūdiyya, which embraced the activist agenda of other Shīʿī groups.
Any descendant of al-Ḥasan or al-Ḥusayn who took up arms and called people to the path of God, demonstrating knowledge, justice and virtue, was recognized as the imām.
This decision was based on considerations of expediency, religious factors, and the fact that the people’s hearts were not yet ready to fully accept ʿAlī’s leadership at that time.
[6] The Batrīs refrained from passing judgment on ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān: "When we hear traditions in ʿUthmān's favour and hear that he is one of the ten to whom Paradise is promised, we admit that we must acknowledge the soundness of his islām and his faith, and that he is one of those who will go to Paradise; but when we look at his deeds, such as his negligence in failing to discipline the Umayyads and the Banū Marwān, or his autocratic behaviour contrary to the ways of the Companions, we feel obliged to say, we must declare him an unbeliever.
The Batriyya permitted ʿAlids to study under various non-ʿAlid scholars, including those who emphasized the exclusive legal authority of teachings from the Prophet’s Companions.
[9] The Batrīs maintained ritual practices in line with Kūfan traditionalism, such as "substitute shoe-rubbing" (masḥ ʿalā’l-khuffayn) and the consumption of eel and date wine.
[10] The Batrīyya were critical of several beliefs held by the majority of the Kufan Shīʿis:[11] The terms "Batrī" or "Jārūdī" refer to theological orientations rather than distinct, identifiable groups.
Many leading scholars including Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 767), eponym of Sunnī Ḥanafī school of law, supported Zayd ibn ʿAlī in 740.
In fact, Kūfan Zaydīs' substitute shoe-rubbing and drinking of date wine led to Yaḥyā's refusal to lead them in group prayers.
[26] Yaḥyā's influence grew even more once he received a caliphal pardon along with a large sum of money that allowed him to move freely, support ʿAlids, and rebuilt Zaydī networks.
[27] After years of being relentlessly pursued by the ʿAbbāsids,[28] the Kūfan traditionalism was absorbed into Sunnism by the 9th century, and the views of the Jārūdīyya came to dominate Zaydī thought.
Their moderate positions on succession, legal authority, and communal knowledge reflect an important phase in the evolution of Islamic sectarianism.