Ibadism in History
VolumeI:
The Emergence of
the Ibadi School
3By
‘Ali Yahya Mu‘ammar
Ibadism in History
Volume I:
The Emergence of
 the Ibadi School
By
 ‘Ali Yahya Mu‘ammar
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 Ibadism in History
Volume 1: The Emergence of the Ibadi School
First Edition 2007
Copyright © Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs,
P.O. Box: 3232, Postal Code: 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part
thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Ministry of
Awgaf and Religious Affairs.
Contents
ACKnNOWlEAZEMEMNUS ..........csesssesececceccsceceeeccessesssssssssscccoesceseesessesessssssccceseessenees 6
INCOCUCTHION...........ccsssssscccecesesesscccccceeeeeecnnsecnceeeessesssssseneceeseesnsesececeeeeeesassessees 7
THIS DOOK............cccccscsssssscecssssssssceesssssseseeecsnsscceesesesssscecesessssceeeseesesoseseceessessseees 9
The return to the way Of Islam...........cccsssssssssssnsseceeserseeceseesssssssssssecenenesees 11
Why I wrote this Work .0...... cc ccccssesssceseesesecsseseessessnsesseeseeeesessseseceessesseseeeeeeeess 14
The meaning of the term Khawarij............cccccscscssscsssssssscoceeesssssssscncceeeeeees 15
The Khawarlj according to [badis .............cccssssscccessesssccnrscececesssssscsccecesseeoees 27
AZTEEMENL IN OPINION ..........ccseseeseseerceeceeeecsecessessssssseesccccesceeesecsessssssessessseees 29
The criteria for right and wrong with regard to Muslim sects ..............006 31
The ummah divided ..........cccccscsscsssssssssssssssssssscsssssessscsssssssssscssssssssssssasssesessees 32
The saved and the damned Of the S€CUS..........cccccssseessescssssesssscseesceceeeeeseeeeee 33
The formation of Muslim schools of thought .......... cceeecssesceeeeeeceeesseseeees 36
Schools of thought in religion and in philosophy...............ssscsscsesececeeesssees 40
When did the Muslim schools of thought first appear?..............eeeeseeeseeeee 41
The formation of the [bad SCHOO ................csscsccscssccscscssccsccccscceccescesescescece 43
The issue of the Caliphate................sscccccscssssssssscsscesseeessssssssssessseeserevsccesssseens 46
The Ibadi stance On public debate .............esssccscceecceeerssssccsesscseceecsecsscsssenes 48
T]t NG ......ccccccccccccsssssssscssccccssscsccccsesscescacecsssssnsesscecsesesesseesscsssssssssssesuceessssseeenaes 52
Islam is belief, Words and CeEeES..............ccccccccccscccsccccccccccccccccccccsccccscscccescsces 55
Waldyah, bard’ ah and WuQiif........ccccccccsssssscsccccscereccccsccccceeccscsscccescsssceneesesceceess 59
Unbelief in the bounty Of God... ecccsecceccecercccceeecenessccseeeeescvesseeeenes 64
The wayS Of religion.............ssssccccccssssssscsccccsseeessssssscsesscresssescssessseeenssssseseseeaee 66
The SAzzdbah institution. ..............ssccccssssccccssssceccsssscescscscccscscesceseecsessesecsseseeess 69
Meaning of the term Gl-‘a2zzdbGh .......cccssssssssseneccnneneccceceeceecessesesssesseeees 69
The derivation of the term adl-‘azz@dGh ........csssesceccccenrnevsceceeeeeesssceeeenens 69
The meaning of the term Ralaqah .......ccccssessssensnnnnnceecccccceceeeeessesensssenens 69
The headquarters of the ‘Azz@ba.........cssccssssseessrecesnrecsssnscessnessseneees 70
The number of members in a halaqah ..........sssssssesssssssssesscccceceeceeeeseeees 70
The conditions for membership..............ccsssesssssssscccesesessessscceeeeeeees 71
The duties of the Aalaqah...........sssssssssssseccscsesssnnnnceeccceseesssssansnccccossoeeees 72
Where is halagat al—‘azzdbah established? ..........scssseecesseecsssseceeesesees 73
Choosing the members of the Ralaqah.......sssssssessseessssessseesssecesenseees 74
The punishment of a member Of the ‘Azzd)dh........sssssssssscesrereosessees 75
How did the ‘Azzdbah system COME ADOUL?.........ccccccssessesseneereeeeenenseeeees 76
The power of the ‘Azzdbqh .......ccscscsssrseseccesnsccsseecsssscessssssnssessnenecesseeeenns 76
The Irwdin organization ..........cccsescssssessessssesscessesssseacsacscssessecsncseceseteeseoees 77
Preserving Of Women’s NOMOUL ...........sccsssesesccesssesecesessscsssececeesesssssessscseaeaes 78
Inner meanings of the alms-tax (ZaRGI) ...........csssceceeenccssssssscessecnsseseeceeeneees 80
Partisan SOLAN ICY..........cccsessssescsssccssescsccssssersscsssssscsscsssssessesesssenccessscesceseeeeeens 83
The Ibadi adherence to religion. ..............sssssssssssssssssssssscsssssssccnscsesceseeeeeenees 86
Ibadis as leaders Of the wWmImal.............cccsscccscccvsccesccsccncccesccesccsscescsccsccescneces 9]
A. Drief WOrd...........ssccccccsscsssssscsssssccsescesssscsssssssscsscnnscsnsceseeescssecccescosseeeneescceses 96
Jabir b. Zayd 2.0... csssccsccsssscceecccssscsssscceeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssscsssssssssseees 97
Abt “Ubaydah Muslim .............csccccccssscssccsssssscscssssscesccceccsssssscscssscssssessceesees 103
A NECESSATY WOF ........ssccccsccssssssecsccssssscssscsesesscescsscccececceesccssscsssssssscseesseseeeoee 108
 Epilogue ..........sssssccccccesssscsscsssccccccceersesseccccceseceescccssesesesscssssssesceseceeccssssessseees 109
 G]OSSALY........cccccsscscssssscesscescscsssssscceeecceccsccesesenseeseserecssenesssccseceoeeesseeseceeessceesos 11]
 Index Of MAMES.............ccssssssscssceccecsceessccsscecsssesceeeccscsceeccssssscseeeseccceccssscesseees 113
InthenameofGod,theMerciful,theCompassionate
The final outcome is in favour of the God-fearing, and hostility is only towards
wrong-doers. O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and make Muhammad
and his family fortunate, just as You blessed, were compassionate towards, and
made fortunate, among all creation, Abraham and his family. You are All-
praiseworthy and Magnificent.
Acknowledgements
I thank Allah for the opportunity and ability to oversee and edit this book.
I pray that He accepts this work from me and forgives me for any mistakes
that may have occurred herein.
There are several people I would like to thank for their part in this work.
First and foremost, I would like to express my thanks to the translators, Dr
Jamil Qureshi and Dr Feras Hamza for their excellent translation of the
 original book into English, rendering important information about
 Ibadism accessible to those whose mother-tongue is not Arabic. I must
 also express my appreciation to Dr Muhammad Akram al-Nadawi for his
valuable comments and great assistance in solving some scholarly issues
 through the translation.
 I would like to thank sister Maryam for proofreading and reviewing the
 manuscript. Saada Al-Ghafry, Um Yaqoob and Michael S. Bos have also
 been helpful, offering their valuable opinions and comments. Of course,
 the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs deserves a special mention for
 undertaking and funding such a project.
 If readers notice any errors or have any comments on this work, please feel
 free to noufy me through the publisher.
Kahlan Al- Kharusi
Editor
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
5" Jumada I 1428
90" June 2007
Introduction
My aim in presenting these brief reflections is to elucidate Ibadism for the
educated general readership among the uwmmah., The information has not
been hard to gather, nor required long, extensive investigative inquiry and
research. It is readily available to any well-intentioned seeker after truth
with a sincere resolve to study the sources of the Shari‘ah of the Ibadis, to
examine the books of s?rah and the historical compilations that provide
information about the Ibadis, whether written by those who agree with
them or those who oppose them.
The Ibadi school is not a secretive one, nor one whose founding
principles depend on elusive or unknown matters, nor are its members
from among those who conceal their identity or go into hiding. In this life,
the Ibadis give no weight to anything but God, and they await no
recompense for their deeds except from God, following only the truth in
their behaviour.
It is a school of thought that has filled the world with truth, justice
and uprightness, setting the best example for probity and integrity
through several periods in history; it will do so once again when God
permits it. In saying that, I do not mean the sort of fantastical notions that
the Shi‘a hold about the imamate, nor the idea of an awaited Mahdi. What
I mean is that the Ibadi school derives its strength from Islam, which the
Creator has chosenas a universal religion for mankind,as it was brought
by Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and through
which no extremism or excess turns any away from the straight path of
God. No superstition has been spread in it, as in certain schools by shaykhs
who seek, through religion, the things of this world. It has not become
stagnant through jurisprudents controlling minds and mental faculties so
far as to prohibit ijtihdd, confining it to an epoch or to a group to whom
only they themselves have access. That approach obstructs all aspects of
knowledge and understanding; it denies the nght to research and inquire
freely, thereby preventing the judgments that are needed. The excuse is
that the gates of ijtihdd have been closed, and the keys to these gates are
kept by these jurisprudents hidden in a place unknown, one that
researchers cannot find.
As I have said, the Ibadi school of thought derives its strength from
 Islam itself, since it preserves the pure source from whichthe latter
 springs. Only when Muslims recover their senses and return to the religion
 of their Lord — the religion untainted by Jid‘ah (heretical innovation)
 and superstitions, extremism and stagnation, and by the sort of falsehoods
 which, through man’s ignorance, have become associated with God’s
 upright religion — only then will Muslims find themselves on the path of
true Islam. It is this path that spread mercy, justice, uprightness, integrity
 and truth in this world. It is on this path that those, whom history has
 called the Ibadi school, have remained to this day. Though history has
ascribed to the Ibadis an imam in the same way other schools of the
community have their different imams,the fact is that their true imam,the
only one they recognize and whose guidance alone they follow, is none
other than Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah, may God bless him and grant him
peace. No other person can have a nghtful claim to the imamate unless he
sets the proper example and follows the righteous and praiseworthy
Sunnah.Unconditionalbelief in the fact that the guidanceof God’s
Messenger in precept and practice, may God bless him and grant him
peace, is the path of guidance upon which God commanded the ummah of
Muhammadto proceed. If Ibadis did indulge historians and trace their
origins to ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad, thereby adopting for themselves a label just
like all the other schools, that does not mean that they venerate whatever
their leading figures say, or follow their authority blindly, raising them to
the status of perfection, a status which only the elect prophets of God can
attain. Rather, they are careful not to take their religion except from those
 whose trustworthiness in words and deeds they are sure about.
Ibadis do not hallow meremen,nor take themas an indicationof
 what is true. They do not grant authority to anyone who is not protected
 from error, nor follow anyone unless legal proof has shown him to be of
 proper conduct, or unless his following the guidance of Muhammad,
 peace be upon him, is demonstrated by a narrative text — like the noble
 hadith with ‘Ammar, may God be content with him, and some of the
 Companions, may God be content with them. The pride of the mujtahids
Qutb al-A?imma,' may God exalted have mercy on him, said in al-Radd
‘ald al-‘Ugqbi: ‘If you mean to say that they are heedless and have no imam,
 then you have overlooked the fact that the Prophet, may God bless him
 and grant him peace, is their imam.’
 ' Thishonorificexpressionis usedbytheauthorto refertothefamous
 Muhammad Atfayyish; literally ‘the pole of the imams’, it means‘the leading
authority among the imams’.
8
Only that believer who clings to the stirrup of the Prophet, peace be
upon him, and follows the sincere path, day and night, is considered great
by the Ibadis. Whatever the degree of a man’s knowledge or achievement,
 there will always be in his teachings something to reject and something to
accept, except the one about whom the Holy Book said: Nor does he speak
 out of caprice. This is naught but a revelation revealed [al-Najm, 3-4]; You have
 had a good example in God’s Messenger [al-Ahzab, 21}.
It is in this realistic way that Ibadis regard their imams — as human
beings not protected from error, whose words and deeds are affected by
error, negligence and forgetfulness. For this reason, it is wrong to give
authority either to their deeds or words. One gives their words authority,
and follows the example of their actions only when they supply such proof
for these as leaves no room for ambiguity. To follow their words and
Sayings is not to accord absolute authority to them, but to follow those
whom they follow, to accord authority to the one whose example they
follow, the one by whose guidance they are guided, and to whose
judgment they refer themselves.
This book
As its title indicates, this book deals primarily with the historical issues
concerning this school as one among many Muslim schools spread across
the world. It deals also with this school across the territories in which it
appears. The sole motive for presenting this work was to reveal some of
the brighter aspects of the history of the great Muslim ummah, with a focus
on one group from among its many groups and one region from among
the many regions of its ample territories.
I do not intend,in writing aboutthis particular Muslimschool or
someother,or aboutsomeparticular locationwhereIslamthrives, to
spread propaganda in support of this school or to detract from other
schools. For it is my belief that all these schools are merely different sides
of the one community or uwmmah, and that all those locations are different
directions for the Muslim peoples. It is also my belief that, just as
distinguished figures are found among other schools in other places, so
too can they be foundamong this school. It is my belief that there have
been men of genius throughout the various schools that make up the
Muslim ummah; that within the lands shared by the Muslim peoples there
9
 is a fertile soil that produces glory and greatness such that no pen can
 enumerate and no researcher can encompass.
Although it was decreed that the Muslim ummah, over many periods of
 history, should become divided into different religious groups, I think I
 can claim that all these groups have one goal, despite the different paths
 they have taken. Further, I would say that each of these groups has had
 geniuses and notable persons who rendered noble services both to Islam
 and to mankind. Again, although it was also decreed that the one Muslim
 land should become divided into several smaller lands governed by
 differentregimes,I amcertain thateachofthesesmallerlandshas
 produced outstanding figures that stand out as the pride of mankind.
Even if certain regimes that control Islamic lands have been carried
 away by political currents deviant from the Muslim mainstream, the
 greater Muslim community continues, and will always continue, to deliver
 its message. The Muslims, individually and collectivelv, continue to guard
 its message with reverence and pride. This means that the struggle for
 truth, virtue and happiness continues, and will always continue so long as
there are Muslims on this earth whobelieve in the vzlue of divine law for
 the benefit of mankind.
The courteous reader should know that the moti.es for this book, the
 limiting of its inquiryto one among many Muslim schools, and its focus on
 specific individuals and places, do not derive from any partisan prejudice
 that seeks to undervalue the intellectual contribution of all schools to
 God's religion, nor does it derive from any fixed emotional attachment to
 a defined homeland, such as cannot accommodateall the lands of Islam.
 The motives for this book arise, simply, from the fact that I have studied
 the origins of this school and know more about its history than I do that of
 the other schools.
Moreover, certain writers (who did not undertake research in order to
 uncover the truth) have committed errors in trying to understand the
 doctrines of this school. While this school has had to bear the burden of
 these errors — errors in understanding the motives for the research and
 errors in understanding the causes of historical events — the authors of
such errors have escaped blame.
What is important for me in this book is to clarify the confusion that
has come about as a result of such erroneous writings. We are in dire need
of removing from the history of the Islamic ummah in all its different
groups and schools the sort of falsehoods that tendentious and erroneous
writers have inserted into it. When the true history of the community is
revealed,the different schools will be clearedof all that has beensaid
about them(whether through good or bad intentions)that is
incompatiblewith their origins, principles, legal or historicalsources.
10
Then the ummah will be liberated from all the interpolations inspired by
scorn, mistaken opinions and bias, regardless of whether these were the
 result of external machinations that found their way into the Muslim
 heritage, and which simple minds accepted, unaware of the animosity
 contained in them, or the result of internal scheming propagated by
 tongues uninformed by the profession of the shahddah, so that, motivated
by worldly concerns and limited material gains, they spread false sayings.
When the glorious history of Islam asserts itself, with the members of
 each of the Muslim schools expounding in a clear, honest fashion their
particular creed and historical development and how they relate to their
Original source, and when the tendentious, ignorant and negligent
propaganda attached to them has been erased, then the members of these
schools across the Muslimlands, will find that they are very similar to one
another in their efforts to promulgate the eternal message entrusted to
 them. They will find that, whether they are travelling the same or different
paths, their destination is one and the same.
The return to the way of Islam
Muslims have strayed far from their religion, contravened in their
behaviour the way of their righteous ancestors, gone to excess in their
withdrawal from God’s path and become distant from it.
The men of knowledge have become distant from it as a result of the
temptations offered by Western paganism and the explosion of apostasy
that is invading the globe, disseminated in the minds of people by those
who neither believe in religion, nor follow a tradition, nor consider as
sacred the morals and behaviour decreed upon the earth by the heavens.
Those of simple mind have become distant from it too on account of
what the shrewd supporters of the Israeli movement and evil scholars have
inserted into Islam of fantasy and bid‘ah, and which gullible jurisprudents
have accepted, leaving people to think it part of God's religion. A ground
for happiness and hope is the fact that certain blessed authors have taken
it upon themselves to defend Islam, alike from the hosulity of its enemies
and of their evil followers.
(1) As for the hostility of its enemies, propagated by colonialism and
Zionism in all sorts of ways and directions, it is as follows:
1]
eHosulity towards Muslim morality, by providing ready access to
moral disintegration and forbidden pleasures, belittling the
sinfulness of doing what God has forbidden with regard to one’s
body, honour and wealth; by encouraging narrow ethnic groups so
as to loosen the strong bonds of Islam; by calling for freedom and
equality in all religions unul false religions, irreligious paganism
and apostasy that rejects God eclipse Islam in a Muslim county,
the Muslims separate from one another for fear of upsetting a
minority that is following a creed that leads to perdition, or until a
group with a false creed takes up arms against Islam in its own
homeland.
eHostility towards noble Islamic ideas, through the propagation of
social and political movements, set up with specific goals and
intentions in mind, spurred on by the interests of a group of
people or a regime. Subsequently,the foundersof such
movements have assumed a revered status such that their sayings
and opinions are used as proofs in arguments against the hadiths
of those protected from error and against the Book to which no
falsehood can come from before it or from behind it a sending down from an
All-wise an All-praiseworthy |Fussilat, 42].
eHostility towards Islamic legislation and its noble principles, which
the Creator of man sent to make man contented, through all sorts
of narrow-minded and restrictive legislation put forward by human
beings unworthy of reliance.
eHostlity towards the Islamic creed, which liberates man from any
servitude to anything other than God and gives dignity to all
mankind equally, through ridiculous ideas about the origins of
species, the story of nature and all those tempting ideas about
evolution put forth by Darwin’s followers.
(2) As for the hostility of those who follow(the colonialists andthe
 Zionists), it stems from their lack of knowledge of its inner meanings,
 rejection of its truths, shunning of its teachings, staying away from its
 guidelines, refusing to enforce it and take counsel from it or to accept its
 rulings in matters of dispute between them.
Certain blessed authors have worked towards the dissemination of a
religious consciousness among Muslims that seeks to reveal the noble
achievementsofIslamichistory,whichthecommonMuslimknows
nothing about, and which are feared by those enemies who do know about
them but pretend not to know. In a determined and steadfast manner,
these authors counter the defamation directed against God's religion,
defamation disguised in tendentious propaganda and in poisonous
remedies for problems faced by the East, and under the cloak of preparing
12
its young generations to join thedynamiccurrentthatisquickly
dominating all spheres of activity.
I am pleased to acknowledge these Muslim authors, who draw their
strength from the spirit of Islam. They are striving to repel the hosulity of
aggressors, the machinations of colonialists, the scheming of Zionists and
Crusaders. They are striving to uncover the falsifications made by the
frivolous, the absurdities propagated by the ignorant, the obstinacy of the
intellectually-stagnant, and the aloofness of those who have been
deceived. They are striving to call the children of the community of
Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, to hold fast to his
religion as he brought it.
I am pleased to call attention to the authors of these blessed works of
resistance, and to all that is taking place in this field of effort, such as those
who each day put into effect a sunnah and render obsolete bid‘ah, thus
protecting Islam from the inaccuracies put about by its enemies.
By mentioning those living authors who are fighting for the cause of
God, it is not my intention to deny the merits of others who have struggled
to promote the word of God. The struggle for God’s cause cannot be
denied by anyone who believes in God, but it is not feasible to be
comprehensive in such a work as this. I do not forget the merits of the
master imam(Muhammad‘Abduh), who instilled the spirit of Islam in his
pupils, nor those of his pupils (whether students of his classroom or of his
ideas), who have freed the minds of Muslims from absurdities, bid‘ah and
stagnation, and fended off the attacks of the conspiring elements left over
from the fanatical crusader wars. Nor do I forget the merits of the imam
(Hasan al-Banna), who instilled in the souls of young Muslims the spirit of
self-esteem, nobility and struggle, and the spirit of martyrdom, referred to
by Ibadis as the way of shird’ (literally, ‘selling one’s life in return for God's
reward’), and considered by them as a manifestation of a Muslim’s nobility
and the glory of Islam at a time when tyrannical and unjust regimes are in
power. To God belongs all glory, and to His Messenger and to the
believers.
I forget the merits neither of these nor those of others, whomI have
left out in this short tract, in which I have turned specifically to those
blessed authors alive today and struggling on the field of battle for the
cause of God against tyranny: the tyranny of the enemy outside, and that
of the enemy within.
There is also the tyranny of wealth, which has instilled in some people
such a sense of hauteur that they claim to have inherited the thrones of
the gods. Then there is the tyranny of poverty, which has instilled a sense
13
of submissiveness and docility in the hearts of other people, making them
 slaves of their fellow humans.
Moreover, there is the tyranny of atheistic science that acknowledges
only material being, believes only in proofs derived from experiments,
recognizing only that which ts tangible. Yet the atheistic scientist remains
ignorant of the truth closest to him, of the facts nearest to him, ignorant of
the very life that is all around him, and understanding nothing of the
secrets of the human spirit, which he strives to serve, and never coming
close to learning anything about the life-spirit that the Creator deposited
in humans, animals and plants.
Finally, there is the tyranny of ignorance that breeds unbelief and
obscures the light (of guidance), so that the truth which the heavenly
messages command — with the purpose of raising mankind high among
the realm of God — cannot be clearly made out, while the satans of the
earth go on whispering falsehoods with the purposeof keepingman
eternally stuck in the mud and mire of this earth.
Why I wrote this work
Certain individuals, who have some education but know nothing of the
 facts of history or the fundamentals of science or the main principles of
 any doctrine, take pleasure in distancing themselves from the common
 people and whatever holds them up above the circles of educational
 illiteracy. They take pleasure in presenting themselves as men of
 knowledge and speaking the language of scholarly researchers. They
 discuss events of the past and present in order to pronounce definitively
 about them, support generalizations with firm opinions but without
 recourse to convincing argument or proof, except that they have stumbled
 upon some brief article in a magazine or newspaper, or a book here or
 there. Yet the topic might be one that would require a serious student to
 undertake extensive and painstaking inquiry and to consult dozens of
 references before he could venture an opinion.
I once listened to a discussion held by such individuals, in whichthey
 debatedthe questionof Muslimsects, their merits anddemerits,andthe
 question of guidance and error. They tumed to Ibadism and some said,
 ‘TheIbadisare asect oftheKhawarij’,becausetheyhadreadit
somewherein a history book.Otherssaid:‘No,theyarefromthe
14
Muttazilah, because they believe that the glorious Qur’an was created’.
Some even said that they are from among the Ash‘ariyyah, because they
had heard that the Ibadis believe that all that is destined to happen, the
good and the bad, is from God. Not one of these people who were
involved in the discussion, exchanging views and passing judgments on
several Muslimsects at random,was concernedto offer reasons for the
judgment he gave or the proofs upon which he based his opinions, except
what he offered in the way of naive argumentation on certain points,
which was neither intellectually persuasive, nor qualified as the basis for
the opinion given.
I thought it worthwhile to examine, as best I can, one of the topics
around which that discussion turned, and try to provide some answers to
the puzzling questions that were exchanged in conversation. I will also try
to talk about the principles upon which the Ibadi school of thought was
founded, and from which its creed developed and its proofs and
arguments were taken.
The meaning of the term Khawarjj
Is the Ibadiyyah a sect from among the Khawanyj?
The question can only be answered after the term Khawarij has been
defined. Some historians use the term Khawary to denote those who
seceded fromthe Commanderof the Faithful, ‘Alt b. Abi Talib, after he
accepted the arbitration agreement, since, in their view, he had thereby
broken the oath of allegiance to which they were bound and had
abandoned a legitimate imamate.
A group of theologians, when dealing with the origins of creeds and
sects, use the term to denote the ‘abandoning of religion’. They take their
argument from the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant
him peace: ‘A group of people from among my community shall pass
through religion as the arrow passes through its quarry...’ This hadith has
been transmitted in more than one report and in different versions.”
