Abidi, Abedi or Al-Abedi ( ar, عابدي) is the

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

for a family noble belonging to the offspring of Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

's great-grandson Imam Zain-ul-Abideen or Imam Abid whose real name was

Ali ibn Husayn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ( ar, علي بن الحسين زين العابدين), also known as al-Sajjād (, ) or simply as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (), , was an Imam in Shiʻi Islam after his father Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle Hasan ...

. They are a subset of the Banu Hashem Tribe and belong to the

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamm ...

community. Abidis (or people belonging to this noble family) can be found all over the world especially in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Pakistan, India and Iraq. The family's origins are mostly from Iraq however due to service to the Islamic mission and often persecution of the Prophets family over the centuries the family has migrated to several locations. For generations the Abidi family has been essential to the spread of Islam in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Notable people with the surname include: *

Agha Hasan Abedi Agha Hasan Abedi ( ur, ), (14 May 1922 – 5 August 1995) was a Pakistani banker and convicted felon who founded Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) and saw its collapse after one of the biggest banking fraud scandals in history ...

(1922–1995), Pakistani banker and founder of BCCI * Amir Abedi (1924–1964), Mayor of Dar es Salaam * Asad Abidi (born 1956), Pakistani electrical engineer * Azhar Abidi (born 1968), Pakistani Australian author and translator *

Colet Abedi Colet Abedi is an Iranian American writer and producer. Biography Colet Abedi was born in Virginia and grew up in Orange County, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of California, Irvine and curre ...

, Iranian-American writer and producer * Intezar Abidi, alias Bobby, Indian politician and former * Hasan Abidi (1929–2005), Pakistani journalist, writer and Urdu language poet *

Javed Abidi Javed Abidi (11 June 1965 – 4 March 2018) was an Indian activist who served as the director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in India, and the founder of the Disability Rights Group. He receive ...

, disability rights activist * Nain Abidi (born 1985), international cricketer from Pakistan * Omar Abidi drummer for the English band Fightstar *

Raza Ali Abidi Raza Ali Abidi ( ur, رضا علی عابدی; born 30 November 1935) is a Pakistani journalist and broadcaster who is best known for his radio documentaries on the Grand Trunk Road in Pakistan (called Sher Shah Suri Marg in India) and his tr ...

(born 1936), Pakistani journalist and radio broadcaster * Razi Abedi, Pakistani writer *

Faisal Raza Abidi Faisal Raza Abidi ( ur, فیصل رضاعابدی ) is a Pakistani political figure and a former senator representing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for Sindh Province, from March 2009 to January 2013. He also served as the party president ...

(born 1971), former senator representing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for Sindh Province. *

Syed Ali Raza Abidi Syed Ali Raza Abidi (; 6 July 1972 – 25 December 2018) was a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018. Early life He was born on 6 July 1972 in Karachi, Pakistan to Syed Ikhlaq ...

Pakistani politician of MQM Party and also MPA of National Assembly *

Bani Abidi Bani Abidi (born 1971) is a Pakistani artist working with video, photography and drawing. She studied visual arts at the National College of Arts in Lahore and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2011, she was invited for the DAA ...

(born 1971), Pakistani visual artist

See also