Abu Zubaydah's Real Name: Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn

Quick answer: He is widely known as Abu Zubaydah. A United Nations Security Council sanctions-committee press release dated 26 December 2017, announcing the removal of an entry from the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, gives the listed name as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Hussein, the date of birth 12 March 1971, and the place of birth Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and includes Abu Zubaydah among its aliases. An OHCHR press release dated 8 January 2025 independently identifies him as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, known as Abu Zubaydah, and says he remains detained at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility without charge. The official records use two spellings of the longer name, Hussein and Husayn.

Real name and early life

The 2017 Security Council press release prints the removed entry as QDi.010, with the name Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Hussein, date of birth 12 March 1971, place of birth Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and nationality listed as Palestino. It also lists good-quality aliases including Zayn Al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn and low-quality aliases including Abu Zubaydah and Abu Zubaida. The 2025 OHCHR release independently uses Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, known as Abu Zubaydah, and does not give a birth date or birthplace. Those birth facts are taken from the official 2017 listing text and are not repeated in the OHCHR release.

Career highlights

The same 2017 press release states that the Committee, on 26 December 2017, removed that entry from the sanctions list after considering a de-listing request submitted through the Office of the Ombudsperson, and that the assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo set out in the resolution cited there no longer applied to that entry. The printed entry also said he had been listed on 25 January 2001 and, in its "other information" field, that he was in United States custody as of July 2007. That is the official wording of the removed listing, not a criminal conviction. The 2025 OHCHR release independently says he remains detained at Guantánamo Bay without charge, and that no charge has ever been formally pressed against him.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Abu Zubaydah, Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, or Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Hussein are looking for the same person. The 2017 United Nations listing uses Hussein as the primary spelling and Husayn as an alias; the 2025 OHCHR release uses Husayn.