2 In the hadith compilation of al-Rabi‘ b. Habib (2"4 imp. 1349 AH), part I: 12; it is
transmitted thus: Aba ‘Ubaydah—Jabir b. Zayd—Abt Sa‘id al-Khudri:
I heard the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘A
15
A third group take the term to mean fighting for the cause of God,
basing their argument on His words: And whosoever departs from his home
emigrating to God and His Messenger, and then death catches up with him, his
reward shall be fixed for him by God...{al-Nisa, 100].
Certain historians have permitted themselves the use of the term
Khawanjj to refer to all those who clung to ‘Ali’s imamate, insisting that it
was a lawful right which cannot be disputed, that ‘Ali himself had no nght
to doubt an imamate that had the consensus of the community, or treat it
as a light matter and put it up for bargaining, given that Mu‘awmyah and his
followers were the aggressors, who were under obligation, according to
the text of the Book, to return, willingly or unwillingly, within the fold of
the imamate and the community. If ‘Ali complied with the wishes of the
aggressors, and doubted what was a certaintruth, forsakingthe duty
entrusted to him by the community, and on the basis of which it had
pledged its allegiance to him, then that pledge of allegiance could no
longer be binding upon them, and they had the right to withdraw.
If, as I said, certain historians have permittedthemselvesthe use of
the term Khawarjj to refer to this last group, then we should be permitted
to pause and reflect with care so that we may ascertain the right path, and
so that the right approach may become clear.
We should reflect with care so that justice may be done to those whom
certainhistorianshavelabelledKhawarij,andwhosefellowMuslims
attacked them with true and false propaganda. Indeed, they fought them
more bitterly than their own enemies at that time, and persecuted them
more vigorously than they did atheists and infidels. We should reflect with
care so as to avoid any injustice towards these Khawanj, and so as to
explain their stance at that tme — before (our knowledge of) that stance
was permeated by tendentious historical accounts and prejudice towards
them. We should reflect with care so as to avoid the sort of false
 propaganda that distorts historical truth in a way unacceptable to sound
 judgment and proper reason, the sort that was circulated both by
 impudent Umayyad authoritarians and by radical Shi‘I extremists. So that
 we may explain the stance of these people and obtain for ourselves a clear
people will emerge from among you so that you will think ill of your
prayer compared to theirs, of your fasting compared to theirs, of your
good deeds compared to theirs. They will recite the Qur’an but the
farthest it will go will be their throats. They will pass through religion as
the arrow passes through its quarry. You will look at the arrow-shaft and
see nothing. You will look at its feathers and see nothing. And you will
be doubtful [of discerning any sign of the quarry] on the notch [the
base of the arrow].’
16
account of it, and be in a position to makeproper comparisons,and
deduce what is closer to the truth and factual accuracy, we must examine
the nature of revolutionary” movements from the earliest days of Islam.
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, led a
continuous campaign against that idolatry which held sway in the world,
and maintained a persistent struggle against a mass of forces opposed to
the launch of the movement that would liberate man from his worship of
all that is not God. After God's assistance and victory arrived and people entered
 God's religion in droves [al-Nasr,1-2], and GodmadeHis blessing on the
community of Muhammad complete, and was pleased that they should
have Islam for their religion, God’s Messenger passed away. He had
relayed the message, and fulfilled the trust. People then gave their oath of
allegiance to Abt Bakr as a successor to him. However, immediately after
this act of allegiance, the first revolt in Islam took place. Those who
participated in that revolt had professed the oneness of God and the truth
of Muhammad as His Messenger. Some of them withdrew and retreated,
rejecting what they had professed. Others held their material possessions
to be dearer to them than Islam and refused to pay the alms-tax (zakdh).
The stern and resolute response adopted by the successor of the
Messenger of God towards these individuals, despite the opposition of
someCompanions,wasanacknowledgementofGod’slaw,andan
enforcement of Islam's position, as well as a supporting of God's religion
and an irrevocable judgment upon the roots of this rebellion or sedition
and those who had mounted it. Subsequently, security was re-established
and the situation stabilized and Muslims continued to fulfill the message,
to which Muhammad had summoned, throughout the caliphates of Abu
Bakr and ‘Umar, that glorious era (rightly) considered an extension of the
era of the Prophet. Then ‘Uthman assumed the caliphate. The first six
years matters continued muchz:as they had under the two caliphs before
him. Thereafter matters began to change and new problems arose.
Caliphal rule ran into difficulties as the caliph’s actions were publicly
criticized and his behaviour openly questioned and disparaged in social
circles. Barely another six years had passed when the untamable revolt that
ended ‘Uthman’s life took place with many Companions present. This was
3 I have usedthe term‘revolution/revolt’in this book to denote an activity that
individuals take part in whenthey desire to change a situation, be it religious,
political, social or economic,whichthey find unsatisfactory, whateverthe motives
behind such a movement may be: by using this term I am not referring to the kind
of fundamental change in a community’s creed or way of life that the term might
evoke.
17
the second revolt to occur after the death of God’s Messenger, blessings
and peace upon him.
The Muslims gave their oath of allegiance to ‘Ali b. Abi Talib to
becomeCommanderof the Faithful. Thefirst to do so wereTalhahb.
‘Abd Allah and al-Zubayr b. al-‘Awwam. But the oath of allegiance had
scarcely been given when Talhah and al-Zubayr took up the banner of
rebellion together with some of the leading Companions, seeking support
also fromthe motherof the believers,‘A?ishah.TheCaliph,however,
adopted a firm and resolute stance against the rebels. A significant
number of Muslims were killed in this destructive revolt, including Talhah
and al-Zubayr, while the mother of the believers backed down and
returned, along with the remaining rebels, into the fold of the imamate
and the community. This was the third revolt in Islam.
This destructive war had scarcely ended,andpeaceandstability
returmed to the land, when Mu‘awiyah, learning of the failure of the revolt
and realizing his imminent removal from the governorshipof Greater
Syria, was proclaiming a revolt in that province. At the time he was just one
of the many agents of the Caliph, but he claimed to be seeking revenge for
the blood of ‘Uthman. The Commander of the Faithful prepared to put
down this revolt just as he had done the previous one. He prepared a
strong army and set off towards Syria where he met the rebel army in the
well-known spot called Siffin and fighting ensued. Fighting continued
with signs of victory becoming manifest, and the Caliph’s army on the
verge of taking the battle. It was only a matter of time before this defiant
revolt would be crushed: al-Ashtar al- Nakha‘i called it ‘the death rattle of
the she-camel’. The rebels then resorted to trickery and deception, and
they plotted and schemed, raising copies of the Qur’an and shouting,
‘People of Iraq, the Book of God is between us!’
The rebels called for a truce and proposed, to the legitimate Caliph
 and his army, the appointment of two arbiters to produce a judgment. The
 Commander of the Faithful and several of his men realized the deception
 involved in this call for a truce. However, instead of standing firm in his
 resolve and continuing with his war against the rebels until he was granted
 victory — the signs were already there — and the aggressors put down
 their weapons and returned within the fold of the community, from which
 they had seceded and against which they had transgressed, he gave in to
 the plea that would bring disaster. He took the advice of the meek ones,
most of whom had been promised some reward by Mu‘awiyah or ‘Amr b.
18
al-‘As,* accepted the arbitration and the truce, and ordered an immediate
 halt to the fighting.
Thus, this fourth revolt paused in this indecision —putting ‘Ali’s
 right to the caliphate on the same level as that of Mu‘awiyah, and putting
the aggressors who rebelled against the night way on the same footing as
the army from among the community that had fought for a caliphacy that
 hadbeenlegitimatelyinstituted throughconsultationandeffected
through oaths of allegiance.
Those companions of ‘Ali who had seen through the trickery
 intended by the truce came together to warn him against accepting it.
 They informed him that to accept such a truce was to doubt his own
 caliphacy and renounce it. They insisted that a legitimate caliphacy was
 something that could not be doubted, nor retracted, nor put up for
 bargaining.
When it came to ‘Ali to accept the appeal of those among his army,
 and of those plotters from among his enemies, that would lead him to
 defeat; when he doubted his own self and the truth of that which he held
 in his hand; when he renounced the honour that had been accorded to
 him by the Muslims, and put himself on an equal footing with one of his
 agents in a matter with regard to which the community had given him a
 compact, and in return for which he made with them a covenant — when
 he did this, he yielded to the arbitration of mere men a matter on which
 God had sent down His judgment.
Those who refused to recognize the arbitration came together to warn
 ‘Ali against accepting it. They believed that Mu‘awiyah was an aggressor
 without any right. When ‘Ali agreed to the truce and accepted the
 arbitration, they believed that the pledge of allegiance given to him had
 been broken: there was no longer any allegiance or covenant incumbent
 upon anyone. They called each other to separate from ‘Ali’s army and
 sought refuge in a place called Harura’, awaiting the turn of events and
 the action that the community would take in the light of what was
 happening to the caliphacy. This separation from ‘Ali’s army may be
 considered as the fifth revolt. Initially, this revolt involved only passive
 resistance, since its members had taken up a neutral stance and were
 awaiting the turn of events. But events soon got out of hand. No sooner
 had the appointed time arrived, as agreed by the two sides for the end of
 the truce, and the people assembled, than Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari, ‘Ali's
 representative, was proclaiming that ‘Ali had been removed from the
 * Aba 1-‘Abbas al-Shammakhi said in his Siyar, 48: ‘Mu‘awiyah used to make empty
 promises to them’ [i.e. in the manner of politicians seeking support].
19
office of caliph, leaving the matter open for Muslims to choose what they
wanted by consultation.
Those who had adopted a neutral stance awaited the turn of events,
the actual outcome, for they saw Mu‘awiyah as an aggressor trying to
impose himself through deceit and trickery. For this reason they gave no
weight to the calls to remove him from office, since at the tme he had not
been appointed caliph, whether by force or consultation: it was nonsense
to remove him from a position that he did not hold. Similarly, they gave
no weight to the appointment of ‘Amr b. al-‘As, since the Muslims had not
made him a delegate of the Commander of the Faithful. As for what
concerned ‘Ali, they had been expecting that the two arbiters would agree
to the affirmaton of his rule, whereupon the legal nature of that which he
had relinquished in order to reaffirm would be his again. It was incumbent
on Muslims at that point to unite themselves in obedience to him, so long
as he ruled according to God’s Book. The representative, however, chosen
by ‘Ali, in this unjust matter, announced that he had distanced ‘AIi from
the affairs of the Muslims, and that the matter was now one of election by
consultation. Consequently, the position of these neutrals was enhanced as
more of those who had stood by ‘Ali up untl that point began to join their
ranks. In the light of the fact that Muslims no longer had a caliph, they
discussed the matter among themselves: on the one hand, there was
Mu‘awiyah the unjust aggressor who could not be given the leadership of
the Muslim community, on the other hand, there was ‘Ali renounced by
the very representative he himself had appointed for the arbitration. All
that was left was for them to choose. They chose ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb al-
Rasibi and gave him the pledge of allegiance as Commander of the
Faithful and caliph of the Muslims, and successor to ‘Ali b. Abi Talib; in
their view he was lawfully the fifth caliph.
With this development, the Muslim community became divided into
three camps: one led by Mu‘awiyah (even though at the tme no one had
 given him any pledge of allegiance to that effect); a second led by ‘Ali b.
 AbiTalib,for whomthearbitration had been afailure, and whore-
 acknowledged the original pledge of allegiance given to him, ignoring the
 fact that his representative in the arbitration Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari had
 removed him from office; and a third state led by ‘Abd Allah b. Wahbal-
 Rasibi, following the pledge of allegiance given to him by a large number
 of those who had stood apart from ‘Ali’s side when he agreed to the
arbitration, and following the arbiter’s announcement that ‘Ali had been
removed from office. Within the ranks of each of these factions there were
20
a considerablenumberof eminentCompanions,someof themfrom
.;5
among those promised Paradise.
But there was a fourth camp who distanced themselves from these
debates that had preoccupied the Muslims, and from the matter of the
caliphate, neither seeking to acquire it for themselves, nor supporting any
of those claiming it. Amongthem were the following eminent Muslims:
Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas,‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar,Muhammadb. Maslamahal-
Ansari and Usamah b. Zayd.
When the imam ‘Ali had regrouped his forces, including those
soldiers who had remained loyal to him, he thought he would
recommence the fight against Mu‘awiyah in the hope of extinguishing his
rebellion and forcing his submission. Some of his companions, however,
suggested that he should fight ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb al-Rasibi, who had
become caliph through a pledge of allegiance, which is the lawful way to
acquire the caliphal office.
‘Ali agreed with this suggestion, abandoning the fight against
Mu‘awiyah in favour of that against ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb. The followers of
‘Abd Allah b. Wahb believed that their imam was the lawful imam, and
that both ‘Ali, after the arbitration and his removal, together with
Mu‘awiyah, were rebels who were under obligation to return within the
fold of the imamate and the ummah.
The foregoing is a summary of the revolts that took place during that
period, as a result of which thousands of Islam’s heroes lost their lives. I
have tried as far as possible to be brief and to clarify the issue from the
point of view of those whom the books of history and literature would call
Khawarij. They are those who believed that they were the people of truth,
and that the only lawful pledge of allegiance after the arbitration was that
givento ‘AbdAllah b. Wahbal-Rasibi,thecaliphto whoman entre
section of the community had sworn allegiance to, including prominent
Companions and those promised Paradise.
° Among those promised Paradise is ‘Ammar b. Yasir, may God be pleased with
him, who was killed at Siffin while fighting for ‘Ali. When the copies of the Qur’an
were raised, he refused to accept the truce and fought vigorously until he was
killed. When Mu‘awiyah was informed of this he said: “The one who made him go
out is the one who killed him’. Also among those promised Paradise is Hurqus b.
Zuhayr al-Sa‘di. It was reported by ‘A’ishah that the Messenger of God, may God
bless him and grant him peace, once said, “The first to come through the door will
be from among the people of Paradise’; Hurqts b. Zuhayr al-Sa‘di then came in
with his beard wet. This happened three days in a row. Hurqus b. Zuhayr was killed
together with others who rejected the arbitration.
21
If we turn to the starting point of this inquiry and seek to identify a
faction from amongthose that revolted who would fully qualify for the
label of Khawarij both in a political and religious sense, ‘secessionists
against the caliphate and against religion’, and for whom the hadith that
we mentioned earlier would be fitting, then to which of these rebellious
factions can we apply the label Khawarij, in the sense of ‘those who have
seceded from Islam’, fully confident of the soundness of our judgment,
andthe logicof sucha deduction,andwithoutfollowinganyof the
established trends of historical writing?
Most of the early historians were either pro-Shi‘a or pro- Umayyad,
each trying to please those of his party. Finding it a painless endeavour,
they chose to apply the label Khawarij to the enemy common to both the
Umayyads and the Shi‘a. They applied it to that facton of Muslims who
separated themselves from ‘Ali at the time of the arbitration and pledged
their allegiance to ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb as imam, and who rebelled against
tyranny and the corruption of the Umayyad government, and against all
those who would follow similar paths after them deviating from the way of
the rightly-guided caliphs. In order to gain wider acceptance for their use
of the term, these historians confoundedthe political sense of the term
khuruj with its religious sense. State and propaganda in both the Shi‘i and
Umayyad movements conspired to disseminate this usage and these
opinions, to the extent that hundreds of false hadiths against the Khawanj
were put into circulation, accusing them or certain leading individuals
among them of deviation and apostasy. Al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufrah, the
general who forfeited his religion in exchange for the worldly things of
theUmayyadregime,wasoneof themostprolificfalsifiersof ant-
Khawarjj hadith, so far so that people began to notice this and when they
would see him going out they would exclaim: ‘He is off to spread lies’.°
The Umayyads and the Shi‘a tried their utmost to attach the label
‘Khawarij’, having interpreted it as ‘secession from religion’, to those
rebels who were calling vociferously and persistently for just principles in
the matter of the caliphate. The Shi‘a for their part were ingeniously
 6 In his Fajr al-Islam (6th edition), Anmad Amin wrote: ‘One of the ways in which
 al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufrah fought them was by forging hadiths against them; he
 used to do this in order to encourage the spirit of his fighting forces and in order
 to mitigate the severity of the Khariji cause, proclaiming, “war is trickery”. When
some Azdis saw al-Muhallab going out they would say, “He is off to spread lies”.
One of them used to recite about him the following: “O you man of exemplary
manhood! If only what you speak were the truth.”’ Such anecdotes probably
explain the reason why there are so many anti-Khawarij hadiths in the books of
history and literature.
22
trying to restrict the caliphate to the descendants of ‘Ali. Other aspirants
to it used to make it conditional on the person being a Hashimi or a
Qurashi or an Arab, each according to their particular political gain at a
particular point in time. All these currents conspired together against the
stance adopted by the followers of ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb al-Rasibi, the just
stance that saw all Muslims as equal with regard to rights and duties: ... The
noblest of you in the sight of God is the most God-fearing of you... [al-Hujurait,
13] and ‘an Arab has no superior merit over a non-Arab except in God-
fearing.’
Earlier in this piece I observed that several revolts had taken place
from the tme of the death of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and
grant himpeace, up to the end of the caliphate of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib. So,
whichoftheserevoltsmostqualifiesitsproponentsforthelabel
‘Khawanij’,with‘secessionfromthecaliphate’and‘apostasyagainst
religion’ in mind? To make the answer easier, I shall divide these revolts
into three categories:|
1A revolt that has no justification or cause, except for a lack of Islam in
the hearts of those that take part in it, and the lack of a proper faith in
accordance with Muhammad's message. This is apparent in the first
revolt where one group renounced the faith and another refrained
from paying alms.
2Arevoltwithoutapparentcause,whosetrueunderlyingpurpose
involves a struggle for government office, whether that of a caliphacy
or a regency. This is most evident in the third revolt instigated by
Talhah and al-Zubayr, and the fourth revolt instigated by Mu‘awiyah
b. Abi Sufyan.
3Arevoltresultingfromapparentandobviouscausesthatseem
reasonable to the observer. This is the case in the second revolt in
which ‘Uthman was killed, and in the fifth revolt in which some of
‘Ali’ssoldiersseparatedthemselvesfromhimbecauseofthe
arbitration in which Abt Musa al-Ash‘ari renounced him.
Now,if what is intended by the term Khawarijis those who secede
from a caliph to whom apledge of allegiance has been granted legally,
then it is more apt and suitable for this term to be applied to the likes of
Talhah and al-Zubayr, or to Mu‘awiyah and his followers, or to those who
rebelled against ‘Uthman.But if the term is taken in its political and
religious sense, then it cannot be applied to them, and even less to those
who had separated themselves from ‘Ali. The reason for this last is that
those rebels, whether they belong to the second or third category, did not
rebel against one of the principles of Islam nor did they reject as false any
23
of thefactsof religion throughnecessity,having amongtheirranks
prominent Companions, among them some who were promised Paradise.
Onthe basis of this then, the muriq (‘piercing through’)hadiths, if
they are authentic, can only be directed against those of the first revolt,
the ones that seceded from Abi Bakr’s caliphate rejecting the Shari‘ah or
one of its tenets. It is to these that the researcher can confidently apply the
term Khawarij, in its religious and political sense, since they had seceded
from a caliphate on which there was consensus and had rejected Islam in
toto after their acceptance of it, together with one of its chief principles,
establishedby the Book,the Sunnahandthe consensus. Thisrejection
merited their being fought implacably by the first successor to God's
Messenger, in accordance with his saying, peace be upon him, ‘If I catch
up with them, I would surely kill them in the way Thamiud was killed’,
assuming the hadith to be authentic; in the end his successor, may God be
pleased with him, killed them in the way Thamud was killed, confirming
his report, peace be upon him.
One becomes confident of such an opinion on account of his
expectation, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he would live to
see them. This proves that they were close in tme to his lifetime, since he
was hoping to exact revenge from them for God. However, God's will
required that they should come after his tme, and that they would act as a
test of the forutude of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and that they would receive
punishment at the hand of the truthful one, may God be pleased with him.
Just as one becomes more confident of this meaning on account of
this hadith, one is more confident about the hadith of ‘piercing through’
in the version that runs, ‘there will go out’ or ‘there will pierce through’,
since the use of the [Arabic] letter stn (sa-yakhruj or sa-yamruq) indicates
the proximity in time of that which will take place: nothing was closer in
time to God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, than
this rebellion which al-Siddiq crushed, and whose members he fought in
the way Thamtd were fought.
I devote a substantial section to these hadiths that talk about Muslim
groups ‘piercing through’ religion, even if I do not at this point in time
have any reason to doubt their authenticity.
Judging by the sequence of events, it seems that these hadiths that talk
about ‘secession’ (khuriij) were not known at the time of the earliest
revolts: otherwise, how could it be that they were not being narrated and
that they were not used with reference to the rebels at the tme of the
caliphates of Aba Bakr, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali? Or with reference to the
apostates at the time of al-Siddiq? Why should they lie dormant, with
neither the supporters nor the opponents of the caliphate, during four
‘ defiant revolts in which many Muslim heroes lost their lives, making use of
24
 them? This indicates strongly that such hadiths were not known at the
 ume of these revolts, but were composed later in order to denigrate the
 people of Nahrawan and encourage ‘Ali to fight and eradicate them
without concern for their lives, and without second thoughts about killing
 them, without stopping to reason and consider whether they might have a
just cause.
‘Ali was very severe on himself when he reckoned his deeds, giving
 lots of thought to his actions and weighing up the events that confronted
 him. There is evidence for this in Abu 1-‘Abbas’s important book, al-Siyar,
where he wrote: ‘Al-Ash‘ath said: He struggled against the people, but
 every time they spoke to people they would turn them against us’.’ The
 Shi‘a whosurrounded‘Ali wereanxious,in their effortsto createtheir
 state, lest the people of Nahrawan should establish relations with the rest
 of the people and convince them with arguments and proof that the
 acceptance of arbitration had been a political mistake, that ‘Ali’s caliphacy
 (after the arbitrationandhis removalfromoffice)wasnolonger valid,
 that the oath of allegiance to him was no longer binding, and that the real
 caliph was‘Abd Allah b. Wahbal-Rasibi, whowas giventhe oathof
 allegiance by a good number of Muslims. The Shi‘a feared that those at
 Nahrawan would establish contact with the people, and it was for this
 reason that they wanted to eradicate their opinions, lest they be
 disseminatedamongpeople,whomightthenunderstandthemand
 become convinced of their validity.
It was only possible to eradicate these opinions by eradicating the
 people who held them. Had ‘Ali hesitated in this matter and avoided
 bloodshed, everything would have been lost. Thus, he had to be pushed to
 take this decisive and crucial step by any means possible.
They were able to convince him through al-Ash‘ath. He took the step,
 initiated the fight and eradicated the people of Nahrawan. But he was not
 ableto eradicatetheideathattheyproclaimed,that ideawhichhas
filtered through with its truth and reality into the minds of many, unul it
became a principle that its upholders defend with patience, courage and
 resilience.
In sum, this inquiry suggests that the term Khawarij was used by
 certain historians to refer exclusively to the followers of ‘Abd Allah b.
Wahb al-Rasibi in a historical and literary sense. It does not require
lengthy research. There is nothing significant about using a partucular
 term to refer to a group of individuals, if the aim is simply identfication.
a Siyar, 52.
However, if the term is being used in a religious sense then it is advisable
to think very carefully before passing such a serious judgment — the kind
of judgment passed crudely and harshly in biased historical accounts
against the leaders of certain Muslim factions — when we discover that
theseMuslimfactions believeinMuhammad’smessage,andinits
completenessand its contents and give supportto their opinionsand
theories from the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace
and blessings be upon him, and back up their arguments with what has
been sent down, and what has been reported of the protected one and the
consensus of the community that can never agree on an error, even if they
have deviated in the understanding and erred in interpretation.
Some readers might suppose that I mean to defend the Khawarjj, and
to justify their actions and correct the mistakes written about them. In fact,
I have not intended anything of that. I was simply driven to this discourse
by the reasoning that I found in their discussions and opinions on the
issue of the caliphate. I have tried as far as possible to reconstruct the
events and the reasons for them during the period in question without
succumbing to any particular mode of thought, so that my judgments
might be more precise and less affected by the kind of politics, emotion or
self-interest that affected historians and researchers of doctrines in the
past. God is the One Who gives success in attaining the proper path.
I would like to state at the end of this section that I esteem highly the
Companions of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
peace, and that I do not make comments about them, in obedienceto his
commands, peace be upon him. I have only praise for them, for I know
that even if one of us were to spend as much in gold, he would not be
 worth half one of them. It is enough honour for them that God chose
them as Companions for God’s Messenger, and that they were the first
 batch to carry the torch of Islam. Perhaps God chose to forgive them, in
 the same way as those of the Battle of Badr, as he, peace be upon him,
 said. As for those whose behaviour or sayings are criticized in some
 hadiths, I skip over them, leaving it as the responsibility of the report’s
 narrator. I ask God forgiveness for any oversight and beseech Him to
 forgive me any slip of the pen that might displease Him: He is the One
Who provides success and guidance.
26
The Khawarjj according to Ibadis
Who are the Khawarjj according to the Ibadis?
The Ibadis think that in the application of the term Khawarij to refer
 to a particular Muslim faction, the sense of political rebellion should not
be taken into account, regardless of whether that rebellion was legal or
illegal. For this reason, they never used it to refer to ‘Uthman’s murderers,
or to Talhah and al-Zubayr and their followers, or Mu‘awiyah and his
army, or Ibn Fandin together with those of his supporters who rejected the
imamate of ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Rustami. The only sense they take into
account is the religious one, as denoted by the ‘piercing through’ hadith
in all its variant forms.
Secession(khuritj) from Islam is: either the rejection of its fixed and
definitive laws, or the committingof acts that contravenewhat has been
defined in scriptural passages as binding law for religious practice, so that
 the act is potentally a reyjecuon and a denial of the former. The Muslim
sect that comes closest to this definition is the Azariqah and its supporters,
who deem lawful the shedding of Muslim blood, the capture of their
possessions, and the enslavement of their women and children. The
scholar Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf b. Ibrahim in his work al-Dalil wa-l-Burhan
 (‘The Proof and the Evidence’) wrote:® ‘The real error of the Khawarlj was
 that made by Nafi‘ b. al-Azraq and his men when they interpreted God’s
saying, may He be exalted, And if you obey them you verily are surely polytheists
 [al-An‘am, 121] as confirming that Muslim believers became polytheists
when they committed sins, if they were very minor.’ Elsewhere in the same
book he says, ‘as for those who ‘pierce through religion’, they claim that
the person who disobeys God, may He be exalted, whether by way of
minor or grave sins, is a polytheist against God the Great; they cite [as
proof for this] God’s saying, exalted and glorified, Ifyou obey them you verily
 are polytheists. They thus used this term to refer to all those who disobey
God, exalted and glorified is He, saying that the person who does so is a
polytheist. They then took to laws, deeming lawful the killing of men, the
seizure of possessions and the capturing of children: it is enough for them
to be warned of what God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
peace, said: ‘[Some] people from my ummah will pass through the religion
 [as] the arrow passes through the quarry; then you will look at the
arrowhead (nasi) and see nothing; then you will look at the arrow shaft
and see nothing; and you will be doubtful about the notch.’ No group
8 Al-Dalil li ahl al-‘uqiil, 15.
27
from among the ummah of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him
peace, fits the above report more than them. For, they have inverted the
Shari‘ah and turned it upside down, and they have changed the terms and
the laws: the Muslims at the time of God’s Messenger, may God bless him
and grant him peace, used to commit sins but they were not subject to the
laws for polytheists. How is it possible not to know for whom the hudiud
(‘legalprescriptions’)were sentdown,Muslimsorpolytheists? They
invalidated stoning, lashes and the cutting off of limbs, as though they did
not belong to the uwmmah of Muhammad, peace be upon him. They
became cross-eyed and saw that God’s commands for Muslims, in respect
of fighting the enemy, as being intended for polytheists. They, thus, used it
against Muslims.’
In the same book,’ he also said, ‘As for those who ‘pierce through
religion’, they are the Khawarjj. It is no secret to any reasonable person
how they behaved towards Muslims, behaving in the same way as Muslims
did towards pagans and idolaters. It is as if some other prophet and not
Muhammad,peacebe upon him, was sent to them.TheMessengerof
God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘[Some] people from
my ummah will pass through religion [as] the arrow passes through the
quarry; then you will look at the arrowhead(nasil) and see nothing; then
you will look at the arrow shaft and see nothing; then you will look at the
(gadidah) and see nothing; and you will be doubtful about the notch.’ And
in another hadith: “There will spring forth from the stock of this person
people who will pass through religion as the arrow passes through the
quarry.’
That is the Ibadis’ true and clear opinion about the Khawarj. It
concurs with the community with regard to the name, but disagrees with
regard to the justification: the Azariqah are Khawarij because they
misinterpreted the verses of the Book, which in turn led them to commit
acts of wickedness, and to invalidate laws. They are not Khawarij because
they seceded from ‘Ali b. Abi Talib after the arbitration, or because they
 rebelled against the Umayyads.TheIbadi understandingof the term
 Khawarij excludes the sense of ‘revolution’, and rationalizes it only with
 regard to a religious context. The term Khawarij can only be applied to
 those who secede from religion. As for secession from the imam, and
 rebellion against him, whatever the reasons for the rebellion, it cannot be
 understood as secession from religion (khurij min al-din) or renunciation
 of Islam (muriq min al-islam). Such a harsh and terrible judgment cannot
9 Al-Dalil, I, 30.
10 41-Daiil, I, 52.
28
possibly be made against those who undertake such action, even if they are
deemed disobedient and aggressors, who have to be reprehended, if need
be fought against, until they return to the community. Historical fact is the
best witness to this opinion: as far as I know, nothing in it suggests that
anyone ever accused any of those who rebelled against legitimate caliphs
of having renounced religion, neither in the rebellion against ‘Uthman, or
 that against ‘Ali, or that against ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb or others. During all
 these events the supporters of the caliphate defended the unity of the
community and fought the aggressors forcefully in order to reeducate
them and have them return within the fold of the imamate, but they never
judgedthemtohaverenouncedIslam.Sowhyis it thenthatthis
designation is applied exclusively to those that separated themselves from
‘Ali?
TheIbadisthinkthatthisdesignationhasnothingtodowith
revolution or secession from any imam, and certainly cannot be applied to
those that separated from ‘Ali. Instead, it can be applied to groups that
have tried to interpret verses from the Book of God and succeeded in
interpreting them incorrectly. Their lack of understanding and bad
behaviour led them to the denial and rejection of some of Islam’s binding
principles, even if this was from the viewpoint of practice. Thus, they
deviated from Islam, and the hadith of God’s Messenger, may God bless
him and grant him peace, applied to them: they became Khawarij in their
deeds and doctrines, but not through their rebellion.
Afterthisclarificationandexplanation,is it necessaryformeto
restatethattheIbadisarenotKhawanj:youhaveseentheirtrue
understandingof whothe Khawanrywere,their judgmentof themand
their justification for it.
Agreement in opinion
In this section, I would like to make the following simple observation: if
individuals or groups happen to agree on one particular point, it does not
necessarily follow that they should agree on each and every other point.
When this simple thing is forgotten, unfounded suspicion gives rise to the
claim of some people that Ibadis belong with the Khawarij, or with other
Muslimsects. The reason is that Ibadis criticized the decision to arbitrate
and considered ‘Ali to have erred in accepting it, and in making his right
29
to the caliphacy a matter of dispute betweenhimself and Mu‘awiyah.
Moreover,heacceptedthe arbitration,eventhoughthetwoarbiters
removed him from office and he was wrong to fight ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb
al-Rasibi and the people of al- Nahr. This opinion was not confined to the
Ibadis or Khawarij but shared by many prominent Companions and
Successors.'' The fact that Ibadis shared it with the Khawarl does not
make them Khawarij, just as it does not make the Khawany Ibadis. To
further clarify this point I shall give the following example:
The Mu‘tazilites and the Ash‘arites both agree on the principle of
eliminating anthropomorphic elements from the conception of the
Creator: does this mean that the Mu‘tazilites and the Ash‘arites are one
group? Some Muttazilites agree with the Shi‘a that the office of caliphate
should be restricted to individuals from the family of Hashim: does this
make the two one group? The Ibadis agree with the Khawanj on the issue
of the caliphate, and with the Mu‘tazilites on the issue of God’s attributes,
and with the Ash‘arites on the issue of predestination: does this make
Ibadis, Khawarij, Mu‘tazilites and Ash‘arites all one group? Yes, they are all
one group in the sense that they go back to one source: Islam. Yet, this
does not mean that different groups cannot have their individual points of
view on certain matters, according to their particular understanding of the
Book and the Sunnah. The extent of divergence in opinion among groups
depends on the nature of the principles in question, whetherthey are
those of religion or those of jurisprudence,and whichthe groupin
question adopts, according to its validity, as a basis for its doctrine and
conduct.
I believe that these preceding remarks provide a convincing response
 to the confusion of those who associate Ibadism with Kharijism, and suffice
 to persuade those who want to see the Ibadiyyah as a sub-group of the
 Mut tazilah, of the Ash‘ariyyah or any other of the many Muslim schools of
 thought. It is clear from this that Ibadis share some opinions with
 Khawarij, Mu‘tazilites and Ash‘arites, but do not belong to any of these
 groups, since they disagree with each of them on matters concerning
 doctrine and conduct. They certainly disagree with all these groups on
 matters in which the latter have departed from the spirit of Islam.
The Ibadis, in respect of the foundational principles of their practice,
 their relationships with the Muslims who differed with them, and what
history has recorded of their actual stories, may be considered as the
11 F-om the Companions: ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar and Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqis, neither of
whomtook part in the Battle of Siffin; and from the prominent Successors: al-
Hasan al-Basri and Jabir b. Zayd.
30
Muslim school furthest from the Khawarij. This will become clear in the
coming sections of these series, and from the stories of the heroes whose
glorious history we shall examine, and from those periods in which the
Ibadi state existed and was governed according to the foundations of this
upright school of thought. So, who are the Ibadiyyah? How did this school
of thought develop? What are the principles and theories that distinguish
it from other sects and schools of thought? Is it true that of all the schools
of thoughttheyaretheclosest to theSunnis?Theanswerstothese
questions will be given in the following sections.
The criteria for right and wrong
with regard to Muslim sects
Many of those that have dealt with Ibadism, in the past and present,
whether they were researching doctrines or historical events, have written
that ‘the Ibadiyyah are the closest group to the Sunnis’. The Sunnis are
one among the many Muslim schools, with their own established opinions
and principles forming the basis of their school of thought.” They make
use of the same sources upon which all Muslim schools of thought base
themselves:theBook,theSunnahandtheconsensus. It is, for obvious
reasons, unreasonable that the extent of similarity to a single group should
constitute the measure for mght or wrong, according to which the
correctness of all the other schools of thought is judged. For, the members
of each of the Muslim schools think that they are the ones who are night,
that their way is the true way, that the religion they practice for God is the
only proper religion, that the principles derived from this [religion] are
the firmest. Accordingly, they consider that the group that has the most
principles in commonwith their own is the group closest to correctness.
All schools of thought claim this, but in reality it is invalid. Thereal
criteria for measuringright andwrong,andthe properscalesthat we
should use to weigh up doctrines, schools of thought, opinions and
conduct, in order to know their validity, and their proximity to
correctness, are the scales put in place by God’s Messenger, may God bless
12 See below: the passages about the Ahl al-Sunnah wa-|-Jama‘ah in the section
entitled ‘The Ibadiyyah as leaders of the community’.
31
him and grant him peace: ‘I have left you that which, if you hold onto it,
you shall never stray after I am gone: the Book of God and my Sunnah’.
This is the true measure, the one that is always constant and that cannot be
doubted or mistaken, and which no falsehood can come from before it or from
behind it [Fussilat, 42]. Whoever wants to know the validity or falseness of a
particular doctrine, its proximity to or distance from the truth, let him
apply this measure to it, let him judge accordingly, leaving aside the issue
of how close or far the different groups or schools are from one another,
and abandoning labels. All of that avails nothing against the truth. In my
reading I have come across something similar to this, written by the Libyan
historian, the learned al-Tahir al-Zawi, on the subject of the Ibadiyyah.
When he wrote this, it seems that he was influenced by the opinion of Ibn
Hazm al-Andalusi. In fairness to al-Zawi I must say that he dealt with the
subject of the Ibadiyyah in a very precise, prudent and sensitive way, doing
his best in that section to adopt a just and neutral stance, by which he
sought to appeal for the community to be restored to good order, to
abandon disagreement and all its causes, whatever these were and
whatever the motives behind them. When I recall this noble stance of his
here I do so in the hope that he will adopt it as a principle to which he
invites others, and which he offers to God. I also recall that both his books
The History of the Arab Conquest of Libya (Tarikh al-fath al-‘arabi ft Libya) and
The Holy Struggle of the Heroes (Jihad al-abtal) contain criticisms and
manifest prejudices against the Ibadiyyah, and a departure from the noble
impartality of the historian. I shall examine these issues, God willing, in
another section.
The ummah divided
 It is reported that God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
 peace, said:'* ‘My ummah will be divided into 73 sects (firqah), all of them
will be in Hell except for one that will be saved; and every one of them will
 1S Tarikh al-Fath al-‘Arabi fi Libya, (Cairo: Dar al-Ma‘arif), 106.
14 See al-Rabi‘,Sahih, 13, section on ‘the communityof Muhammad, may God
bless him and grant him peace’: Abi ‘Ubaydah—Jabir b. Zayd—Ibn ‘Abbas—the
Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘My community will be divided
into...[to the end of the hadith]’.
32
claim to be that one’. The hadith has been reported in many different
versions. In one of them the text states that the saved sect is the one that
follows the way of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
peace, and his Companions, may God be satisfied with them. In another it
is said that all these sects will be saved except one that will perish, but this
report appears to be weak (da‘if).
Thehadithstates that eachof these sects will claimthat it is saved.
The claim of every sect that it alone is the saved one is only natural: only a
madman would insist on following a sect that will perish. The members of
each of the sects have tried hard to prove that they follow the truth and
are on the right path, the one followed by Messenger of God, may God
bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions and that all others
have strayed from the way of God, in both doctrine and conduct.
Theimam(Muhammad‘Abduh)hasexaminedthishadithand
debated the claims of each sect and the proofs offered by it to show that it
is the saved sect. He then demonstrated that they are equally likely to be
on the right path according to God or on the wrong one. His conclusion
was that none of these sects can be the saved one, since that is the one that
follows the way of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
peace, and which is divided among all the sects. They are the believers
who are not misled by the sayings of mere mortals and who do not follow
the ways of error and who only hold onto the guidance of the protected
one and his Companions,whoare like the stars, ‘whichever of them you
follow you shall be guided’.
What the learned imam said is of value and his understanding of the
inner values of the Islamic Shari‘ah in this age, his attachment to the truth,
defence of God’s religion reminds one of the earliest age when truth was
the utmost goal of the believer, searching for it wherever it leads and
standing by it wherever it appears.
The saved and the damnedof the sects
Onthe face of it the hadiththat we mentionedabout the division of the
community in its different versions suggests that 72 of the Muslim sects will
perish and only one be saved. If we take this as is, and suppose that
Muslims were indeed divided into 73 sects and that this number is real and
finite, can we look into this matter from a different perspective?
33
Every one of these sects contains millions of Muslims, only God knows
theirnumber.Allthesemillionsvary intheirlevelsofknowledge,
education, intellect and religious consciousness to an extent that cannot
be measured or defined. Within each of the sects the number of people
whohaveconcernedthemselveswiththeonginsofthedoctrinal
principles upon which the community became divided, such as
predestination, divine justice and the attributes of the Creator, is a very
small minonity.
As for the remainder of those who conform to one or other of these
sects, they know next to nothing about these profound questions that
require special qualificatons. They perform their religious duties
according to the manner in which they were taught to do so, believing in
God and His Messenger, peace be upon him, and what he brought with
him as a whole and in its details, seeking closeness to God through their
deeds, and not having the educational qualifications that would allow
them to discuss Qur’anic verses or study the question of the ‘clear’ and
‘obscure’ verses of the Holy Book. Their limited intellectual capacity does
not permit them to access the sort of research carried out by the scholars
of theology(‘ulam@al-kalam).It wouldneveroccurto thecommon
Ash‘ari, Ibadi or Mu‘tazili to inquire into the problem of predestination;
he naturally believes that nothing in this universe takes place without
God's will, The common man from among these sects does not
comprehend terms like ‘Essence’ or ‘Attributes’, or if the ‘Attributes’ are
identical with the ‘Essence’, and other issues that require knowledge and
sharp wits. Can all these Muslims of different sects who believe in God and
perform good deeds be of those who go to hell? For, on the face of it the
hadith divides Muslims into 73 sects, consigning 72 of them to hell.
Many jurisprudents have talked about the faith of old women, saying
that their approach to faith should set the example for Muslims, since, it is
 a faith in God that cannot be shaken nor succumb to any uncertainty,
 however great it may be. This believer is, despite his naivety and simplicity,
 a strong believer. It is said that some of the Companions asked a woman
 once in the presence of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant
 him peace, about God and she replied, “He is in the heavens’. He, peace
 be upon him, then said, ‘Leave her alone, she is a believer’. He did not ask
 them to give her a long lecture about the impossibility of the Creator,
 exalted and glorified is He, being contained or indwelling (in some
 created thing), since her intellectual capacity does not allow her to absorb
 such issues. Are all these old women — who get away with their faith
unscathed,whoknowtheir Lord,performtheirduties,preservetheir
religion, and avoid what God has forbidden — bound for hell, just
because they belong to one of those sects which the hadith, on the face of
it, has condemned to painful chastisement? Does Islam require that all the
34
followers of the sects, menand women,investigate the origins of these
sects andtheir doctrines,in orderto discover whichis the saved one and
enter it, in order that the mercyof Godand His satisfaction may enfold
them?
I think that such an obligation is beyond human nature and that the
tolerant nature of Islam would not require such an arduous task, one that
would not be within the ability of the average Muslim who believes in God
and thinks of Him when going about his work, and who fears Him and
obeys His prohibitions.
What God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said
(‘he will be successful, if he has spokenthe truth’)!about the manwho
swore that he would not perform any acts of worship beyond the
obligatory ones, provides an example of the tolerance of Islam and its
forbearance and its acceptance of a believer’s deeds without any
requirement that he delve into questions of philosophy or the divisions
between schools of thought.
God is satisfied with Islam as a religion for the community of
Muhammad, making it the last of His messages to (the people of) the
earth. He has made this community the best community brought forth for
mankind. The community of Muhammad is the community that shall have
fulfillment: those of the community that are true to the religion of God —
whatever sects they belong to — hope for God's mercy and they fear His
torment, and they are the ones most worthy of God encompassing them
with His mercy and enclosing them in forgiveness, except those that
persist in disobedience or bury themselves in discord.
Before concluding this section, I think it appropriate to cite some
selections from Abu Ya‘qub’s sayings about the division of the community
and the way to reconcile God’s saying, exalted is He, You were the best
community brought forth for people... [Al Imran, 110], and the hadith of the 73
sects (‘My community shall be divided into 73 sects...’). He said:'° Judging
by what we have seen of this community’s extension into the eastern and
western limits of the earth, and provided that God, exalted is He, protects
them from idol-worship and taking other than Him as Lord, and that
there will always be people of the right path among them, then salvation is
[their] natural destiny, except for two classes: those that innovate in the
religion of God, may He be magnified and glorified, and those that persist
1D See al-Rabi‘, Sahih, chapter on ‘belief, islam and holy laws’, 16.
'® Al-Dalil, 1: 9.
35
 in disobedienceto Himandare distant fromHim:neitherof thesetwo
have any chance of going to Paradise.
In another place, he writes:Bid‘ahs are many: the bid‘ah that seeks to
destroy the foundations of Islam is the worst in general, since it is all-
encompassing, affecting the young and old; as for the one that is limited to
reports and does not aim to destroy the foundations of Islam, for example,
disagreement over the (application of) terms such as mu’min or muslim,
kafir or fasig, mushrik or mundfig in Islamic law, or over the Qur’an and the
divine attributes. Since these concepts for the most part harm the person
that speaks them and not the one that hears them, as long as he does not
believe them as a religion for the worship of God,exalted is He, or as a
way of cutting off the excuse of a Muslim who differs, or with the intention
of destroying a principle of Islam: in such instances, no excuse for him. As
for the one who restricts himself to the principles of Islam: the profession
of the faith (shahdda), prayer, the alms-tax, fasting, and, if he is able, the
pilgrimage, then perhaps, perhaps... (he will be excused). Similarly, for
the one confined to remote places in enemy territory, whose imam
conveyed to him only the basic pillars of Islam and did not convey
anything of the disputes within the ummah, and did not explain (all that)
to him. Even if he did understand (all that), he cannot be denied the
 profession of the faith or opinions against other men. As for women,
dependents, the simple-minded and the very young, they are not affected
 by this. Similarly again, Islam was not preached to the people of Africa
 until 500 years after the Hijrah, and so they were not acquainted with the
 disputes and divisions between the doctrines and sects: God’s compassion
 and mercy is beyond that He requite one for another’s sin. He has said,
 exalted is He:No soul shall bear the burden of another (.al-Isrd, 15] 18
The formation of Muslim schools of thought
Somepeople in this day and age think that the formationof religious
schools of thought is akin to the formation of political parties, where
several people come together under the leadership of an individual and
7 Thid, 1: 12.
18 cee the comments of Abi Ishaq on the Kitdb al-Wad’, 2.
36
establish for themselves specific principles on which they agree and which
they proclaim to others, promoting them and defending them with
enthusiasm and effort. In reality, the difference between the formation of
religious schools of thought and political parties is a huge one.
Political parties are formed as a result of particular circumstances and
during specific times and involve the demand of certain rights, or the
establishment of guidelines for how a state is to be run, so that a group of
people from the community or the nation, on the basis of the agreed
principles, comes forward to make such demands.
As for religious schools of thought, these are formed gradually and
steadily over long periods of tme, depending on the nature of the
development of new ideas and opinions in life, and on the events and
incidents that take place, which are then submitted for analysis under the
principles of established religious law (the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the
consensus)in order for a legal judgment to be produced, whether such a
judgment affects dogma or conduct.
We can document historically to the day, month and year the
formation of a (political) party, but we cannot apply the same precision to
the formation of a religious school of thought, since the development of
the latter takes place in accordance with events and as a result of opinions
which may be distant from each other in tume. Moreover, these opinions
and events to which legal principles are applied and from which
judgments are issued, whether they are close in tme or not, require
varying lengths of time, such that the formulating legist (mujtahid) can
fully examine them and apply to them the proofs from religious law, and
make a sound and valid judgment concerning them. This, naturally,
cannot happen in a short space of time. For new events in life, whether
they affect the intellect, thought or conduct, cannot be bundled together
and presented to a scholar so that he may give the required judgment.
When judgments are issued by formulating legists as a result of the events
of their time, the aim is not the creation or formation of a sect or a school
of thought.
Those notable individuals who left such great legacies for the Muslim
way of life were not counting on others afterwards imitating them or
hallowing their opinions or attributing to them schools of thought;
especially since Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, had
already come with the true school of thought and the noble way.
They were first-class teachers, since, they were trying, with all that
they were given of strength and ability, to direct the hearts of people
towards a sincere belief in God, and a proper understanding of the
contents of the holy law, and of right conduct according to Islam. They
37
interpreted the ambiguous parts of the glorious Qur’an and the noble
Prophetic hadiths for those whose intellects do not grasp their meaning
and whose mental faculties are not fit to realize what is required. They
sought to explain the meaning of religion to those whose being foreign
prohibited them from knowing the proper meaning of the Arabic tongue
required for an understanding of the Esteemed Book.
These notable individuals were teachers who dedicated themselves
and their efforts to scholarship. They took care to benefit people of all
social levels in mosques,in the street and in the markets.Theydid not
conceal what God had given them through His favour, nor did they
abstain from imparting what they had learnt to the serious student in
search of knowledge. They did not seek worldly gain or social repute
thereby. For this reason they were very careful to teach only that which
they were certain about through evidence, and whose validity they knew
from proof: guiding men to God’s religion, teaching them the contents of
His holy law and illuminating their hearts and vision with the light of God
was for them the best way to achieve closeness to God, the purest of deeds
and, among duties, the dearest to their hearts.
People trusted them and gathered round them to hear their sayings
and put questions to them about their problems. They asked them for
formal legal opinions (fatwas) on matters that befell them; they referred to
them any uncertainties that affected their sentiments, their belief or their
behaviour. Thus, each of these teachers was surrounded by a halo of
admirers, giving rise to what in literature and philosophy today is known as
a ‘school’.
Each of these scholars was surrounded by a group of students and
 listeners who admired the teachings and opinions of their master, and
 who were convinced by his arguments and proofs, and believed in the
 soundness of the principles upon which he constructed his judgments, and
 followed his way with regard to thought, doctrine and conduct, and
 implemented his proofs and evidence, seeking to promote these things of
 his and persuade others of them. In this way, a school of opinions and
 beliefs distinct from that of others grew around them. At one time there
were famous schools of repute in every principal Muslim city: Makkah,
Madinah,Basrah,Kufah, Egypt, Amman,Damascusandotherswereall
cultural centres illuminating the Islamic world with the light of knowledge
and guidance. The scholars from among the Companions and the
eminent Successors who lived on, such as ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, ‘A’ishah
the mother of the believers, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, Anas b. Malik, Jabir b.
Zayd, al-Hasanal-Basri, Sa‘id b. al-Musayyib,‘Ata’ b. AbiRabahand
others used to work in these centres, assumingthe task of disseminating
Islamic knowledge.
38
When this excellent generation of Companions and Successors had
 gone, they were succeeded by another generation, each of whom had
 been influenced by one of those notable individuals, followed in his
 footsteps and issued fatwds according to his method. Another generation
 then succeeded and followed the same path. All the while and during the
 time of each of these generations, events were taking place and opinions
 appearing. The formulating legists would study these matters and refer
 them to the established principles peculiar to them. With the passing of
 time, and as a result of religious ignorance becoming widespread and the
 establishment of groups of intellectually stagnant jurisprudents, who
 hallowed the opinions of individuals and interfered in the affairs of
 people, calling them to follow a particular opinion and to grant authority
 to. an imam they viewed as more knowledgeable than others and more
 accurateinhis judgments,schoolsof thoughtbeganto form.These
 schoolsattracted fanatical adherentsof no understanding,whowould
wage war against others out of persistent obduracy and stupidity. They
 then adopted as authoritative those imams they trusted as if they were
 protected from errorandholy,andaffiliatedthemselvesto themin
 confidence and pride.
The development of religious and educational schools of thought
during the early period of Islam and the differences of opinion between
 the formulating legists with regard to some of the principles [of
Jurisprudence] and its branches testified to the tolerance of Islam and its
ability to accommodate all minds and mental faculties, and to move
beyond the stagnation of literal meanings of texts, and to allow minds to
think and deduce freely. This religious freedom, however, whose limits the
predecessors understood, and that Islamic tolerance, which permitted
mighty intellects to soar high in the realms of inquiry, research and
investigation, later became pretexts for enmity, disagreement and feuding.
Ignorance held sway over people’s minds and implacable fanaticism
blinded the light of vision. The capricious decisions of government and
politics played around with the proper basis for the teachings of noble
religion. Tyrants and despots exploited leaders in order to entice, through
those whom the people trusted, and to whom religious matters were
delegated,those of weak soul and weak conviction. Thus,the living spirit
was extinguished and religious truths, together with the principles upon
whichcreedsandmodesof conductare based,becamecontroversiesof
use only in debates but not in action, an arena for competition between
students seeking scholarly reputation for the sake of show and not for the
sake of truth, for people and not God. Religion then became just another
of life’s conveniences, to which people took for the sake of inheritance
and as a matter of habit and familiarity, but not for the sake of faith, creed
39
or conduct. They performed their duties just like Christians do at church
and the sort of outward behaviour that people adopt out of habit without
any true feeling or sense of faith: they are duties to be carried out in a
perfunctory manner, and which when a person completes them he enjoys
a sense of relief of the kind he enjoys after completing other tasks.
It is this calamity that has struck Muslims and distanced them from
their religion and sapped the spirit that the light of truth instls in the
hearts of believers. Then they no longer respect in their actions the limits
prescribed by the truth. They do not stop to think when the forbidden and
the lawful became indistinguishable. They do not reckon with themselves
for the distance that has grown between them and the religion of God, nor
do they fear the fact that there is little faith in their hearts.
Schools of thought in religion and
in philosophy
Do schools of thought in religion form in the same way as those in
 philosophy?
I have already indicated above that many simple-minded people
 assume that religious schools of thought form in the same way as political
 parties. I would now like to reject outright any similarity between religious
 schools of thought and philosophical schools of thought. A philosophical
 school is built around human ideas about issues of life and what comes
 after life, one idea after another, one issue after another, and each is liable
 by its nature to contradiction. Many have adopted theories invented by
 humanreason,onthefoundationofinvalidconjecture, mistaken
perceptions and limited knowledge.
As for religious schools, although their primary principles were largely
formed only gradually, these primary principles refer back to the one same
fundamental sources that are not lable to contradiction, error or
invalidation, since their creator is the Knower of the Unseen and the
Visible. It is from these firm sources, sent down from the heavens, that the
schools of thought derive their directions, and acquire religious judgments
for their creeds, modes of worship and conduct, and for the organization
of their everyday existence, rules, and relationships with regard to other
religions.
40
In fact, the divergence of the schools is merely differences of opinion
over the understanding and interpretation of the import of those fixed,
unchangeable and ever-valid sources. No Muslim schools claim to derive
their principles from any other sources, even those most extreme in their
reliance on (human)reason.
The truth that should not be disputed is that Islam, the religion which
the Creator of man chose as a system that would guarantee man’s
happiness in this life and the next, has established the bases for a happy
life for man, at any period in time. Since, a book cannot possibly comprise
all the minute details of everyday events, new intellectual and scientific
theories, economic and civil systems that appear throughout the ages
during man’s long existence, Islam was content simply to establish the
principles from which one can derive the bases of creed and conduct and
to which minds and mentalities can be directed for support. With this
Islam specified the point of departure and the direction for development
of human thought, and with this Islam sought to open the way for research
and inquiry, to allow ample space for selection and comparison, and to
grant man a large measure of freedom with regard to creed, conduct and
thought. Islam abhors nothing in the way it abhors the worship of other
than God; and it combats nothing the way it combats tyranny, arrogance
and injustice and the elevation of man over his fellow-men.
When did the Muslim schools of thought first appear?
An educated person once asked me, ‘Did the Muslim schools of thought
first appear at the time of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant
him peace?’ At first I was surprised that such a question would occur to a
Muslim, but when I had given the matter some thought, I supposed —
even though supposition avails nothing against the truth — that the
person who asked the question had perhaps been led to believe this on
account of some of the discussions between the Companions, may God be
satisfied with them, and God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant
him peace, and their constant reference to him. Either that or the
questioner had absorbed it from some of the books that raise the same
41
points.Forexample,al-Shahrastanididthis.'? Judgingbyhis
introduction, the impression given is that many of the specious arguments
held by the erring sects had their origins in the ume of the Messenger,
may God bless him and grant him peace. In carrying on this narrative [|
admit that the scholar al-Shahrastani’s investigations go far deeper than
such a simple question. In any case, I am certain that this question is far
removed from reality. At the tme of the Messenger, blessings and peace
be upon him, Muslims lived without the need to work out religious
precepts or to compete intellectually or to establish bases for doctrines,
since none of that concerned them: the Revelation would come down
every time a precept was needed. Moreover, the Messenger, blessings and
peace be upon him, used to clarify all that was ambiguous through his
sayings and actions and used to respond to all that was put to him in a way
that sufficed and satisfied. It may happen that occasionally Muslims
became hesitant and unconvinced by some issue or matter and would go
over some of his responses, some of which they were not easily persuaded
by, when certain incidents clouded their thoughts. They might accept the
Messenger’s command even though some doubts sull ran through their
minds. In such instances, the Messenger, may God bless him and grant
him peace, would try to convince them through certain deeds, showing
them how the results confirmed his rulings and responses. Perhaps, the
best example of this was at al-Hudaybiyyah(following the pact with the
idolaters): the Muslims thought that they had committed a dishonourable
act in their religion and experienced a loss such as they had never
experienced before, so much so that ‘Umar kept going back to consult
God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him much peace, and Abu
 Bakr al-Siddiq, until the latter, may God be satisfied with him, said to him:
‘Woe unto you ‘Umar! Hold onto his stirrup, he is a Prophet inspired by
 revelation.’
Researchers, however, cannot really claim that such incidents were the
 nucleus of the formation of the schools of thought, or that they
 constituted a rejection of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant
 him peace. All that can be said is that such consultations were merely to
 acquire peace of mind, as when al-Khalil (the Prophet Abraham),peace
be upon him, asked his Lord to show him how He brought the dead back
 to life.
After the death of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant
him peace, Abi Bakr and then ‘Umar succeeded as his caliphs, and their
caliphates were an extension of the age of Prophethood,except for the
19 4)_Milal wa-l-Nihal, ed. Muhammad Fahmi (1" edition), 4” preface, 11.
42
sense of saddening separation brought about by the death of God's
Messenger and the end of Revelation that gripped the souls of Muslims
and overshadowed their gatherings. Otherwise, the word of Muslims
remainedone.Sometimes,amatterwouldbediscussedoverwhich
Opinions diverged, until a Companion provided a response, learnt from
God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. Controversy
wouldthenceaseandany hubbubwoulddieout,or else themajority
would agree on a ruling and the minority would accept it. Thus, consensus
would form as it did at the tme of the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr.
Muslims would persist in their struggle against oppression and for the
dissemination of God’s religion and in their fight for His cause. They did
not find time to be still or leisure for rest. Then, with the stimulus of new
circumstances and events that require a ruling, the Muslim men of
standing and knowledge would respond to the matter, always ready and
prepared to search out principles from the Book of God. If their search
came to nothing, they would turn to the Sunnah of God’s Messenger,
failing that, the consensus of the Muslims and failing that, they would look
to similar cases and analogies in which a ruling had previously been given
from the (proper) principles.
Time passed and Islam spread to extensive regions of the earth. The
number of Companions who had lived in the age of Prophethood and
witnessed Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the
sending down of Revelation, decreased. Into Islam came people who did
not know the Arabic tongue or the proper meanings of Islamic Shari‘ah as
understood by the earliest Companions. It was imperative that the
Glorious Qur’an be interpreted for them and the Noble Hadith explained
to them, and the proper meanings of the Islamic Shari‘ah be clarified for
them. From these lessons, and from the questions and discussions that
were carried back on the tongues of the new Muslims — those that had
not witnessed the sending down of the Revelation, and had not seen the
powerful personality of the Messenger, which convinced one of the
sublimity of the Message — the schools of thought originated.
The formation of the Ibadi school
If we seek to document the history of the Muslim schools of thought with
regardto their early teachers, whoinfluencedthe spirit and culture of
43
people to the greatest extent, then we may say that the Ibadi school was
among the first to form and its first teacher was Jabir b. Zayd, one of the
eminent Successors who disseminated Islamic teaching during the first
century of the Hijrah. This great imam lived from 21-96 after the Hijrah
of the Prophet, may the best blessing and purest greeting be upon him.
The majority of controversies in which the community was involved
developed during the last two-thirds of the first century. The scholar al-
Shahrastani grouped these controversies under four principal headings, as
follows:
1The (Divine) Attributes and the Divine Unity (al-si/at wa-l-tawhid).
2Predestination and Justice (al-gadar wa-l-‘adl).
3The Promise and the Threat (al-wa‘d wa-l-wa‘id).
4Hearing [i.e. Revelation] and Reason, the Message and the Trust.
He then proceeded to explain the implications that issue from these
controversies.Amongthem,ourconcern hereis with whatdeveloped
during the first century, upon which the Ibadis based their school of
thought, with recourse to unshakable evidence and the clear verses of the
Holy Book of God.
Among the matters that arose during that century were problems
concerning predestination (qadar) and the attributes, the promise and the
threat (al-wa‘d wa-l-wa‘id), as well as the question of the caliphate, which
exhausted the energies of the men of knowledge and power of that age.
The Ibadis, Jabir b. Zayd foremost among them, examined these issues, as
did other Muslim scholars, and ended up with the opinion or school of
thought, of whose validity and correctness they were convinced, in
 accordance with the Book of God and the Sunnah of God’s Messenger,
 may God bless him and grant him peace.
One of the first principles upon which the Ibadis founded their
 school concerned the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted: by
 declaring the Exalted One above comparison with creation through
 recourse to the clear verses of God’s Book. As for that in the Glorious
 Qur’an which can draw one into anthropomorphism, one must believe
 that it is from God and to understand such verses in accordance with the
 meaning required by the context, for example, by taking ‘the nsing to’
 (istiwd’) to mean ‘the domination of’ (zstild’), and ‘hand’(yad)to mean
 ‘power’ (qudra), and so on.
As regards predestination (gadar), the Ibadi opinion has been, ever
since that time, that faith cannot be complete until man believes that
20 41-Milal wa-l-nihal, I: 2"4 Introduction, 4.
44
predestination, both the good and the evil of it, is from God:God created
you and that which you do [al-Sdaffat, 96]; ... Verily to Him belongs creation and
 command...[al-A ‘raf, 54]; ...Is there a creator other than God...? [Fatir, 3]; God
 created everything...[al-Zumar, 62]. As for the servant, his entitlement is
doing (the deed) and choosing (the deed). Ibadi opinions concerning
most of the controversial questions were similarly based on principles
derived from the Glorious Qur’an and the Noble Hadith of the Prophet.
At the time, some of the Companions of God’s Messenger, may God bless
him and grant him peace, were still alive. On many of these questions, the
great imam consulted the opinions of the Companions, such as ‘Abd Allah
b. ‘Abbas and ‘A’ishah mother of the believers. One such example was the
question of the seeing of the Creator during the nocturnal journey (Jaylat
al-isr@’).Shesaid,‘Whoeverclaimsthat Muhammadsaw His Lordhas
committed a great calumny against God’.”!
Fromthis section,it shouldbe clear to the readerthat the Ibadi
school acquired its noble principles, upon which it founded its doctrines
and mode of conduct, during the best of centuries.” A time when those
who survived from among the Companions of God’s Messenger, may God
bless him and grant him peace, were still disseminating the knowledge
that they possessed, making clear the guidance of Muhammad through
their conduct, and promoting God’s religion through their guidance,
direction and counsel. When controversies arose and bid‘ah appeared, and
notable scholars would stop to ponder them, Jabir, may God be pleased
with him, used to study them in his capacity as an inquiring believer. If the
proper way out would not reveal itself to him, he would refer to his
teachers, those who received the inner meanings of Islam and its true
spirit in a way that others did not, and he would put these matters to the
Interpreter of the Qur’an, or to the rose-complexioned one, about whom
he, peace be upon him, said, “Take from her half of your religion’, or to
Anasb. Malik,the servant of God’sMessenger,mayGodbless himand
grant peace, or to ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, may God be satisfied with both of
them, or to any of those others of wisdom whomthe Messenger, blessings
and peace upon him, sanctioned to teach and to guide.
7! Cited in the Sahih of al-Rabi‘, chapter 10 ‘Polytheism and unbelief’ (ft dhikr al-
shirk wa-l-kufr), 17, ‘Aba ‘Ubaydah—Jabir b. Zayd—‘A’ishah wife of the Prophet,
may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Whoever claims that Muhammad
saw His Lord has committed a great calumny against God.’
22 Understanding ‘century’ (garn) in its temporal senseas it is commonly
understoodfromthe hadithof the Messengerof God,mayGodbless himand
grant him peace: the best of centuries is my century, then those following...(to the
45
After the establishment of Ibadi doctrine, during differing lengths of
 time, the other schools began to emerge and spread in certain corners of
 the Muslim world. The Mu‘tazilah and other schools embraced by a large
 number of Muslims today began to form.
As such, the Ibadi school was the first moderate school to emerge and
the closest in time to the age of Prophethood and the best of centuries,
 and best understood the spirit of Islam, the proper ways to create laws and
the guidance of Muhammad and his Companions. For these very reasons,
 we shall in the following sections examine some of the orientations that
are peculiar to it or mark it out.
The issue of the caliphate
 When the eminent scholars from among the Successors used to convene
study sessions, in which they would expound the Book of God and relate
to people what they had learnt from the precepts and practice of God’s
 Messenger,may Godbless him and grant himpeace,andgive people
 rulings on questions that troubled them, the issue of the caliphate was
 among the most popular questions. People held different opinions
 regarding it, each according to the proofs that convincedthemor the
 principles upon which they relied.
Jabir b. Zayd al-Azdi, one of these scholars, had taken up residence in
 Basrah. He sought to spread knowledge there, teaching and writing in
 turn, and looking after the affairs of Muslims. The question of the
 caliphate was among the questions that he came across and which he
 studied at length and in depth. He came to a conclusion based on the
 spirit of Islamic justice and derived from the Glorious Qur’an, and
supported by the conduct of the predecessors from among the
 Companions of the Prophet, blessings and peace upon him.
He believed that the caliphate was one of the pillars of the state, the
best manifestation of the community and the authority most capable of
executing God’s commands and putting into effect the precepts of the
Holy Book. As such, it cannot be subject to nepotism nor be monopolized
by anyonerace,clan,dynasty, or complexion.Forit is necessarily
end of the hadith)’.
46
conditional on an absolute competence — competence in religion, in
moral character, in practice, and in intelligence. If a number of
individuals are equal in these competencies, then one may consider
 (being a) Hashimi, Qurayshi or an Arab as a basis for preference among
them, or an argument in favour, otherwise nothing else counts.
People knew that such was the point of view of Jabir b. Zayd, as they
knew it was that of many other scholars contemporary with him, and that
of many of the Companions of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and
grant him peace. His students used to disseminate this teaching of his and
report it. On this point the opinions of Ibadis and Khawarij converge. But
it is here that some historians slipped up, thinking that Ibadis were a sub-
sect of the Khawanrij, without taking the trouble to examine other
principles and opinions. I have already mentioned elsewhere in these
sections that the convergence of two groups upon a point of view does not
make them one. It may be true that the question of the caliphate is one of
the major points of agreement between Ibadis and Khawarij, but
otherwise, Ibadis are the people furthest from Khawarij in their
understanding of Islam and their execution of its commands.
I do think, however, that the only option for the Muslim wmmah, after
all these bitter experiences and now that history has distanced it from
specific influences that led it in certain directions, is to see eye to eye with
Ibadis on the matter of the caliphate: Muslim scholars cannot give
preference to any other opinion. If it is the destiny of the Muslim
community to be united again and to return to God’s judgment and to
undo the legal codes put in place by colonialism so as to distance this
Muslim community from the Book of God, and if destiny decrees that the
Muslim caliphate should look after the affairs of Muslims as God
commanded — if all that is decreed, and if the community had to choose a
leader for its state, in whose hands the fates of all those of the community
would be, it can only return to the principles of this school of thought in
order to choose the caliph or head of the state in accordance with the
conditions mentioned above. Then, no weight can be given to [being] a
Hashimi, a Qurashi or an Arab. By God, preference can only be made if all
the characteristics and qualifications come together. This will not happen
in a community made up of a million different points of view, mentalites
and morals.
It is indeed a pleasure for me to cite from Professor Muhammad al-
Ghazali the following remarkable lines with which I conclude this section:
We ask ourselves: why all this dispute? How can such and sucha
genealogy be of use or harm to us? How does being an African or
an Asian make us better or worse? How is ‘Abd Shams better than
Tutenkhamen?Or Tahtemis[better than]‘Antarah? Whydoes
47
one not say in short that a black Muslim is better than a Hashimi
hypocrite, and that the cause of Palestine concerns Islam and
Muslims before (it concerns) Arabs and colonialists? And that the
bearer of the great Message said: ‘Nations will entertain pride in
their deceased ancestors, whereas they are but the coals of hell-
fire: before God they will be more worthless than the dung-
beetle that rolls faeces into balls with its nose. God has rid you of
that disgrace — haughtiness — from the time of Jahiliyyah. One
is either a God-fearing believer or a corrupt one who will be
damned.All of mankindare childrenof Adam,and Adamwas
created from dust’.
The Ibadi stance on public debate
 Among the qualities that distinguish Ibadis is that they do not join in
 much disputation, and they are not at ease with empty protestations and
 obstinate antagonism. They do not preoccupy their time with repeating
 opinions or with protracted conversations, since the fundamentals of
 religion taught them to believe in the value of the idea and not of words.
 They find strength of demonstration in action, not in speech; and they
 know that proof by conduct is stronger than proof by assertion. For this
 reason, when you look back at the arenas of debate and the discussions of
 theology during the long history of Islam, you will find that, among the
 schoolsof thought,the Ibadisare least in speechandmostin action,
 lightest in speaking and heaviest in faith, furthest from assertion and
nearest to guidance.
When discussions left the stage of seeking the truth and the right way,
and the authentication of the creed, for another stage — namely,
convening sessions for controversy, and assemblies for competitionand
games with words, and disputation just for the pleasure of tumph in
heated rhetorical battles whose purpose is rather display than any search
for truth —then, on the horizon of the life of Muslims, there appeared a
party that wanted to fill the world with clamour and distract the minds of
the people with talk.
Whenthe life of Muslimsbecamethus,the Ibadis,believingin the
correctness of their school and the soundness of their doctrines, having
scrutinized it in detail and founded it upon the principles of the Book of
Godand the Sunnahof God’s Messenger,may Godbless himand grant
48
him peace, free of any bid‘ah or false ideas, proceeded to examine all these
problems according to the scales put in place by the Great Legislator,
before disputatiousness increased among people. They looked into their
souls and reckoned their deeds according to what each knew and with it
 they proceeded with light from God’s religion, spreading in a balanced
and calm manner what, for them, was proven by evidence and did not
require interpretation. They did not concern themselves with the drone of
clamour that produces no results, nor did they throw themselves headlong
into verbal battles whose only aim is the manifestation of glory and worldly
possessions. Despite all this, they were the most zealous of all people in
establishing what is true and providing the proofs for it. When the
situation required a response to the falsehoods of pretenders, the lies of
innovators and the false accusations of liars, Ibadi scholars were always the
quickest to destroy the sort of falsehood made to be broadcast or the sort
of false accusationdressedupas true argumentby its propagator. No
soonerare theyfinisheddestroyingfalsehood anddumbfoundingits
propagators,than they return to the path which they set up, and to the
mode of conduct chosen by them: good deeds for the sake of God and the
community, a strong attachment to the Book and the Sunnah and
sustained effort to raise high the Word of God. They command each other
to do good and bid each other to avoid what is evil; they follow the way of
God as it is defined by Islam and made clear by the guidance of
Muhammad, peace be upon him. Theirs is a struggle without noise, the
giving of aid without there being a call for it beforehand,and without its
being followed by boasting, pride or vainglory. Their method of debating
is lively but peaceful, without bellowing or cursing, blocking the path of
rebellion (against God) through capriciousness and heresies, and forcing
falsehood to wither and not become public, and to weaken so that it
cannot come to light.
Wasil b. ‘Ata’, the imam of the Mu‘tazilah, used to yearn for debate
with Abu ‘Ubaydah Muslim and prepare for it, until one day the
opportunity presented itself and they met somewhere.
Wasil asked Abu ‘Ubaydah: ‘Are you the one who says, “God punishes
according to what He has predestined, what is to happen (yu‘adhdhib bi-l-
qadar)” >?’
Abt ‘Ubaydah replied: ‘No. What I say is that God punishes according
to fate, what has happened (yu‘adhdhib bi-l-maqdir).’
Abt ‘Ubaydah said to Wasil: ‘Are you the one who says, “God is
disobeyed unwillingly”?’
Wasil could not answer. Someone later on said to him, ‘How is it that
you asked him and he got out of it, and then when he asked you, you did
49
not respond?’ Wasil replied: ‘I have been preparing an edifice [of
arguments] for him for thirty years: he managed to demolish it by just
standing there’. The Mu‘tazilah were the foremost of all Muslim groups
in their penchant for disputation, never missing an opportunity to
contend with another Muslim school. A group of them challenged some of
the people of this (Ibadi) school and set up a session for the debate. That
Mu‘tazili who had spent long nights preparing his questions and responses
called out, ‘O ‘Abd Allah!’ Noone responded,since there wereseveral
individuals called ‘Abd Allah present at the session. He then called out: ‘I
meant‘AbdAllahb.al-Lamatithe Ibadi!’Thenamed _ individual
responded.
The Muttazili asked him: ‘O ‘Abd Allah, 1s a person able to go froma
place in which he is not to another in which he is?’
‘Abd Allah said: *No.’
The Muttazili then asked: ‘Is a person able to go from aplace in
which he is to a place in which he is not yet?’
He replied: ‘If he so wishes.’
The other said: “You have escaped, O Ibn al-Lamati.’”*
Thus, all that the Mu‘tazili had constructed, prepared and thought
out during long dark nights was demolished.
Some thoughts about predestination occurred to al-Hajjaj and
disquieted him, so he brought it up with his secretary Yazid b. Muslim.
 Yazid then wrote to Jabir to ask him, since he admired Jabir and had
 confidence in him. The latter responded, ‘Tell the emir that he should
 keeprepeating his sermonto himself, for in it lies the answerto his
 question’. Al-Hajjaj went over his sermon repeatedly and pondered it at
 length until he noticed that it contained the following saying of the
Almighty: He whom God guides shall be guided and whom He chooses to lead
 astray shall be the losers [al-A ‘raf, 178]. In this glorious verse lay the answer
 to al-Hajjaj’s perplexity. He said to Yazid: ‘Woe unto you Yazid! Your
friend is very knowledgeable.’””
A group of Khawarij, who sanctioned the seizure of Muslims’ property
and of their women and children, disputed with Jabir.
He said to them: ‘Did God not forbid shedding the blood of Muslims
as part of the religion?’
23 Salam al-—‘dmma wa-l-mubtad?in, 6, n. 1.
24 Al-Siyar, 222. The story is also mentioned by Ibn al-Saghir and al-Baruni in al-
Azhar.
> See Shammakhi, Siyar, and Qutb al-Umma, Sharh ‘aqidat al-tawhid,
50
They said: ‘Yes’.
He said: ‘Did He not forbid dissociation from them as part of the
 religion?’.
They said: ‘Yes’.
He said: ‘Did He not make shedding the blood of the enemy lawful as
 part of the religion after He had made it unlawful as part of the religion?’
They said: ‘Yes.’
He said: ‘Did He not forbid association with them as part of the
 religion after He had commanded it as part of the religion?
They said: ‘Yes’.
He said: ‘Did He make lawful anything other than this as part of the
 religion?’.”°
They did not respond.
In this way, he was able to lead them by the hand step by step to the
 true way and teach them that the precepts made for Muslims cannot be
 implemented in the same way as the precepts made for polytheists; and
 that when a person professing belief in the oneness of God commits an act
 thatmakeshimliableto bekilled, that is notsufficientcausefor his
property, women and children to be seized in addition.
The blood of a person that professes the oneness of God may become
lawful when one of God’s prescribed rulings has to be enacted as
punishment for political or social crimes, such as murder or adultery,
piracy or aggression. The purpose of these rulings is, first, as a punishment
for that person for committing the crime and, second, to dissuade people
from committing similar sinful acts. Punishment according to the
legislations of the Shari‘ah is only carried out when necessary and it is
founded upon reasons that justify it, and carried out in a specific manner
that does not involve excess or exaggeration.
Thus, the limits set out for it should not be overstepped. For some
people this concept is too subtle to understand. Some asked ‘Ali during a
discussion of the Battle of the Camel, ‘(How is it that) you have made
lawful the blood of a people but you have forbidden us their property?’.
Thesamequestionwasput to AbuI1-Khattab‘Abdal-A‘laby onehis
fighters during the invasion of al- Qayrawan. Abu 1-Khattab repudiated the
question and rebuked the questioner for it, and said to him: ‘If we were to
26 See the two sources mentioned above (n. 24).
5]
 do such a thing, then we would certainly deserve that God throw us with
 them into the Fire.’””
Itihad
 Many Muslim schools of thought decided that with the passing of a certain
 age the gates of ijtihdd should be closed, thinking that there will never be
 people of the calibre of previous mujtahids and that no field in religion
 required itihad anymore.
When such stagnant minds prohibited the minds and intellects of
 Muslims to think freely and to soar in the wide expanses allowed by the
 Holy Book’s call to believers to liberate themselves and think freely, when
 they did this and halted the currents of thought, they froze Islam in a way
 in another mind-set, climate and period.
Ibadis sensed from the first that such a stagnant approach did not go
 hand in hand with the spirit of Islam, which is valid for all places and
 times.Islam,havingdefinedtheboundariesthatshouldnotbe
 overstepped, wanted Muslims to give free reign to their abilities, intellects,
 knowledge and mental faculties in all aspects of life, to explore unknown
 things and open up closed gates, and to illuminate the way for the
 multitudes of human beings during all periods and in all cities. Islam did
 not deny the last of the community access to that which the first of them
 enjoyed. Muslims of whatever period are only better than one another in
 the extent of their fear of God,their faith, their gooddeeds,andtheir
 continuous struggle for the cause of God. The only exception is the pride
 of place given to the Companions, those people chosen by God to be
companions of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace and
27 Siyar, 129: ‘May God have mercy on him, he conducted himself properly when
he defeated them: he did not finish off any wounded man, nor did he chase after a
fleeing one. Khalid al-Liwati said to him: Shall we take of their property what they
took of ours?. Aba I-Khattab said to him: Then we certainly deserve that God cast
us into the Fire with them: Whenever any nation enters, it curses its sister-nation; till,
when they have all successively come there, the last of them shall say to the first of them, ‘O
our Lord, these led us astray, so give them a double chastisement of the Fire’. He will say,
Unto each a double, but you know not’ [al-A raf, 38 ]; and then he went off.’
52
 to that first generation that carried the torch of guidance for the good of
 erring mankind.
The need of the Muslims for mujtahids in later periods and for their
 inquiries into these many problems to which the community has been
 exposedby the different civilizations, is more severe than was their need
 for them in earlier periods. The ability of those of the community seeking
 ytthad to acquire all the sources needed to assist them in their research
 and discussion in this age is greater, given the facility of transport and the
 ability of scholarsto communicate.Ibadis believedthat what Godhad
 made open for the first of this community cannot be denied to the last of
 it, and that the gate of ijtihdd, left wide open by Muhammad, may God
 bless him and grant him peace, can only be closed by a jurisprudent of no
 understanding. Therefore they began to discuss the question of ijtihad and
 the level of scholarship required for someone to carry such a burden. Can
 a person qualify for it if he has only acquired full competency for ijtihdd in
 some and not all domains? The idea is that talents and aptitudes in one
 sphere of life or knowledge should not be impeded if such minds and
 talents were only available in another sphere.
What the learned al-Salimi wrote in this respect seems to point this
 out and identify it. Listen to what he has to say as I point out the
 conditions that a mujtahid needs to fulfil: knowledge of language,
fundaments of religion, the science of jurisprudence and the sources for
proofs such as the Book, the Sunnah and the consensus, ‘if some of these
 conditions are not fulfilled, so that he is well-versed in certain things to
 the exclusion of others, for example, if he was well-versed in the requisites
for marriage, but not in those of other things, or in the conditions for
commercialtransactions, but not in others, and so on and so forth, and if
he was fully knowledgeable in that which he specialized in, would it be
permissible for him to practice ytthaéd in order to make deductions from
the precepts he was familiar with? Or is it not permissible for him until he
acquires knowledge of all the precepts of the Book and the Sunnah?’
The imam al-Kadmi, may God be satisfied with him, permitted this
and such an attitude was ascribed to most of the experts in usil al-fiqh. It is
also said that one cannot practice ytihdd solely in certain topics, even if
one was well-versed in the proofs associated with the precepts of such a
topic. This matter is defined by them as the ‘division of ytthad’. The imam
is right to permit such (practice). For if we suppose total competency in
ijtihad in any field, in such a way that the mujtahid is not ignorant of the
sources for any issue, then the mujtahid would have to have knowledge of
everyissueconcerningitihdd,becauseofthecompletenessof his
knowledgeof thesourcesfor any issue.Otherwise,he wouldfall short.
Malik b. Anas was questioned about forty different matters, but he only
53
responded to four of them, adding that he does not know about the
others. If practising ijtihdd in one question to the exclusion of others was
not permitted, he would not have responded only to some of these
matters. Thus, it has been reported about some Companions,like Mu‘adh
and Ibn ‘Umar, that they did not respond to questions about legal
commands, and similarly some Successors and their successors, to the
extent that this became a distinguishing mark of scholars of the later
period,menwhoseboneshavedecayed,whoseeyeshavebeen
extinguished, and who died many centuries ago.”®
In this way, with much tolerance, clarity and open-mindedness, they
used to discuss problems with reference to the actions of Companions and
Successors, and the way of life of the mghteous predecessors. They do not
deny access to that which knowledge has opened up, nor do they deem
illicit that which religion has made licit, nor do they let the problems of
successive generations accumulate at the gates of ztihdd, closed by idiotic
mentalities, so that these problems fall back once again and require
rulings from scholars whose bones have decayed, whose eyes have been
extinguished and who died many centuries ago.
What brings cheer to the hearts of believers is that the majority of
Muslim scholars today have realized the nghtness of this Ibadi opinion
and have set about breaking the chains that have bound many Muslim
 groups for ages, smashing down the closed gates that prohibited free flight
 in the realms of thought and ytihad, and penetrating this prohibited
 domain, which rigid perspectives set up as a museum of the dead, and
 making lawful for Muslims what God made lawful for them, in fact, what
 He told them in detail to hasten to when He said:...But why should not a
 party of every section of them go forth, to become learned in religion, and to warn
 their people when they return to them, that haply they may beware? [al-Tawbah,
 122].
Certainly, it is not required of such a party summoned to carry forth
 God’s Message, to make Muslims learned in religion, and to warn them,
 once it is filled with those ready to invite others to faith, knowledge and
 good deeds. It is not required of this party that they bear crude messages
 or issues that have been handed down as given, which they then store in
rigid minds, like repeated editions of books committed to memory. Such
people do not deserve to be associated with being learned and are not
capable of warning nor are they fit to carry forth the Message of God.
The learned imam was probably one of the first to destroy intellectual
stagnation, and to carry forth the flag of revolution against the religious
28 Sharh Talat al-shams, 2: 278.
54
 regression that has taken hold of Muslims of many centuries, and which
 has put a halt to their progress. He watched closely, and with perplexity
 and anxiety, as the procession of life pervaded mankind through the ages,
 and called for emancipation from the bonds with which the ignorant
jurists restrained a deep Muslim understanding of events of time and
 developments in life.
Ibadis from the earliest times perceived this reality and understood
 the spirit of Islam to which the call was made by the Holy Book and by the
 guidance of its noble Messenger in the way he guided his companions,
 may God be satisfied with them, the way he, peace be upon him, did with
 Mu‘tadh b. Jabal, such that sang the praises of God for giving success to the
 messenger of the Messenger of God. They did not allow such bonds to
 enslave them or such hindrance to detain them or such rigidity to control
 their minds, understandings and knowledge. For, they see that all people
 are equal in faculties and talents, and just as the earliest centuries
 produced giants of knowledge, so later and future centuries can produce
 the same, provided that the sources on which the first individuals drew are
 the same as the sources from which later individuals draw, in addition to
 the facilities of communication, inquiry and knowledge that exist.
This is the second issue that is almost unique to Ibadis and which goes
 hand in hand with the spirit of Islam, the reality of life and the nature of
 existence. Many followers of the other schools of thought are unaware of
 this and have not been able to understand the truth of it untl this age,
where now Muslims have begun to brush off themselves the dust of
 ignorance, rigidity and regression and to pursue that which is permitted by
 Islam’s tolerant nature and to which the best of mankind, blessings and
 peace be upon hin, called.
Islam is belief, words and deeds
One of the points almost unique to the Ibadis — and this is a fundamental
principle without which Islam cannot be fruitful — is their insistence on
works for Islam to be complete: For God's religion is Islam...[Al ‘Imran, 19}.
Islamcanonly becompletewithbothwordsanddeeds:words,
meaning the declared profession of belief (al-shahddah), and deeds,
meaning the fulfilment of all that is obligatory, the avoidance of all that is
forbidden and suspension of judgment on uncertainties. Profession of the
55
 shahadah incorporates a person into the geographical boundaries of Islam,
 thus his life and property are protected, together with the honour of his
 women and children, as he, peace be upon him, said: ‘I was commanded
 to keep fighting the enemy unless they said, “there is no god but God (ld
 ilaha illa l-lah)”. If they say this, then they have been spared (haqanu),
 their persons and their possessions, except for what is permitted by law’.
 People asked: ‘What is permitted by law, O Messenger of God?’ He said:
 ‘(The legal punishment for] apostasy after belief, adultery after marnage,
 and murder of a person’.”” But for a person merely to be satisfied with the
 profession of these words, and to neglect what God has made obligatory is
 incomplete faith and is not valid acton. The essence of Islam requires that
 a person believe in God and His Message, declare his faith and proceed to
 perform deeds according to the Message, in which he has believed.
If you look at the Muslim world today, brimming with millions of
humanbeings,bearing witnessthat thereis nogod butGodandthat
 Muhammad is God's Messenger, proud that they are Muslims, chosen by
God to be the last of the believing communities and the one whose holy
 law would abrogate all the heavenly laws; if you look at these Muslims and
 see what they do, you will be stunned by what you see and upset by the
 difference (between what is professed and what is done).
When God sent Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him
 peace, with the laws of Islam, He wanted the Muslim to be totally God’s
 and for him not to take any partner with God. God needs no partner, and
 if a believer chooses not to devote his heart, words and limbs to God, then
 God has no need for him. What is the point of lips uttering the words
 expressing Oneness while the heart is filled with the love of other than
 God,andhislimbshastentocommitallthatGodhasforbidden,
abandoning what God has made obligatory for them?
What is the worth of a Muslim who avoids prayer,or doesnot
acknowledgethealms-tax,or performsthepilgrimageonlyforshow?
What is the worth of a Muslim who enters a bar and drinks himself
senseless? Or a casino to lose all his money? Or a brothel only to waste his
health and degrade himself? What is the worth of such a Muslim before
God? What is the worth of the Muslim who walks in the street with a rosary
around his fingers just so that people can see him, his lips mumbling,
29 Al-Rabi‘, Sahih, chapter ‘Miscellany on fighting for the cause of God’(jam* al-
ghazw fi sabil Allah), 2:19, worded thus: Abu ‘Ubaydah—Jabir b. Zayd—Ibn ‘Abbas:
the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace said: ‘I was
commanded to keep fighting the enemy unless they said, “there is no god but God
(1a ilaha illa l-lah)”; if they said this they have protected (‘asamz) their persons and
their possessions from me, except what is permitted by law.’
56
 ‘there is no god but God’, while his eyes roam all over seductive sights
forbidden by God, and who, when he sees people are not looking,
commits a vile deed or acquires illegitimate money, and then sets out to
cover up his corrupt behaviour with a superficial image of dignity so that
people think him a believer?
What is the worth of a Muslim who uses the arguments of
philosophers against the words of God and responds to the Sunnah of
God’s Messenger with Freudian theories, cherishing Marxist philosophy
over that of Islam and impeding (the application of) the precepts of the
Book through laws established by Jean-Paul Sartre, John Dewey or Karl
Marx?
What is the worth of such a Muslim before God? What is the worth of
 the Muslim who spends his money on every cause except the cause of God
and good in general, and who takes part in every project except for a
good-will project, and encourages against every gathering except that of
forbidden things? What is the worth of such a Muslim before God? What is
 the worth of the Muslim who deceives people through the guise of
religion, getting them to part with their money by manifesting
righteousness and then steals it when it should go to charity? What is the
worth of such a Muslim before God? What is the worth of the Muslim who
enslaves other people and their money through the freedom of the right
of property, and makes them subservient to him like servants by claiming
that he is their guardian, controlling them by stultifying, impoverishing
and demeaning them? What is the worth of such a Muslim before God?
What is the worth of that Muslim who discovered secularism and then
adopted it, or the one who was told about communism and then became
communist, or who was called to adopt socialism and then did so? What is
the worth of such a Muslim before God?
These characteristics are not limited to individuals, they are also
found among states. They certainly describe well all those confused
factions in Muslim countries, each one thinking that it is a state in its own
right, seeking refuge in ‘Arabhood’ and abandoning Islam, cherishing
race and neglecting religion, putting the enemies of God and its own
enemiesinpositionsofauthorityandrejectingthemethodsof
5° These names are merely examples of the dozens of individuals to whom wisdom
or philosophy is ascribed, and whose sayings and opinions are adopted in the place
of God’s laws, so that if you were to say, ‘God says’ or ‘The Messenger of God says’,
the response would be, ‘Freud said’ or ‘Marx said’ or, “Darwin said’ or ‘Sartre
said’, or any one of these, admiration for whomfills the hearts of those infatuated
by them.
57
 government established by God, and in the end declaring itself enemy of
 those of its own, and seeking the assistance of the enemies of God against
 its brethren before God, making use of their opinions and experience,
 together with their weapons, ammunition, strategies and plots.
What is the worth of such states before God?
You can find millions of different portrayals for all human beings, all
 professing the words of Oneness, but who otherwise are not Muslims. Can
 the faith of all of these be complete? Can they be counted as Muslims? If
 such were complete in the way that God willed it, and the faith of all those
 worthless individuals were like the faith of those valiant ones who believe
 that works are necessary for the fulfilment of faith, then the whole world
 today would be on the path of God’s law. When Islam was made up of
 faith, words and deeds, ten thousand Muslims were able to guide millions
 to God’s religion through their conduct above all, before guiding them
 with words or swords. Those few thousands were able to establish the rule
 of God in the lands of God so that it was firm and flourishing, despite the
 fact that the inhabitants were non-Muslims. This was because, those few
 were true Muslims in their hearts, in their words and in their actions. I
 make the claim — and this may be wrong — that nothing damaged Islam,
 made it insignificant for its followers, encouraged Muslims to forsake its
 obligations, debase it and neglect its laws, more than the calling of a
 person a complete Muslim merely on the profession of ‘there is no god
 but God’. Some jurists, exploiting what they have learnt without any real
 understandingof it, makeeveryeffortto please thepublicandthe
 ignorant folk by making it easier for them to be disobedient, and who
 abuse rhetorical skill in the name of schools of thought, saying — ‘Hell-
fire was not created for people who believe in the oneness of God, even if
 they have no (good) works (to their credit); whoever professes “there is no
god but God” shall go to Paradise, even if he should fornicate or steal’ —
being unaware of the meaning of this last sentence. Such are the methods
by which things are severed from their proper meaning, and with which
they deceive people with regard to themselves, their religion and their
Lord, dressing it up and labelling it ‘Islam’, denying them [access to] good
deeds which the Holy Book has made a necessary part of belief in God,
since wherever faith in it is mentioned it is accompanied by good deeds
and benevolent action.
This is the third point which has been almost unique to Ibadis since
the beginning of Islam and according to which they have conducted
themselves in the way Muhammad did, may God bless him and grant him
peace, and the way his Companionsdid, may God be satisfied with them.
They did not distinguish between words and deeds and they did not divide
up God’s religion, nor did they give hope of God’s mercy to those who
58
persist in disobedience without repentance, whether their disobedience is
 through commission of evil deed or omission (of what is obligatory).
Now that Muslims have awoken from their long slumber and have
returned to their Lord’s Book and to the guidance of their Prophet and
 the way of conduct of their predecessors, seeking from it inspiration,
directon and the way to guidance, they realize that works are the
fundamental condition of proper faith. For this reason, blessed pens have
set forth calling people to hold fast to the firm bond that is God’s Book, to
adorn themselves with the noble manners with which Muhammad, may
God bless him and grant him peace, adorned himself, and to proceed into
the arenas of that eternal jihad, the jihad of the self. For, he who cannot
defeat the satan within himself will not be able to defeat the enemy on his
land. So long as Muslims deviate from the straight path of God, they will
not be reinforced with God’s support. When Muslims understand Islam
properly, apply it again as individuals and communities, nations and states,
submittheir souls,lips andlimbsto God,only then, will Godopenup
their hearts to Islam, grant them relief from every distress, a way out of
every problem, and grant them the glory He promised them:To God
 belongs all glory, and to His Messenger and the believers [al-Mundfiqin, 8], and,
‘My servant keeps drawing himself near to Me through his voluntary
worship until I love him, and if I love him I will be the hearing with which
he hears and the sight with which he sees and the hand with which he
strikes’.
Walayah, bar@ah and wuquf
Inhisal-Shadmil,Qutbal-A’immastates:‘waldyah(maintaininggood
relations)andbardah(severanceof relations)in respect of groups are
both obligations according to the Book, the Sunnah and the consensus,
on every obligated individual of legal age if proof is presented to him’.
Then, after a discussion of the subject, he adds: ‘As for waladyah and bara’ah
in respect of individuals, they are both duties by analogy with the other
two, and on account of hadiths that require brothers in God to love one
another,andonaccountof the praiseof suchlove in the Qur’an’,
Following another discussion, he then says, ‘except wherethe two are not
duties’.
I saw fit to commence this section with these truths proclaimed by
Qutb al-A’imma, may God have mercy on him and be satisfied with him.
He is one of those few free thinkers, with whom this new age has favoured
us. As well as being from among those, whose powers of insight God has
opened up so that they understand the proper meanings of Islamic laws, in
whose hearts He has placed the light of wisdom and knowledge, whom He
has strengthened for the struggle for the cause of God, and for whom he
has facilitated the way to serve His religion in tmes of corruption and
 darkness, by applying the laws derived from the Book and the Sunnah and
 establishing firmly what vacillated between one or more opinions. In
 addition to his ongoing work, his literary output — which, to my mind, no
 other author has equalled — his teaching, guiding and counselling
 activities, he is also an encyclopaedia of all branches of knowledge. He
 lived in his age, a life in touch with reality, aware of events taking place in
 the world. News of cultural activities and the abuses directed against Islam
 used to reach him, and he would respond to them and criticize them
 according to the extent of their severity or mildness.
It is not my concern here to write a biography of this inquisitive
 scholar, who was a living example of the way a Muslim should be. He fixed
 his heart upon his Lord, raised himself above worldly contentmentss,
 seeking the contentment promised by God. He stood firm in the struggle
 for the cause of God, battling against the machinations of Zionists and
 Crusaders and their agents, and the methods the colonialists contrive. He
fought against the plots of this-worldly scholars, who ingratiate themselves
with those in power so as to acquire immediate benefits. He pulled down
the deceptions of rigid jurists and the trickeries of Sufi shaykhs, who numb
thesensesof Muslimsso thattheir will becomesdormant,andwho
contaminate the thoughts of the believers of the community through
bid‘ah and false ideas so that they become negligent. Your Lord alone
knows the true facts.
Ibadis believe that, for the believer who fulfils his religion, is mindful
of his duties and keeps himself apart from the forbidden things, whose
manners are those of Islam, and who follows the guidance of Muhammad,
peace be upon him, and the legacy of the righteous predecessors, love is
incumbent. The Ibadis believe that if a believer is on such a path, it is
incumbent upon other believers to love him, waladyah with him should be
declared among Muslims, and mercy and compassion from the Lord of
the worlds should be petitioned for him.
Consider,dear reader,a society in whichthereis nomutuallove,
affection or compassion, except between those believers who have put
their fates in the hand of God and who have devoted themselves to raising
high the word of God, and for whom the ties between them are the result
60
 of their brotherhood before God. If a devilish insinuation should come to
 one of them and, failing to seek refuge with God, he proceeds to commit a
 sin instead of hastening to repent, the bond that ties him to other
 believers will be severed. The brotherhood established on the basis of
 religion will be destroyed,until he renews his faith in his Lord and asks
 God to forgive him his sin, attaching his heart to the Creator of the
 heavens and earth. Only if he does this will his place among his brothers
 be restoredto whatit hadbeen,and his dignity, so far debased,return
 him:To God belongs all glory, and to His Messenger and the believers [al-
 Mundfiqin, 8}.
Ibadis believe that the Muslim who professes in front of people, ‘there
 is no god but God, Muhammad is God’s Messenger’ and then has the
 audacity to go against the commandments of God and neglect his duties,
 or does what is forbidden and appears before God in an image different
 from the one he shows to people, or prefers something that humans call to
 above something in the religion of God, or is degenerate enough to curry
 favour with a humanbeing, whether dead or alive, so that he seeks from
 him something which a believer only seeks from God: Ibadis believe that
 such a Muslim, whom we nominally call Muslim and incorporate into the
 people of monotheism, does not deserve to be equated with the righteous
 and cannot be loved in religion. Instead, he should be regarded with
 severity by Muslims, rebuked and reproved; distance from him should be
 required,bard’ah(severanceof relationswithhim)declared,andthe
 interactions with him should be greatly decreased, untl the earth with all
 its ampleness becomes too restricting for him and he can find no refuge
from God, only refuge with Him. Then, either God will make his heart
 open to Islam and open to faith, and his limbs subservient to worship, and
 he distances himself from disobedience, repents of his deeds, returns
withinthefoldof Islamwithgooddeeds,continuousstruggle —the
struggle against the self and desire — so that his bonds will be tied to those
 of others and after guidance and success he becomes a brother in God.
 Or, he succumbsto Satan, persists in disobedience,thinks himself above
repentance,avoidsself-reckoningandcontinuesin misguidanceand
error. Then, those who are friends of God cannot love an enemy of God,
nor can they be pleased with one who has made his rebellion (against
God) manifest. Believing hearts are ashamed to turn to the King, the
Judge to ask him for mercy and compassion on behalf of one who is a slave
to covetous desires and to those misguided by Satan: ... You shall not guide
 those youlike, but God guides whom He wills[al-Qasas, 56]. Thosesinners
who persist in their actions and manifest what they commit in front of
people and before God have split themselves off from their Lord on
account of their arrogance and they have distanced themselves from the
61
 love of their brethren and have opposed God and His Messenger:You
 shall not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day who are loving to
 anyone who opposes God and His Messenger...[al-Mujddilah, 22];Surely those
 who oppose God and His Messenger, those are among the most abject[al-
 Mujadilah, 20); Surely those who oppose God and His Messenger shall be frustrated
 as those before them were frustrated [al-Mujddilah, 5).
Sincerity, truth and faith were the qualities with which Muslims
 adorned themselves during the first phase. Then, you only find believers
 competing against one another in the performance of good deeds or
 hypocrites, may God make them abject for their hypocrisy, or Muslims one
 of whom may be touched by Satan and so commits a sin which he keeps
 secret, concealing his error with hidden anger. His audacity is not such
 that he makes licit what God has forbidden nor such that he manifests his
 disobedience of God, nor that he persists in the sin that he has committed,
 knowing that this was a sin. Instead, he will reckon with himself very
 seriously for the sin that he has committed and repent to his Lord, fearing
that his Friend will reject him, deny him His mercy and forget him.
The Muslims as a society are more concerned with purity than to be
 aware of the rebellion of a Muslim and then keep quiet about it, then
 welcome him among them with love, before he hastens to repentance,
 forgiveness and expiation. It was said to Ibn ‘Umar: ‘This person sends you
 greetings of peace.’ He said: ‘I am informedthat he expressesa view
 against predestination (qadar): if he still does so, then do not carry to him
 from me greetings of peace.’ The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar b.
 al-Khattab, may God be satisfied with him, said: ‘That person in whom we
 see good and from whom we expect good, we speak well of him and
 associate with him; and that person in whom we see evil and from whom
 expect evil, we speak ill of him and dissociate from him.’ The Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever loves for God’s sake,
hates for God’s sake, gives for God’s sake and forbids for God’s sake, has
fulfilled faith’.””
That is the fourth point almost unique to the Ibadis among Muslim
schools of thought: they do not treat a God-fearing believer and a
doomed sinner equally. They believe that it is incumbent upon Muslim
society to pronounce the word of truth with regard to every individual, to
oversee the improvement of the recalcitrant, the putting right of the
perverted, and the education of the wrong-doers through the means
3! cee the Introduction to al-Tawhid, 48, the explanation given by Abu Sulayman
Dawud.
»? See ibid, 9, the commentary by Abt Ishaq.
62
legislated by Islam for social pedagogy, such as the commanding of what is
good and the forbidding of what is evil, and (bard’ah) the rejection of
those who shun God.
It is very wrong for us to ignore sinners and place them on a par with
truebelievers.Weshouldrebuke the sinner for his disobedienceand
declare him an enemy as long as he persists in his deviance from the cause
of God, and not treat him and the faithful one equally, nor show him
affection or pray for forgiveness for him or treat him well in the way we do
the one who is mindful of God when he is alone and in public, who
reckons every act whether important or insignificant, not overstepping the
boundaries he has drawn for himself: And let them find in you harshness...
 [al-Tawbah, 123]; You shall not find any people who believe in God and the Last
Day who are loving to anyone who opposes God and His Messenger [al-Mujddilah,
22].
I take pleasure in concluding this section with the following
wonderful statements of the learned Muhammad al-Ghazali:>>
‘Is religion other than love and hate? Religion is surely that
passion enthused by the love of good and good-doers, and
aversion to evil and its proponents. It is that effusive and flowing
emotion similar to a rising flood that only comes to rest when it
has reached its goal, indifferent to covering over a plain or
engulfing a mountain peak...Religion is this simple and free
emotion: aversion to the behaviour of corrupt individuals,
making you withhold your hand from shaking theirs and making
your face turn red with rage for their audacity against their Lord,
so that if you can either you make the earth collapse from
underneath them or move heaven and earth around them.
Otherwise, if inability prevents you, you become quiet, overtaken
with grief on account of the disgrace that bites at you, but this is
not the quiet of an idiot stricken with immobility (inability to act
on the decision he has taken).’
With these brief words, the learned al-Ghazali expounds the system
ofwaldyah and bard’ah, according to which Ibadis have conducted
relations since the earliest days of history. Ibadis do not expel the sinners
of the community, nor do they judge them polytheists, but they consider it
incumbentto dissociate fromthem and to loathe them, and to makethis
obvious to them until they desist from their disobedience and repent to
their Lord.
33Mawkib al-da‘wah, 2" imp., 85.
63
Unbelief in the bounty of God
Many of those without knowledge reckon that Ibadis concur with the
Khawrarjj in calling sinners unbelievers (meaning thereby) the unbelief of
polytheism (shirk). They are unaware that Ibadis apply the term unbeliever
tosinnersof themonotheistcommunity(‘usadt al-muwahhidin)who
desecrate what Godmadesacred. They meanby that unbelief in the
bounty of God(kufr ni‘mah), taking this sense fromthe noble verses that
apply it in this meaning, and with reference to the hadiths of God's
Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: .../¢t zs the duty of men
to God to make pilgrimage to the House, whoever ts able to make his way there. As
 for whoever unbelieves, God is All-sufficient, nor needs any being [Al ‘Imran, 97].
...When he [Solomon] saw it, he said: This is a bounty from my Lord, to test me,
whether I am grateful or ungrateful (unbelieving). Whosoever gives thanks gives
thanks only for his own soul's good, and whosoever is ungrateful (unbelieving) —
my Lord is surely All-sufficient, All-generous [al-Naml, 40]; Whoever judges not
according to what God has sent down — they are the unbelievers [al-Ma’idah,
44]. Al-Aqra‘ b. Habis asked God’s Messenger,may Godbless himand
grant him peace: ‘Is pilgrimage incumbent upon us every year, O
Messenger of God?’ He, peace be upon him, replied: ‘IfI were to say yes, it
would be incumbent upon you, and if it were incumbent on you, you
would not be capable of it, and if you were not capable of it, you would
have unbelieved.’ ‘He who has abandoned prayer has unbelieved.’ ‘There
is nothing that separates a (believing) servant and unbelief except
 abandoning prayer.’ ‘Beware! Do not revert after me to unbelieving (so
 that) some of you strike the neck of others.’ ‘Bribing authorities is
 unbelief.’
There are many such hadiths.”* So far so, some hadith narrators
 devote chapters to this, under the title ‘chapter on unbelief below
 unbelief’. People make mistakes and miss the truth because they do not
 bother to make the effort to research and inquire. When they hear that
Ibadis judge monotheist sinners to be unbelievers, they think that this
judgment excludes Muslims from the religion and makes them polytheists,
which is what the Khawrarjj do, and so they think that Ibadis are a sub-sect
of the Khawrarjj. In this way, they come to conclusions based on false and
mistaken assumptions, and they get involved in gross error, ascribing to a
Muslim faction — one that happens to be one of the most careful in
pronouncing truth, following it, one that is more strongly attached to the
34 All the hadiths cited in this section are taken from the Sahih of al-Rabi‘.
64
Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger than any other — opinions
and sayings that are far removed from what they truly believe and say.
If such people were to turn back to the Book of God, the one which
no falsehood can come from before it or from behind it [Fussilat, 42], and to the
Sunnahof God’s Messenger,the one whodoes not speak out of capnice,
This ts naught but a revelation revealed [al-Najm, 4], and were then to consult
the written works of this school of thought and discuss their proofs and
sources, apply to them the cniteria established by Muhammad, may God
bless him and grant him peace, in order to understand what Ibadis mean
when they use the term ‘unbelief (ku/fr) in the case of monotheists — were
they to do this, they would save themselves the disgrace of being ignorant,
and would learn that these people reckon with themselves for every great
and small thing, before others do, and that they do not say or do anything
unless it is based on a clear verse or a practiced sunnah.
I think that the foregoing makes sufficiently clear what is intended by
the application of the term ‘unbelief (ku/fr) to sinners: it is that they
commit unbelief in respect of the bounty of God (ni‘mah). There are two
reasons for why Ibadis chose to refer to sinners with this term instead of
words like ‘hypocrisy’ (nifaq) or ‘corruption’ (fusiq). Firstly, it is the term
used for them by the Holy Book and the Noble Sunnah in many places
and in many instances. Secondly, ‘hypocrisy’ (nifdq) has a special sense in
the history of Islam, since it famously referred to a group of people at the
time of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, who
believed outwardly, but whose hearts were not at ease with faith. The
Qur’an used to be sent down in order to rebuke them and to expose some
of them and threaten them with painful chastisement in this world and the
next, with the result that they became famously identified and known by
this term: The hypocrites, the men and the women, are as one another, they bid to
dishonour and forbid honour; they keep their hands shut; they have forgotten God,
and He has forgotten them; the hypocrites — they are the ungodly [al-Tawbah,
67]. As a result this term almost became a proper noun for them,
whenever it is used, it meant them.
The term ‘unbelief (kufr) was applied by the Mighty Book to the
hypocrites at the time of the Messenger, blessings and peace upon him, as
well as to the sinners of the monotheists. It is used in both senses also in
Prophetichadith. Philologistssay that,inthis sense,whereit means
‘ingratitude’ (ku/fr al-ni‘mah), it is derived from ‘unbelief’. The Glorious
Qur’an frequently uses it in the sense of ‘polytheism’ (shirk), whether this
‘polytheism’ is through rejection (shirk juhid) or through associationism
(shirk musdwat). In sum, when Ibadis refer to monotheists using the term
‘unbelief’ (ku/fr), they mean ‘ingratitude’ (kufr al-ni‘mah), which others
refer to as ‘corruption’ (fusiq) or ‘disobedience’ (‘isydn): what Ibadis call
65
‘ingratitude’ (kufr al-ni‘mah) is what Mu‘tazilites call ‘corruption’ (fusiq),
or which others call ‘hypocrisy’ (nifaq) or ‘disobedience’ (‘zsyan). All three
expressions were used to refer to the hypocrites at the tmeof God’s
Messenger,mayGodbless himand grant himpeace, andto thosethat
committed sins openly before God and disobeyed His command. This is a
matter for linguistic debate, the difference being a verbal one and the
result is that the one who persists in disobedience to God will be
recompensed in the same way as the one who does not believe in God. As
regards how Muslims should treat one who has deviated from the
command of God or who behaves hypocritically in God’s religion, or is
ungratefulforGod’sbounty,it shouldbe likethe treatmentofthe
degraded sinner — namely, that they should attempt to guide him to (the
realization) that it is incumbent upon him to hold fast to his religion, to
return to the commands of his Lord, to desist from opposing God and His
Messenger. If this person persists in arrogance and is overcome by Satan,
then one should dissociate from him and his actions, and Muslims should
ignore him, in the manner that was described in the section on waldyah
and bara’ah, until he repents.
The ways of religion
 The author of ‘Agidat al-tawhid says:‘the ways of religion are four:
 manifestation, defence, exposure and concealment’. Muslim society may have
 mastery over its enemies, freedom in its own lands, autonomy and may
 operate according to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger,
 applying the precepts of religion and not subject in any way to a foreign
 element, neither the monopoly of a single ruler nor the object of a
governor's despotism. This is the state of manifestation. It is the most
perfect state for Muslim society. The community should be this way, since
it is the state that God was satisfied with for believers: ...To God belongs all
glory, and to His Messenger, and the believers... [al-Munafiqin, 8]. If Muslims
should fall from this state, become diminished in honour, and come down
from the level to which faith in God and trust therein raised them, then
they should not make peace with tyranny, or give in to despotism, or allow
evil hands to play with the fates within this community and violate their
35 Introduction, 6.
66
sanctity, come between them and their religion, manipulate their actions
and worship, and use their wealth in ways other than those legislated by
 the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and by the guidance that
Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, left behind for the
sons of Islam.
Should the community fall into this abyss, and be dominated by a
foreign enemy, or should the one to whom the community has delegated
its trust, and submitted its leadership and in whose hands it has placed its
welfare, abandon the trust, and take the community away from the right
path, and betray God, His Messenger and Muslims in what has been placed
in his hands, then it is the duty of Muslims to stand in the way of such an
oppressive state, bid it to do good and forbid it to do evil, forcing it to
follow the right path. If it should take pride in error, enjoy the taste of
injustice, become too arrogant to submit itself to the command of God,
and return to the cause of God, then the second phase of the Islamic
codes applies: defence. Defence as a way of religion is synonymous with what
in this present day is called ‘revolution’. Revolution against foreign
domination, or revolution against internal oppression; is similar to
revolution against feudalism, or against moral decay, or deviation from
God’s religion in all its shapes and manifestations. The head that leads
such a revolution is known as the ‘imam of defence’ (imdm al-difa‘), to
whom the community owes obedience and compliance as long as the
revolution exists. If the situation settles down and peace and stability
return, he becomes just another member of the community with regard to
rights due to and duties incumbent upon him before them.
The situation may settle down in one of two ways: either the
revolution is a success or it is a failure. Its success can be one of two things:
either the state concedes to the demands made by the community and
returns to the commands of God, which up to this point is all that is
required of the revolution, or the despotic rule is brought down and the
unjust government is replaced by an Islamic one, consistent with the laws
of the Holy Book of God. At such time, the head of the revolution or
‘imam of defence’ enjoys no right to government, unless he is chosen for it
by the community, in accordance with the necessary qualifications he is
required to possess, after a peaceful process of consultation, reflection and
election, in accordance with the rules one follows when electing a
commander for the believers.
If Muslims, however, are too weak even for such a situation and fail to
heed the call of the leader of the revolution, preferring the path of peace
and keeping quiet and at ease, the third way of the ways of religion applies:
exposure. It is permitted for a minority, if their number comes to forty, to
declare revolution against corruption. Even if such a revolution carried
67
out by a small number of men is not expected to be successful in its
 struggle against an oppressive and armed state together with a general
populace preferring peace and submissiveness, such activity may yet be
 seen as disruptive for an oppressive state so that it cannot so easily carry
out its tyrannical schemes. Its results may be no more than the anxiety that
it inflicts upon the tyrants, the fear and dread that permeates their
movements and actions. For this reason, the conditions required for such
activism are very severe, such as only martyrs can agree to — those who
sacrifice their lives for the life of the community. Once they have joined
this organization, they cannot return to their homes or stay in one place,
nor abandontheir message, until they achieve success or are killed, and
they are more likely to get killed. If it happens that the situation calls for
one of them to return home in order to further the cause of the
revolution in some way — perhaps to get supplies — then he is considered
in his home a stranger on a journey, so that he performs shortened
prayers (qasr al-salah). But when he is at the top of mountains or deep in
the valleys, disrupting the communications of the tyrants, destroying the
 bridges used by the locomotives of the oppressors, or razing the
 foundations of the forts that house the ammunition of the despots, he is
 considered at home and among his family. Even so, they are not allowed
to terrorize those living in security or to behave unjustly towards the
 peaceful ones. It is a splendid system for the spirit of self-sacrifice in Islam,
 when oppression sets in, whenthe servants of Satan are raised to power
 and the commands of God are replaced by the rulings of men. Abu Ishaq
 Says, ‘exposure is one of the characteristics peculiar to Ibadis’.
If the community is content to be submissive, resigns itself to tyranny
 and becomes subject to despotic rule, and if there is no one in it who will
 rise up in revolt for the forsaken honour of Islam, or for the honour of the
Message that brought glory to mankind, and if every individual becomes
inclined towards passivity and remains in a state of inaction, then there will
be no spirit of sacrifice to rob tyrants of their sleep, to remind them that
their rule cannot last, that their positions will not remain, that resistance is
sll the hope of the believers, and that they will face a tough reckoning
before God and the community.
If the community is too weak for even such a situation, then the last
organizational option remains: concealment. During this phase, believers
should avoid assisting the oppressors by accepting positions that promote
injustice, and their affairs should be looked after by associations that
imbue them with God’s guidance, fill their hearts with faith in God,
disseminate among them the Islamic culture and knowledge that will open
their eyes to God’s religion, so that they have only the most limited of
dealings with the oppressors, such as the collection of obligatory taxes for
68
 government. These societies are known in the Ibadi system as the halagqat
al—‘azzabah.
The ‘Azzabah institution
 Meaning of the term al-‘azzabah
 Al—‘azzdbah is a body consisting of a small number of individuals,
 representing the best and most knowledgeable men of the country. This
 body supervises all aspects of Ibadi society: religious affairs, education,
 social matters and politics. During the manifestation and defence periods, it
 represents the council of state of the imam or his agent and his
 representative; but during the periods of exposure or concealment, it stands
 in for the imam and carries out his duties.
The ‘Azzdbah body elects a shaykh who becomes known as shaykh al-
 ‘azzabah, being the most knowledgeable and the best qualified from
 among them, but not necessarily the eldest. The Shaykh heads the body
 during council sessions, represents it in all its functions, speaks in its
 name, executes its decisions and supervises directly all the affairs of the
 country or the community. All problems and incidents are reported to
 him, and after the decision of the council, his ruling in all cases is carried
 out.
 The derivation of the term al-‘azzabah
 The term is derived from al-‘uziib or al-‘izdbah, meaning ‘isolation’ and
 ‘alienation’, ‘asceticism’, ‘practicing night vigil’ and ‘withdrawal’ into
mountain tops. In this case, it denotes ‘withdrawal’ in order to serve the
generalgood,abstentionfromthe pleasures of the self, and separation
from life’s distractions in the form of kin, property and children. The
 ‘Azzabi gives only very little of his time and energy for these, expending all
his energies on the cause of God and the service of Muslims, anticipating
no remuneration or other reward for his work, since his reward and
account shall be from God.
 The meaning of the term halaqah
Halaqah is another term for the ‘Azza@bah council, indeed synonymous with
it. It is derived fromtahliq, meaning‘being ring-like/circular’, for the
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 ‘Azzabah during their formal meetings sit in the shape of a ring or circle,
 which is the best arrangement for exchanging opinions and examining
 different points of view. Moreover,this is the best positionfor studying
 and reciting the Qur’an, and for turning towards God in supplication.
The headquarters of the ‘Azzabah
 The official headquarters of the ‘Azzdbah is the mosque. As such, it is
 necessary that within the mosque buildings a part is set aside for the
 ‘Azzabah, preferably away from where people tend to gather, so that their
 conversations are not overheard. This area is exclusively for them and no
 one is permitted to enter it. It is the duty of the newer members among
 them to clean it, guard it, furnish it and maintain it. In it are held all the
 documents,whichmustbeconcealedfromeverybodyelse.Allthe
 conversations,discussions and inquiries whichare conductedinsideare
 considered secret and are not to be taken outside or divulged for any
 reason, except for executive decisions, which the Shaykh must announce,
 though he may (on occasion) be represented by any other member. It is
 not permitted for any members of the ‘Azzdbah to discuss anything outside
 their official headquarters. After they have come to a decision on a
 particular issue, they have the right to move to another location in order
 to put that decision into effect, if the matter requires it. If they issue a
 ruling concerning the social affairs of the community, such as fixing
 dowries or prices or commencing work in the cultivation season etc., and
 the populace do not accept their ruling, they take refuge in their
 headquarters and remain in the mosque, abandoning their usual duties,
 staying away from shops and towns, until the community does recognize
 their ruling and puts it into effect. This scenario did not take place among
 the Ibadis in Libya, except in one or two cases, where people adopted the
 ‘Azzdbah’s ruling as soon as they could and where, in fact, upon receiving
such news fromthe ‘Azzdbah, they usedto hurry to convinceeachother
and send back confirmation of their acceptance to the council before it
was time for the next prayer, so that things functioned normally.
 The number of members in a halaqah
Thenumberof membersvariesbetweentenandsixteen.Dutiesare
assigned to them in the following way:
1)TheShaykhof the‘Azzdbah:themostknowledgeableof them,the
strongest personality and the most capable of solving problems.
2) The advisers: they are exactly four, attached to the Shaykh and without
whose agreement he cannot execute a decision.
3) The imam: one person who leads prayer; this can be one of the four
advisers.
70
 4) The mwadhdhin: one person responsible for the times of prayer and
 making the call to prayer; this too can be one of the four advisers.
 5) Managers of endowments (wukald@ al-awgdf): two members are
 appointed to supervise endowments and the funds of the halagah, to
 record imports and exports, and the management and development of the
 endowments. In addition to the general requirements pertaining to
 membership of the halaqah, these two members are required to be of
 modest means, but not impoverished or destitute.
 6) Teachers:three or more members, according to need, are assigned the
 task of supervising education and cultural welfare, organizing classes and
 looking after students in lectures, which are teaching seminars, or in
internal departments, etc.
 7) The rights of the dead: four or five members are appointed to look
after the rights of the dead, supervising the washing of the corpse, funeral
preparation, prayers for the dead, burial, the execution of their wills, and
 the allotment of their bequests according to Islamic law.
If the dead person was one from whom Muslims had dissociated, and
who died a sinner, then the ‘Azzdbah does not look after his nights, since
believers are not obliged towards a sinner; but they permit anyone from
outside the halagah to carry out these rights, for the performance of duties
towards a dead person is a collective duty (fard kifayah), when carried out
by a few it cancels the obligation for the remainder.
 The conditions for membership
Conditions of membership of the ‘Azzdbah include the following:
1) That the person knows the Qur’an by heart.
2) That he completes all the stages of study in sequence.
3) That he adopts the official uniform of students during his studies, and
the official dress of the ‘Azzabah when he becomes a member.
4) That he is refined, cultured, intelligent, diplomatic and skilful in
handling matters.
5) That he enjoys and seeks study, pursues knowledge and teaches.
6) That he is not distracted by many worldly matters, so that he does not
frequent shops or mix with the public in a way that would detract from his
station and diminish his prestige.
7) That he washes himself with water and ‘washes his heart with water and
sid’ (‘lotus leaf’): this is an idiomatic expression meaning that a person
should be free of handling, consuming or eyeing other people’s wealth.
He should also be free of all the illnesses of the heart, inwardly as well as
outwardly pure.
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Abt ‘Ammar ‘Abd al-Kafi explained this expression thus: ‘As for his
 body, he should cleanse it of the dirt in human beings, and as for the
 heart, he should cleanse it of imposture, arrogance and the like which
 necessarily cancel good deeds.’ As you can see, the expression is very
 subtle and it carries more than what I have indicated and what the learned
 Abi ‘Ammar has stated. Ponder it. For, each tme you ponder it you will
 find a new meaning in it.
The elders have stressed the importance of a believer cleansing his
heart, since, impurities of the heart are worse than those of the body. For
this reason, they deem it necessary for him to wash his body with water and
his heart with water and sidr, which is a metaphor for making sure that the
inside is cleaner than the outside: he whose mind is pure conducts himself
purely, and his affairs are upright and he holds himself to account
frequently and is wary of his behaviour: success results from this.
The duties of the halaqah
 The ‘Azzdbah council has precise duties for which it is responsible on
 account of it being a formal body. These duties are as follows:
1) Supervision of education and the preparation of facilities for such
 purposes; facilitating some sort of education for all children, so that they
 memorize a part of the Qur’an and acquire sufficient knowledge of their
 religion. This is the least that can be granted. to a child. If the child’s
 family is too poorto avail itself of such modest efforts, or if it does not
 have the means to support him for classes, it is their duty to assist him
 financially.
 2) Watching over the social affairs of people, facilitating life for the poor
 and the weak, providing employment for all by demanding from the rich
 and well-to-do to employ the poor for tasks in return for payment, in
most cases agreed by members of the ‘Azzabah.
3) Solving problems that arise between people, arbitrating in these
matters, issuing rulings with regard to disputes and guaranteeing the
rights of individuals in such cases.
4) Managing the endowments of the mosque, the funds of the halagqah,
recording import and export, making sure all expenditure is legitimate,
promoting the development and maintenance of endowments, and using
it properly.
5) Supervising markets and protecting them from illegal transactions and
dubious or suspicious money.
6) Providing national protection for people’s property, such as farmland
and livestock so that it is not stolen, seized or damaged.
7) Judgment and punishment of sinners and criminals, the declaration of
72
 dissociation from them, and the severing of relations with them until they
 repent and return to God.
 8) Conducting and organizing foreign relations, whether they be for war
 or peace.
These are some of the tasks incumbent upon the ‘Azzdbah council on
 account of it being an official body responsible for society before God and
 before people. It is also the council’s duty to assign tasks among its
 members according to the ability and capacity of each: the Shaykh
 performs this duty after the halaqah has given its agreement.
 Where ts halagat al-‘azzabah established?
The ‘Azzabah can be set up in any country or town: its members are the
 ones who supervise the private affairs of the country or the town. If an
important matter arises or an event that concerns more than the town or
country, it is presented before the High Council of the ‘Azzdbah, headed
by the Grand Shaykh or the Mountain District Ruler, as was the case in
Jabal Nufusa. Such a matter may be something like the establishment of
borders or what concerns national security or other matters too
complicated to be dealt with at local level. The High or General Council
of the ‘Azzdbah is the one headed by the Grand Shaykh, who necessarily
heads an ‘Azzdbah in his own town and stands in for the imam during the
 concealment phase. The members of the ‘Azzadbah alongside him are the
Advisers, who are also the Shaykhs of ‘Azzdbahs in their own districts: their
headquarters are the centre or capital of a country, and they hold regular
meetings with the Shaykh, once every three months, or whenever the need
arises. The rulings of this council have legal force in all districts and all
halaqahs are financially or morally obliged to this council, which
represents the real authority over Ibadi society. The other halagahs are
auxiliary to it and put its rulings into effect. The Grand Shaykh is obliged
to have his offices in the centre of the country. If he chooses to reside
elsewhere, then he has to rule from the place of government and not his
residence, as was the case with Abt Harun Musa b. Harun, Abu ‘Abd Allah
b. Jaldasan al-Laluti and Abu Yahya al-Arjani, and others.
The Shaykh of the ‘Azzabah in Ibadi society has the authority of a just
imam. He carries out all his duties, every one of them, within the limits
permitted by the conditions of life at the time. He is tied to the State
Council without whose agreement he cannot issue any decision, except in
specific matters in Islamic religion. He is permitted to seek the assistance
of another, who acts as a mufti to him. The purpose of this mufti is the
precise formulation of the content of the rulings taken from the noble law
and the giving of preference to one opinion in controversial matters
where legal views diverge. The purpose of the mufti is not to inform the
73
Shaykh of rulings which he does not know, since, the Shaykhof the
‘Azzabah has to be one of the most, if not the most, knowledgeableof all
the elders.
At the regular meetings, held every three or six months,
representatives from each of the different halagat al-‘azzabah participate
and put forward their problems, and collectively examine the status of the
society. They take the necessary decisions in this capacity and make plans
for the future. Each halaqah, however, has the right to contact the High
Council individually and to convene a meeting if there is justified cause; it
also has the right to consult the Grand Shaykh over its particular problems
and seek his advice and opinion.
Each halagah is represented by its Shaykh and some of its advisers,
except in emergencies where he is not able to perform this task.
Choosing the members of the halaqah
When putting together the ‘Azzdbah, it is important (in addition to
individuals meeting the necessary qualifications) that the members
represent all the tribes and districts of a country. However, it is not
absolutely necessary to have general equality: if in a particular tribe the
qualifications for individuals cannot be met, then appointment can be
 made from another tribe. When the ‘Azzdbah needs to supplement its
halagah with another member, they can acquire him in one of two ways:
 either they demand from the tribe from which the representative is sought
 to put forward a number of candidates who fulfil the conditions for
 membership, have the desired qualifications, a reputation for integrity,
 God-fearing, chastity, uprightness, benevolence, altruism, self-sacrifice
 and working for the good of all. The Council then selects one of these. Or,
 they demand from the Jrwén organization (see below) to provide a person
for them to fill the vacancy.
Whenthecandidatebecomesamemberofthe‘Azzdbah,heis
summoned to its official headquarters, where the Shaykh informs him of
 the conduct and comport that is expected of him, and emphasizes to him
that one of the most important duties expected of him is that he practises
Islamicconductandadornshimselfwith its noblemanners,suchas
uprightness, integrity, chastity, devotion to serving the community, regular
attendance at the mosque, abstinence from the pleasures of this world,
except out of necessity, devoutness in worship, humility before Muslims,
severity towards sinners and criminals; that he sets an example for people
in his wordsanddeeds;andthat he seeks his livelihood withdiligence,
choosing farming as a profession, since trade brings him into direct
contact with people, where he is more likely to get mixed up in evil. They
sum up their position on this in a well-known and often-repeated phrase:
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 ‘that he be not in a mosque, halaqah or house other than his’. When he is
 apprised of all the duties and rights that apply to him, together with his
 tasksand responsibilities,he is thenasked to declare his acceptanceor
 refusal. If he accepts, andthis is what actually happens, he is given
 practical tasks, such as teaching or staffing the mosque, or participating in
 the supervision of a dead person’s affairs. As far as I know, he is
 considered the most junior of the ‘Azzdbah, even if he happens to be older
 than some of them, and he is obliged to serve them. He then asks his
 predecessor, that is, the member of the ‘Azzdbah who was the most junior
 before this new recruit, to accompany him for three days in order to train
 him in the service of the ‘Azzdbah, since he is considered directly above
 himandwhenthe‘Azzdbahconvene,he hasto sit beforehim. The
 arrangement of the seating places of the ‘Azzdbah is important: the junior
 one cannot sit before the senior one. The member of the ‘Azzdbah is
 considered a chief wherever he goes, having the exclusive right of
 initiating discourse in public sessions and concluding it, as well as
 directing the discussion, etc. No student or member of the public can do
 any of this unless he gives him permission.
 The punishment of a member of the ‘Azzabah
A member of the ‘Azzdabah is expected to set an example of integrity. For
 this reason, what is considered minor in the way of offences committed by
others is deemed grave when committed by him, and he should guard
himself against such offences and avoid them. This is the case even in
matters concerning manners, and the way he conducts himself with
people. If fate decrees that he commits error, the Council will consider his
case: if the matter is grave and concerns sin against God, and brings ill-
repute to the ‘Azzdabah, or brings shame to the mosque, and disregards the
law etc., they must sever relations with him(bard’ah) with witnesses, as is
done with other people. Relations are not restored until he declares his
repentance openly. Even so, after that he can never return to the ‘Azzdbah
Council, since the person who is expelled from it by bara@’ah cannot return
to it again, even if he repents and his repentance is sound. He becomes
like all other Muslims in respect of rights and obligations. If the offence is
minor and does not require repentance, a special rehabilitation session is
convened for him in secret, which may suspend him from the ‘Azzdbah
Council for a length of time, depending on the nature of the offence
committed. His offence is kept secret from the public.
The reason for such action is that the members of the ‘Azzdbah most
exemplify Islam and its manners, something which has been summarized
by one of the Shaykhs in the following elegant statement, ‘the person in
charge of people is like milk: it can be spoilt by anything that falls into it’.
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 How did the ‘Azzdbah system come about?
 In the last decades of the third century of the Hijrah two major events took
 place which had a significant impact on Ibadis in Libya, Tunisia and
 Algeria. The first was the destructive war between the Aghlabids and the
 Ibadis in Qasr Mant, in which the Ibadis sustained a heavy blow at the
 hands of the tyrant Ibrahim b. Ahmad b. al-Aghlab. The second was the
 defeat and destruction of the Rustamid state in Algeria by the Shia.
Given that neither the Shi‘I nor the Aghlabid state governed
 according to Islamic law nor followed its precepts, [badi scholars tried to
 devise a system by which they could live while preserving the commands of
 God in their lands, and by which they could direct the community in the
 right way, without the need to declare a new state or to attach themselves
 with a despotic and tyrannical state: they were thus guided to this system.
 At the beginning, it was followed by people informally. However, towards
 the end of the fourth century, the great imam Abt ‘Abd Allah Muhammad
 b. Bakr formulated it precisely in terms of a canonwith articles and
 instituted it as law in Ibadi lands, in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, where it is
 sull applied exactly. On the basis of this, historians consider imam Abu
 ‘Abd Allah as the founder of the ‘Azzdbah system. It is indeed the case that
 he founded this system since, but for him, we would not have received it in
 such a sophisticated form. After Aba ‘Abd Allah, many great scholars
 dedicated themselves to a thorough study of the system, adding some
 articles to it. Some of them referred to it as ‘the way of ‘Azzdbah’ (sirat al-
 ‘azzabah). Among the scholars that were interested in it and wrote about it
 are: Abu Zakariyya’ Yahya b. Bakr, Abu ‘Ammar ‘Abd al-Kafi and Abu 1-
 Rabi‘ Sulayman b. Yakhlaf al-Mazzati. The later among these made careful
additions to it on the subjects of ‘master and disciple’ (al-‘dlim wa-l-
 muta‘allim), etiquette inside the halagat al-‘azzdbah and what should be
avoided.
The student of this system, as it is explained by those notable imams,
will find in it on the one hand a unique canon for the organization of
education and culture, and [on the other] an explanation of proper
conduct for all Muslims, by which they can preserve their morals and
religion when they are subject to an evil tyrannical government. This was
the case with the Ibadis of Algeria, despite the efforts of the unjust and
despotic colonialists of France.
 The power of the ‘Azzabah
The ‘Azzdbah were able to sustain this system for many long centuries and
to apply its rules to all individuals, without anyone succumbing to
corruption or arrogance. So, what is the secret strength that enabled them
without difficulty to lead the people so that they would accept their rulings
76
and commands without trouble or dissension? There are two important
reasons for this:
1) The personal authority enjoyed by the ‘Azzdbah council on account of
the excellent qualities of the halagah as a body, and of its members
 individually. For the believer, when he commits himself to Islamic morals
 and conducts himself according to their guidance and _ standards,
 commands the respect and veneration of people and their obedience, so
the reins of leadership are made easy for him when he assumes them in a
 society or a community.
 2) The rule of waldyah and bara’ah — an important rule and, as far as |
 know, unique to the Ibadis among all other schools. Waldyah means ‘love
 inGod(for God’ssake)’, and bard’ah means‘hate in God(for God’s
 sake)’. Waldyah is a duty towards every upright Muslim, in whom fear of
 God and respect for the boundaries established by God are recognized.
 Bar@’ah is a duty on every believer, and he is obliged to declare his
 dissociation from and hatred of sinners and criminals until they repent to
 God.
Since the ‘Azzdbah council is responsible for executing God’s
 commands, it is its duty, when it has proof that a person has deviated from
 God’s religion, to declare dissociation from him. When dissociation from a
 person is declared, his life quickly changes, for he is denied good
 treatment by people and loses the radiance that comes from being loved
 for the sake of God, and his friends, family and relatives avoid him and
 people sever all relations with him, except in urgent cases. He thus finds
 himself alienated from society, with no right to a dignified life and is thus
forced to repent, to ask forgiveness and openly show regret in the mosque.
If the ‘Azzdbah council is convinced of the truthfulness of a man’s
repentance, his regret over his error and his return to God, it declares
dissociation from him null. Then, all his rights return to him and he
enjoys all that he had enjoyed before Satan tempted him, and it is not for
anyone after this repentance to mention his error or to mock him on
account of his past.
 The Irwan organization
Irwan is a Berber word meaning the scholars who have learnt the Glorious
Qur’an by heart; they are necessarily the ones who carry forth the Book of
God, and those that occupy themselves with study. The word is in the
plural form. The singular is iri. As for the word with fatha on the hamzah
—ari — it is used to refer to the animal knownas zirbdn (polecat) in
Arabic. Ar— with a fatha on the hamzah and madda on it, and sukin on the
ra@ — isa lion; in the Sinhaja Berber dialect it means ‘give me’.
77
This organization is the second most powerful in the county after the
‘Azzabah with its very own system, practices and duties. It is similar to the
 Advisory Council auxiliary to the ‘Azzdbah, or the Council of
Representatives in the case of the Shaykhs. The ‘Azzdbah frequently
entrusts the Jrwdn Council with tasks. (I shall explain its educational aspect
in a forthcoming section of this book, ‘Systems of culture and education’:
the reader who so wishes may consult the relevant section.)
The above is a simple summary of the ‘Azza@bah system that has been
followed by Ibadis for a long tme now in the Islamic West. The ‘Azzdbah
system of government was abolished in this century in Ibadi lands in Libya
and Tunisia. Ever since its abolition in these lands, perversion has been
permeating society. Ibadis will not be able to return to religion, morality
and integrity while they do not adhere to the religion of God and seek
protection with Him. Muslims have only suffered what they have suffered
because they have deviated from God's religion and seceded from His way.
The later ones of this community will only prosper by that which the
earliest of them prospered by.
Preserving of women’s honour
 The nature of life in the Muslim community did not allow a woman to be
alone with a strange man, nor a man to be alone with a strange woman.
 This was for fear of temptation, since natural drives can overpower the
 soul of a man or a woman when they are alone with each other, causing
them to approach what is forbidden and commit the vice that they had
 hitherto avoided. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant
 him peace, warned against this: ‘Beware of being alone with women. By
 Him in whose hand my soul is, whenever a man is alone with a woman,
 Satanis there too’ —or, in another version—‘Satancomesbetween
 them.’ It was also reported from him, may God bless him and grant him
 peace: ‘Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him never be alone
 with a woman if there is no one or nothing to preserve sanctity between
136
them.3
 3° Imam Ahmad reported it thus: “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let
 him never be alone with a woman if there is nothing to preserve sanctity between
 them, for Satan will be in their company.’
 78
The reality of life, however, means that a man will often meet women,
and women will often come across men by some necessity. Satan will then
play his part between them. He strives to deceive them so that they forget
themselves, paves the way for their first encounter, setting out for them the
 means and excuse to commit the sin. He has them believe that they will be
joined in the bonds of marriage in the future, and so the man promises
the woman marriage, allures her with happy dreams of home and family
 and lasting domestic bliss, until she feels comfortable with him and
 imagines that she is about to enter upon a new life and close to making
 this sweet dream come true. So she submits herself to him, thereby
 effecting Satan’s trick before the marriage itself is effected. There are
 manysuchinstances,andin mostcases the manis not serious in his
 promises to marry the girl. Even if serious, circumstances beyond his
 control develop and get in the way of that marriage. The result is
 profligacy in religion, disgrace in society and loss of a girl whose honour
 might have been saved with a little prudence and foresight. Some Muslim
 schools of thought address this problem by forcing marriage between the
 frivolous man and the woman who has been deceived.
In this age, the young girl has grown up — with no-one watching over
 her — in the battleground of life, with the fashions of Western city life
 encouraging her to go out and get to know a man, to live with him, to test
 his manners and hunt him out as a husband for herself to live with. But
she herself is the hunted, the prey of the hunters. In this age, the
problems that result from this permissiveness and men and women being
alonewitheachother~havemultiplied and becometoo difficult for
Westernphilosophersto solve. Someof them,runningaway froma
solutionof theseproblemsin humanterms, havetried to explainthe
problemsin animalistic terms:they have resigned themselves to these
practices, giving free rein to instinct, making the committing of the sin a
harmless thing, and not deeming it a reproachable matter for the female
or the male.
The Muslim world has been afflicted with this disease. In some parts
of it the young girl has completely given herself up to Satan, while in
others,sheis pushedto it violently,asthe lambisdrivento the
slaughterhouse to the same fate as other lambs.
Ibadis have examined this problem since the best of centuries, and
concluded — uniquely, as far as I know — this: they have prohibited the
marriage of persons between whom a sin has been committed. In this rule
they were reflecting the spirit of Islam which opposes evil deeds. The
motherof the believers, ‘A’ishah, may God be satisfied with her, reported
that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:,
‘Any man who has fornicated with a woman and then married her, both of
79
 them are adulterers to the Day of Resurrection.’ This judgment, which
prohibits marriage of two between whom there has been an evil act in one
way or another, shuts the door to deception for Satan and man, so that no
 man can approach a woman and tempt and seduce her with the deceitful
 claim that he will consummate his evil deed with marriage.
This judgment lights up the way for a woman and allows her to judge
between the liars and the truthful ones from among those who approach
 her. Whoever tries to have sex with her before marriage is a sinful liar and
wicked trickster, from whom she has the nght to escape and distance
 herself. As for the man who respects her morals and guards her chastity
 and preserves her honour in himself, he is the truthful man, who sincerely
 wants to build the nest of marnage and lead a noble life.
If this were the point of view and judgment of all the schools of
 thought of the community, rarely would a girl deviate from the proper
 way, and she would preserve her purity and chastity, not overstepping the
 bounds of innocence — except that one who has become shameless and
 prepared for herself.a life of prostitution and promiscuity. For if she knew
 that she would be prohibited from marrying the man with whom she will
 sin, and he prohibited from marrying her, since such a marriage is
forbidden by religion, then she will think twice before letting herself go, in
 the knowledge that no one else will be able to marry her. Who would want
 to marry a woman with a sullied past?
Ibadis have tackled the problem of girls being seduced before they fall
into that trap. Ponder then, dear reader, this opinion and weigh it in the
scales of the noble law, and in the scales of those of wise mind and sound
reasoning. If you wish, add to it the important rules laid down by the great
imam Malik b. Anas concerning relations, and which have become famous
in the law books under the section heading ‘the blocking of excuses’ (sad
 al-dhara’i).
Inner meanings of the alms-tax (zakah)
Occasionally, one will pass the houses or shops of the rich on the Day of
‘Ashura’ and be distracted by the crowds of people at the doors. On asking
the reason, one is told: ‘These are poor people waiting for the distribution
of alms.’
80
This scene is a result of the poor knowing that there is a time when
 alms are dispensed. It often happens that a poor man will ask the rich one
 not to forget him when the time comes for alms-giving, and the rich one
 promises and appoints a day for him. In time this becomes the custom,
 even if no prior contact had taken place between the poor man and the
 rich one. The poor man knows the habits of the rich man and the time he
 chooses to distribute alms. So he goes at the appointed time and stands
 with others, waiting for his share of the alms. The rich man looks out from
 his window and sees the large crowd awaiting him, satisfied with himself
 and the spectacle, considering himself a great doer of good seeing so great
 a number of people benefiting from his wealth. This is one of the ways in
which Satan enters a person’s heart.
Zakah is one of the duties in Islam; its performance is obligatory.
Those who deserve it have a right to it from the rich person’s wealth, and
 he should make sure it reaches them without them being degraded or
 humiliated. So why does it take on this appearance of ostentation and
 hypocrisy? Why are those who have the right to receive alms gathered in
 this harmful way and their right is given them in this manner of a
spectacle?
Is the rich man not capable of distributing that which is incumbent
upon him from God for those who deserve it without making them suffer
the crowding and the waiting, instead of making sure that it reaches them
without any prior agreement betweenhim and them, so that it comesto
them unexpectedly as a relief, without their being aware of it and without
being subjected to the humiliation of having to ask for it and wait for it?
These scenes that I have described can be found in some of the major
cities in Libya, where the poor have become accustomed to reminding the
rich of themselves and asking them for that which is their due. On this
question, Ibadi scholars adopt a stance inspired by the glory of Islam and
the dignity of the Muslim. It does not befit a Muslim to appear degraded
like a beggar, waiting on doorsteps for the generosity of hands and the
munificence of niggardly souls.
There are many hadiths that discourage begging and soliciting. Ibadis
have adopted these noble hadiths, prohibiting Muslims from breaking
into a sweat and exposing themselves to the humiliation of asking. If his
dignity is not dear to him and he sets off to ask people for alms, he is then
denied as punishment for debasing himself and so that he will learn not to
be in need of others and to take strength from his struggle.
Zakah is a duty; it must be discharged to those who deserve it without
them having to humiliate themselves by asking the rich, and without them
always depending on them and counting on them, and without the rich
81
person displaying that superiority, to which people turn in their need and
come in the hope of getting something. Poverty can afflict someone to
such an extent that it overcomes his will and obliges him to turn to
begging in order to bring himself some relief. Here, another duty of a
Muslim community comes to light. The preservation of the dignity of
Muslims is a duty. It is not right that the community leaves its children to
the humiliations and degradations of poverty. It is the duty of the Muslim
community to provide all persons with the means to lead a dignified life,
and not to abandon them unul dire necessity forces them to beg. It is the
community’s duty to deal with the problem of poverty by one of a number
of noble ways, either by facilitating employment for those able to work, or
by taking measures to look after those physically unable so as to shield
them from the danger of starvation, and through kindness and
compassion providing them with something to lighten the burden of life.
As a result of this Ibadi stance — denying alms to the one who asks for
it — you will not find any beggars in Ibadi society roaming the streets and
going up to the doors of houses or shops to receive alms. Nor will you find
a crowd of poor people at the door of a rich man’s house, while he
distributes alms to them in conceit and vanity. Alms reach those that need
them without the poor man having any prior knowledge of this, and
without the rich man feeling that he is doing some favour: he is doing a
duty which he fears God may not accept from him, but hoping that
through God's mercy it will be accepted from him.
Ibadis in Jabal Nufusa organized associations that would collect alms
and distribute them in ways that did not make the poor fall into the habit
of waiting, and so did not confine alms-collection to certain seasons of the
year. These associations collected the alms, safe-guarded them and
distributed them in a regulated way to those it was due. Often, they would
supplement the collected amounts with additional donations from wealthy
individuals, especially during difficult years when the alms- payment on its
own was not sufficient for the needs of the poor.
How excellent it would be if the Muslim community followed this
kind of system, so that the poor can find dignified work in unrestrained
conditions, and so that they are prohibited from soliciting or begging; and
by giving according to need, the Muslim is not left to stoop to the lowest
levels of humanity.
Such associations, however, are organized only when a Muslim
communityis ruled by a non-Muslimgovernment.If the state itself is
Muslim,thenthecollection of alms is oneof its duties,togetherwith
looking after the poor, providing them with the means to lead a dignified
life of freedom, and preserving them from humiliation and degradation.
82
Partisan solidarity
Thelearnedal-TahirAhmadal-Zawial-Tarabulsicomposedthree
historical works: The Struggle of the Heroes, The Arab Conquest of Libya and The
Famous Men of Libya. I have had the opportunity to consult these books. I
appreciate the great effort he has expended on these works, and I thank
him for it. However, I would like to say the following about them.
When one reads The Arab Conquest of Libya, one gets the impression
that the author, whendealing with Ibadism, harbours a lot of ill-feeling.
He expounded historical issues in this work in a sincere way and did not
go about changing the facts. He was not able to find anything in history to
criticize the Ibadis about, whether in relation to their civil conduct or their
political and military actions, since they did not do anything that
contravened the precepts of Islam in times of war or in times of peace.
Despite all this, whenreading his book, the author gives the impression
that he harbours a deep-rooted hatred for these people. He imbues his
work with his spirit, and this spirit pervades his writing to such an extent
that the reader becomes certain that it is a trait which only a few of the
great writers have.
Ibadis, like any other school, used to rise up against all kinds of
injustice and tyranny committed by the oppressive rulers of the ‘Abbasid
regime, or by others who assumed power without religious legitimacy. The
authoris at painstobrandIbadirevolts‘dissensions’(fitan), as if to
impress on the reader the idea that these people sought trouble with the
government without any justification. He does not use the same terms to
qualify the thousands of revolts that took place in the struggle for power,
and in whichthe guilty and the innocent were killed, nor the destructive
wars waged by the agents of the ‘Abbasid regime throughout the Islamic
territories, including Libya. It is surprising that this book, despite seeming
neutral on the surface, is actually almost a barefaced attempt to ignite
discord between Arabs and Berbers and a crude appeal to revive almost
extinct abominableracist propaganda.Also, despite the fact that the
conquest was a Muslim one rather than an Arab one, and that the Berber
resistance to the new religion during the conquest was no fiercer than the
wars waged by the Arabs themselves when they sought to resist Islam at the
time of the Conquest, nor fiercer than the wars waged by Persians, Turks
or Byzantines or other nations when the Message of God reached them,
and despite the fact that this resistance against God's religion was not
limitedto a single humanrace, the author of the booktries to makeit
appear a special trait of Berber character, describing these people as
inclined towards recalcitrance and opposition to God’s religion. We are
83
not concerned with those who oppose a little or much, for all unbelievers
are one group — whether they are Berber, Arab or Persian, they belong in
hell, together with their supporters of whatever race. The book’s very title
testifies to the spirit in which al-Zawi composed this valuable work of
history. Instead of the book being called The Muslim Conquest of Libya, it is
entitled The Arab Conquest . . . If the conquest had really been Arab, it
would not have been different from the Greek, Romanor Tatar conquest,
or a conquest by any other race. Arabs as a race are not more noble before
God than Mongols or Anglo-Saxons or Red Indians.
After Islam conquered those lands and the light of Muhammad's
guidance filled those regions, there was no place for Arabs or Berbers,
because God had given them a better and more guided label. This was the
label chosen by the Holy Book and by which it referred to the followers of
Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace: O you who believe, or
that other label used by their ancestor Abrahamthe Friend of God, peace
be upon him: ...He zs the One who called you Muslims...[al-Hajj, 78]. So why
do we ascribe the conquest to a particular human race, when the conquest
was a Muslim one? God makes subservient from among His armies whom
He wills. . .
Why do we not explain the real causes of conflicts and revolutions,
and admit any error whether it was perpetrated by the state or by those
rebelling against it, and ascribe the revolts to the people that actually took
part in them, as opposed to their race or ethnic group? I have already said
that the author made a point of referring to Ibadi movements as
dissensions(/ttan), and to ascribe themto Berbers,to the extent that he
places Ibadis in the same category with other factions, whom the author
deems as inferior in religion and of little faith.
He did not, however, make the effort to justify these judgments that
he passed on a Muslim community: he could not find any historical fact to
support his belief that Ibadi revolutionary movements were disruptive and
soweddiscord.Indeed,powerin the handsof theUmayyads,first and
foremost, except for the brief caliphate of ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, and in
the hands of the ‘Abbasids later, was ‘avaricious kingship’, as God's
Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, once called it. It was
certainly no guided caliphate. Revolution against such avaricious and
tyrannical kingship cannot be considered as ‘sowing discord’ (fttnah).
Moreover, the rulers and agents of these regimes throughout Muslim
lands did not adhere to the precepts of the Book, did not know the
meaning of the word justice, and did not respect anyone’s rights. As a
result, the community was constantly in revolt and did not desist from
struggling against all manner of oppression, tyranny and despotism
throughout the regions of the Muslim world — in the Arabian Peninsula,
84
 in Greater Syria, in Iraq, in Persia and beyond, in Egypt and the Muslim
 West. Nevertheless, the author of The Arab Conquest of Libya does not want
 to use the term /fttnah except in the case of the revolution carried out by
 those he is careful to call Berbers, to make them an enemy of the Arabs.
 He struggles to create a barrier between them and Islam, and to ignite
 flames of hatred between them and their Arab brothers.
The majority of the leaders of the Ibadi revolutionary movements that
 took place in Libya were Arabs, but despite this fact, the author of the
 bookattributes themto Berbers and labels their struggles as
 ‘dissensions’ (fitan). Ever since those in power began to depart from the
 Book of God in the way they ruled, revolutions in the Muslim world have
 been taking place continually. The reason for this is simple and
 intelligible. Mankind was subject to gods in the form of humans, suffering
 the tyranny of man until Islam arrived and instilled in Muslims the dignity
 of being human. It prohibited them humiliation, meekness and servility if
 they were able to resist. Muslims truly felt this dignity during the period of
 Prophethood and that of the guided caliphates. But when power was
 assumed by those who had deviated from religion to this-worldliness, from
 truth to selfishness, and from justice to tyranny, the freedom fighters rose
up in revolt everywhere and they still do today and will do until the Day of
Resurrection.
I am surprised by this author, for he writes in an age when Muslims
have woken up to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and are very
careful to distance that abominable spirit which divided them into parties
andsects, andfilled the hearts of people with hatred and loathing, and
made it easy for them to attack those who disagree whether justly or for no
reason. I am surprised that the author permits himself to write in such a
manner and in such a spirit, and is satisfied to be a reviver of racial hatred
in this age, an age in which the community needs to come together and
pool its efforts in solidarity. The author has spent great effort to write
about his beloved country, but he has been careful to compose in the
same manner and spirit in his book The Heroes. There, he uses the terms
Arab and Berber in place of any other terms that might in fact have been
more accurate and better suited to the matter. It is indeed very strange
that an author with the knowledge, cultural insight and hatred of divisive
propaganda such as al-Zawi would put his pen to the service of Jahiliyya-
style attitudes, whichGod’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
peace, shunned, and that he would incite racism among a united people
and distinguish between an Arab and a Berber, as if he has forgotten that
God,exaltedis He,madethe Muslimcommunityone andthat Islam
dissolves nationalities, does not celebrate ethnicities and pays no attention
to racial origin: ‘All of you are from Adam, and Adam was from dust.’
85
So why do certain individuals try to revive tribal fanaticism or racial
 differences when God has freed us from them with Islam? You are the best
 community brought forth for people enjoining good conduct, and forbidding
 indecency, and believing in God... [Al Imran, 110]. If an Arab has any merit it
 is his merit as a Muslim, and if a Berber has any merit it is his merit as a
 Muslim: ...The most noble of you before God is the most God-fearing... [al-
 Hujurat, 13]. Bilal the Ethiopian and Suhayb the Byzantine and Salman
 the Persian attained that which ‘Abd al-Malik, the Umayyad state after
 him, Harunal-Rashid and the ‘Abbasid state under himdid not attain:
 that is, the favour of God. He bestows it upon whom He wills.
If an Arab or a Berber ought to be blamed for anything, or held
 responsible for committing or forsaking anything, then it is disobedient
 conduct, the severing of the bonds of religion, the abandonment of
 Qur’anic morals, lack of adherenceto that whichMuhammad,peacebe
 upon him, called to in the Book, to whichno falsehood can come from before it
 or from behind it [Fussilat, 42], and which isnaught but a revelation revealed
[al-Najm,4],andin hadith; andintheexcellentsirah,whichis the
 epitome of the way Islam should be applied. Whoever chooses to make
 himself an arbiter and stand over history as a judge and discuss the fates of
 men, let him, if he is able to do so, put the sirah before him as his scales
when he weighs the actions of people. Only God knows the proper weight
 and the precise account.
This has been a brief commentary on a huge book, whose author
 expended much time and energy in composing it. If in our objections to
 some aspects of this huge effort, we point out certain truths, we certainly
 do not ignore the fact that the author has done a service to his country for
which he will be thanked by generations to come. But this praise and
appreciation of him does not prohibit us from pointing out those errors:
what author is free from fault or has not been criticized or has not had his
mistakes pointed out?
If God wills it in time and gives success to my endeavour, I will try to
discuss the book in terms of where I think the author has made some
errors and where he has strayed from the truth.
The Ibadi adherence to religion
I have pointed out some of the practical principles that distinguish Ibadis
86
and on which they base their school of thought. It is best that I now give
some detail about the history of this school within the Islamic community,
its legacy throughout its existence, the methods used by its members in
founding their principles, the rules they stipulated and the principles they
followed through history in accordance with the ways of religion we have
already discussed. It is not propaganda or bragging to say that Ibadis are
the foremost among Muslim schools in making sure their followers do not
overstep the bounds set by religion and that, based on these principles, a
Muslim can give a true and proper picture of what Islam prescribes and
the record of the righteous predecessors makes clear. None of this means
that an Ibadi does not sin; that is simply not the nature of human beings.
What it meansis that whenone of them commits asin, either it is known
to people, or it is kept secret by the individual having been tempted by
Satan.
Ifthesinis of theformerkind, Muslimswill wastenotime in
declaring their dissociation from that individual, severing relations with
him and being severe towards him — even his family and relatives will do
so — until he admits what he has done in front of witnesses and openly
professes his repentance to his Lord and his return to Him, making a
compact with God that he will not do it again. In this way, the sinner
returns once again into the fold of the community, which is cleansed again
from the filth of sin, to resume the struggle for the cause of God and the
performance of good deeds, after he has purified himself when it was
necessary, and determined to lead a good life in a good society.
If the sin is of the second kind, that is, a sin which a person keeps
secret, then this makes it easier outwardly with regard to people, although
his conscience will keep rebuking him since he does not think that what
he has disobeyed God in is slight, as the interpreter of the Qur’an, may
God be satisfied with him, said. Moreover, the person who meets his Lord
in such a state will be among the people of hell eternally. That in itself is a
reprimand for what he has committed and an incentive for him to refrain
from what he has acquired through the whispering of Satan. This is what
makesthe followers of this school adhere strongly (to proper conduct),
individually and collectively. These are some of the rules (of conduct) that
distinguish this school from others, such as the duty upon every Muslir
individual and Muslimsociety as a whole to enjoin good and forbid evi
and to apply this through the system of waldyah and bard’ah and wuqu/
(suspension of judgment), and also the other important rule concerning
faith: it is incomplete without works. The sinner, then, can find no reason
to justify his action to himself or to people, and he cannot hope to enter
Paradise by saying, ‘there is no god but God, Muhammad is God's
Messenger’ without complementing this with good deeds. Similarly, he
87
cannot hope to exit from the painful torture if he has met his Lord having
been degenerate in his actions and only offering his sins as security: Not
so; whoso earns evil, and is encompassed by his transgression — those are the
inhabitants of the Fire; there they shall dwell forever [al-Baqarah, 81]; ‘Do not
dispute before Me! For I have sent you beforehand the threat. The Word is not
changed with Me; I wrong not the servants [Qaf, 28-29].
On the basis of these premises, which Ibadis consider as the
foundation of religion, their actions are always true reflections of their
principles and doctrines. They have been well-known for this throughout
history and are identified on this basis. As a society and as individuals they
were examples of believers who upheld the duties and morals of God's
religion and all the modes of behaviour enjoined therein. They steered
clear of all that Islam forbids, or is averse to, in both speech and actions.
They hasten to do good and avoid what is unlawful, and suspend judgment
where there is doubt, in a manner true to what the Commander of the
faithful ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, may God be satisfied with him, said: “We
used to avoid seventy different types of lawful things for fear of committing
something forbidden’.
If this is a faithful representation of the way Ibadis have been from the
beginning of history to this day, then the painful truth is that the Ibadis of
Libya, with regard to action, have been corrupted away from these noble
ways, which their predecessors adopted and which their forefathers upheld
in the manner of believers true to the religion of God. This corruption
away from the noble way began when the flames of discord erupted
between Muslims during the war against Italy as a result of the schemes
that engaged brother against brother, setting one against the other,
furnishing both sides with money and weapons covertly and overtly in
order to intensify the conflict, provoke secession and divide the
community internally, making it easier to occupy the country and control
the population.
From that time, one begins to see in Ibadi society individuals who
commit sins openly and betray the trust of God; in the light of day,
consuming alcohol which God made forbidden, cheating in trade to make
more money, not taking God’s legal prescriptions seriously so as to be
affable to the enemies of God. Even worse, there are some whoabandon
prayers or avoid paying alms, or fail to fulfil one of the obligations, while
claiming to be Muslims and among the followers of ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad.
When you try to bid one of them not to commit such wrongs, he replies,
without concern, that Ibadism is too strict a religious school and that he
has heard that other schools do not bar sinners from entering the gates of
Paradise — as if the gates of Paradise or hell were controlled by human
88
beings, closing them when they want and opening them for whomthey .
wish.
While I mention these painful and sorry truths, seeking refuge in God
that He guides my people since they have no knowledge, I am proud and
honoured to point out to them that Muslim scholars today are making the
call to God's religion in the spirit of this school, as if drawing strength
from its principles and methods. This is not surprising, since any Muslim
who has zeal for his religion and calls to his Lord’s Book will find some
affinity with this school; for he draws upon the same pure source from
which it draws and which it preserves. If Muslims in all countries took care
to be living examples of Islam like Ibadis, their enemies would not find a
waybetweenthemor a way into their ranks. Colonialism, injustice and
tyranny only conquered Muslims when it instilled the temptations of
unlawfulwealthand pleasures in them, spread indecency and
abominations among them and made it easy for them to reject the law of
God in favour of the law of humans and to sever the ties between
individuals and society, thus giving the individual the freedom: to do what
he likes from among the things forbidden by God. If society still had
control over the behaviour of individuals, then no person professing Islam
would be able to visit a brothel or fornicate, nor would a Muslim be able to
find a bar in a Muslim country or consume alcoholic beverages. Nor would
a person professing Islam be able to find a casino or gamble, nor would a
Muslim in a Muslim society be able to find anything to encourage him to
do illicit things or to contravene the way of Muslims or any of the morals
of believers, because society will keep its eyes on him and hold him to
account for anything that he abandons or does, until he returns to the
proper way, the path of uprightness and the straight road. If Muslim
society still had control over the behaviour of individuals, as was the case
during the early period of Islam, and as is still the case with Ibadis today,
Muslims would not be corrupted away from Islam, nor would they
transgress the Book of God. No merciless enemy would be able to
overcome them and corrupt their religion and morals, and then proceed
to exploit their labour and their possessions, depriving them of their
resources and wealth and ruling them with tyranny and violence.
What you find when you enter a Muslim country today, ruled allegedly
by a Muslim government, can only mean separation from God's religion,
aversion to God’s Book and digression from the guidance of God’s
Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. You find brothels
available for the seekers of carnal pleasures and for the servants of Satan,
all because some Western countries think that this is a beneficial thing.
You find bars brisk with trade and customers crowding to drink that which
Godhas forbiddenand which He commandedHis Prophet, peace be
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upon him, to destroy in large quantities, just so that this Muslim country
can please the enemies of God and receive from them, allegedly, money,
which actually is illicit You find large imposing houses, impressive in
structure, furnished in the most exquisite humantaste, where the value of
work is wasted and the fruit of labour is squandered, so that at its opulent
tables is consumed the money that is rightfully the community’s,
embezzled from it by disrespectful sons, tyrannical rulers and exploitative
agents.
These images in their thousands, which can be seen everyday in any
Muslim country, must disappear. If only Muslim society stll had control
over individuals and the state in which individuals live! For these sins that
colonialism has spread throughout Muslim lands, in order to get in the
way of Muslims and their pure beliefs and sound morals, are the diseases
that are destroying every young Muslim. Thus, the dignity of being a man
no longer concerns him, forbidden lust has overpowered him to the
extent that his honour and physical well-being are squandered in
brothels. He stumbles around from bar to bar consuming alcohol, toasting
with friends, wasting his tme and talents. He then tries to acquire money
in the easiest way possible in casinos until gambling does away with his
money, nerves and sanity, and forces him out onto the streets a ruin
without wealth, honour or religion.
Ibadi society has preserved itself from these diseases and the like
throughout history, except for the forty-year interval in the case of Libya
as we have mentioned. The reason is that Ibadi society has maintained
moral supervision of individuals, and that, in the concealment phase, the
‘Azzdbah system (as I exlained in the section entitled “The Ways of
Religion’) continually guided Muslims and held them responsible for their
actions, indicating to them the path madeclear by God’s Messenger,may
God bless him and grant him peace. When colonialists overcame Libya
and destroyed the country’s ‘Azzdbah system, preventing scholars from
bidding good and forbidding evil, and prohibiting declarations of waldyah
and bard’ah in the cases of those concerned, some people began to acquire
a taste for sinful conduct and to adopt the ways of those who fear no
covenant with or obligation to God, casting their eyes upon the life-styles
of the offending enemies of God and Islam.
However,this calamity that struck Ibadis and other Muslimstoo was
limited to the Ibadis of Libya. As for their brethren in other countries,”
*7 One example I can give is the Ibadis of Algeria. They still apply this system
today. France (the colonial power), with all that it possessed in the way of
corruption and subjugation, managed in the end only to exact from them as a
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their mode of life continued undisrupted from the time of the righteous
predecessors.Nocolonialschemewasabletoaffectthem,no
neighbourhood could become corrupted, no evil could find its way into
their towns, no sin could infiltrate them and no individual’s action could
escape the judgment of a society that looks after religion, morality and
conduct.
Now that colonialism is gone and people are free from it, perhaps,
Ibadis in Libya will now return to the ways of the predecessors cherished
in Islam. Perhaps, Muslims will return to the guidance of Muhammadand
reject the embellished speech of the slaves of this world. Perhaps, the state,
being a Muslim one, will do away with the laws established by human
beings, implement the law sent down from the heavens, for the sake of
God desist from seeking favour with the enemies of God, and rid Muslim
land from the instruments of sin so that the morals of the young are
purified. It is better for a Muslim that Kennedy, Kruschev, Nehru, Ben
Gurion, Satan and all their number become angry than God become
angry. Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, provoked
the anger of Abu Jahl, Chosroes, Caesar and others to please God. God's
Messenger is indeed a good model for us!
Ibadis as leaders of the Ummah
In the previous section I said that it was best to give some detail about the
record of this school within the Islamic ummah and its legacy throughout
the latter’s eventful history, and about the life of its followers as individuals
and as a community.
I have already said that Ibadi society on the basis of the school’s
principles — such as the duty to enjoin good and forbid evil, the duties of
whole and not individually a limited amount of money. As regards leadership, rule
and guardianship over morality, religion, education and society, this was the
responsibility of the ‘Azzdbah body. As a result, their mode of living as an Islamic
community was honourable, even during periods of concealment, when it could
not function politically. Real faith is emotional fortitude, proper manners and an
ability to conduct oneself (correctly). These qualities indicate great character and
make it imposing and commanding of respect, even from iron and fire, or those
who use them.
9]
waldyah and bara’ah in respect of individuals and groups, the belief that
faith is incomplete without the good deeds that Islam enjoins, and that the
sinner who dies in sin cannot hope for the mercy of God — has faithfully
represented a pure Muslim society. It has stood for a creed pure from
deviation and bid‘ah, conduct pure from the filth of sin; a pure morality
adorned with that which God’s Messenger, may God bless himand grant
him peace, adorned himself with and called to, and whichrighteous
believers have adorned themselves with in every age.
Muslim factions have been doubly unjust towards Ibadis. Firstly, when
certain tendentious historians lumped them with the Khawarlj — when
Ibadis are the furthest people from them — and the other factions
accepted this biased representation. The second injustice is that they
accepted this judgment against one of the most righteous Muslim factions,
without inquiring into the origins of the Ibadi school or its arguments
fromthe Bookand the Sunnah,and without looking intothe extent to
which Ibadis apply the principles, morals and message of Islam. If these
people were to investigate these two issues — creed and its proofs, conduct
and its application — they would rethink and change their opinion and
realize a truth hitherto concealed from them.
A number of gifted minds in different ages did attempt to do this and
found guidance. However, though the truth might have become manifest
to one of them, he would refrain from confronting general opinion, which
he trusted, with what he had discovered and what had become manifest to
him. He would, thus, take a middle line and express this in the well-
known statement, handed down through the books of history, ‘Ibadis are
 the closest group to the Sunnis’. But the Commander of the Faithful,
‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, adopted a more honest approach. He promised
the people that every day he would establish a sunnah and do away with a
 bid‘ah. Among the gifted minds who made such an attempt were Malik b.
Anas, ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri, al-Shahrastani,”° al-
Tahir al-Zawi — it is sufficient honour for al-Zawi that he is included with
 these eminent great men — and others whose horizons were wide enough
for them to understand, inquire and investigate: they were not satisfied
with false rumours, biased propaganda or opinions adopted by people
who have no knowledge of the writings of this school’s followers or who
have not observed their mode of conduct and way of life sufficiently to
form a true picture and on which to base a judgment.
38 See al-Shammakhi’sal-Qawl al-matin; Qutb’s al-Radd ‘ala al-‘Uqbi, al-Salimi’s
 al-Lum‘a al-mardtyya.
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Moreover, the average Ibadi has been a true representation of what
Islam requires a Muslim to be. Ibadi society has been a good example of a
Muslim society that fulfils the rites enshrined by God, upholds the religion
of God, and works hard to implement the commands of God, even during
the concealment phase. Similarly, the Ibadi who assumes leadership over
Muslims has been a model of the faithful Muslim, trusted by other
Muslims, who refer to him in matters concerning their religion and
worldly existence. He holds the community’s trust in high esteem and
guards this trust given by God.
Although it is not my intention to discuss the political history of Ibadis
— and despite the fact that politics and religion cannot be separated in
Islam — this work would not be complete without giving, albeit in the
briefest form possible, a summary of Ibadi political movements. Ibadism
spread through the Arabian Peninsula, and in neighbouring regions such
as Iraq and Egypt, and in North Africa before other religious schools had
formed. Ibadism had established many rules and opinions with regard to
the principles of religion before Ash‘arite schools had come into
existence, and before Wasil b. ‘Ata’ had broken with his teacher al- Hasan
al-Basri, giving birth to the Muttazilite school. The only other Muslim
groups in existence at the time were some Shi‘i factions, Khawarij sects
and the Ahl al-Sunnah wa-|l-Jama‘ah. By Ahl al-Sunna wa-|-Jama‘ah, I do
not heremeanAsh‘arites, as this label is an historical error: it came into
use later. The expression sunniyyah and jama‘ah used to be applied to
Mu‘awiyah b. Abi Sufyan and his supporters, because they denied the
caliphate of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and made the cursing of him from pulpits a
followed practice(sunnah), then called those who followed them Ahl al-
Sunnah wa-l-Jama‘ah.””
Al-Mas‘iidi says: “The obedience of Mu‘awiyah’s companions to him
grew so far that they made the cursing of ‘Ali a sunnah, on which the
young were brought up and the old perished, cursing him from the
pulpits’. Al-Hakim wrote: “The label Sunntyyah stuck to them because
Mu‘awiyah ordered the cursing of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and claimed this was a
sunnah. The term was applied to all those who supported the imamate of
Mu‘awiyah. However, when ‘Ali was killed and Mu‘awiyah took complete
control, everyone joined him and they added the term al-jamda‘ah to al-
sunnah and used it as a title.” Al-Mundhiri stated in his treatise, al-Sirat al-
Mustagim: ‘They no longer do this, because ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz was
among those who were inclined to legitimize the caliphate of ‘Ali and
prohibit its rejection. I have come across some books where it is said that
39 See al-Shammakhi’s al-Qawl al-matin.
93
he summoned to him whoever in his tme were [badis and promised them
that he would make alteration in these Sunntyyah’s reprehensible
practices, one every day. At that time he censured them for one thing after
another — there was no-one in those times who censured them for their
reprehensible practices except the Ibadis — until one day he censured
them for cursing ‘Ali. Then they stopped doing that for fear of him,
knowing his objection to that doctrine of theirs, and [recognizing] his
authority over them’.
From all this, it becomes clear that the expression ahl al-sunnah wa-l-
jama‘ah was not applied to a religious school of thought, but to a political
ideology propagated by the Banu Umayyah to wrest the caliphate from the
BanuHashim.Indeed,this group, whoreferredto itself with the label
most cherished by Muslims, became more fanatical than anyone else as far
as I can see from the history books that I have consulted, both those of
political history and religious history. Regardless of their radicalism, the
followers of this ideology used to make the cursing and slandering of their
opponents a sunnah followed at every gathering.
I have said that Ibadism spread to most Muslim lands before most of
the other Muslim schools had come into being, such as the Ash(‘arite,
Muttazilite and other schools. Aside from the brief period in which the
imam ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad mounted military manoeuvres to fight Umayyad
tyranny, and the duration of the period in which the imam ‘Abd Allah b.
Yahya Talib al-Haqq was given the oath of allegiance and then purged the
two noble sanctuaries of the wickedness of evildoers, and irrespective of
these movements, Ibadi states were set up in all parts of the Islamic world.
An independent Ibadi state was established in Oman and has maintained
its hold on power until this day: at certain points in history it possessed a
fleet of ships that controlled the seas, challenging the two mightiest naval
powers in the world at the time, Spain and Portugal. Whoever wants to
verify this and discover the glory and grandeur of the Muslim community
at a ume when Europe was lost in deep slumber and the remainder of the
Islamic community was suffering the tyranny of despotic rulers and slaves
of riches, and more, let him consult Tuhfat al-A‘yan by the scholar al-
Salimi and peruse the writings of the prince of rhetoric Prince Shakib
Arsalan. The reader will also find similar information in one of the
volumes of this series: Jbddism in the Arabian Peninsula. As regards the
Islamic West —by the Islamic West J meanthe lands that lie between
Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean — there too, Ibadi states were established.
These were excellent examples of the way a Muslim state should be, ruling
according to God’s Book and following the guidance of God’s Messenger.
Thus began the movement for struggle against injustice, the injustice of
the ‘Abbasid agents in Libya, who used to deviate from the commands of
the Qur’an, who were seduced by the present life so that they became
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tyrants and despots, and by the pride of rank and power of government so
that they considered people worthless, had no place for justice, and no
respect for legal duties a ruler and his subjects. Ibadis rose in rebellion
against this injustice and granted the oath of allegiance for the imamate to
al-Harith b. Talid al-Muradi, followed by Abt 1-Khattab ‘Abd al-A‘la b.
al-Samh al-Ma‘afiri and Abu Hatim Ya‘qub b. Habib b. Hatim al-Malzuzi.
This movement was based in the eastern parts of the Islamic West, that is,
in the lands extending from Sirt to al-Qayrawan. I will present some
worthy selections from the lives of these great imams in another volume of
this series: Jbddism in Libya. When the tyrants pooled their efforts to
destroy this revolutionary movement, which sought to return rule to the
Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and prevented it from
enforcing its convictions and objectives, the movement relocated to the
western parts of the Islamic West. There the Rustamid state was established
at Tahert with the following succession of imams: ‘Abd al-Rahman, ‘Abd
al-Wahhab, Aflah, Abu Bakr, Abu 1-Yaqzan and Abt Hatim. These great
imams accomplished what is required from those who rule Muslims. Their
stories and reports can be found in history books. I will examine some of
these excellent images in the volume of this series entitled Jbddism in
Algeria.
I have consulted all that has reached me in the way of historical works,
whether composed by the followers of this school or by followers of other
Muslim schools. In the stories told about them throughout history, I have
only been able to find that which is honourable. You will come across
destructive wars and heated battles, victories and defeats, and in all of this
you will find examples of probity, as was the case with the nghtly- guided
caliphs: respect for individuals of all Muslim nations, with regard to their
persons, possessions and honour; justice towards enemy warriors:
slaughter on the battlefield, but not of those who flee or those who are
wounded; no violation of honour and no seizure of the possessions of
monotheists,regardless of their religious affiliation; compassion,
forgiveness and justice at the termination of battle, and no gratuitous
violence after victory; no exemplary punishment or the severing of heads
to be sent from place to place in order to satisfy a thirst for revenge or to
vent anger; and no show of brutish force or violence. They took care to
respect the limits that Islam prescribed for them and to make God’s law,
the conduct of His Prophet and the exhortations of the nghtly-guided
caliphs, a minaret to guide them and to which they always referred.
A brief word
In writing these sections it has not been my intention to examine the
political aspect of the Ibadi school or to deal with it specifically. In my
opinion, the political movements are of less importance than the other
aspects. For this reason, I discuss them as phenomena and manifestations
of the way in which Ibadis have implemented principles properly
throughout their existence, that is, their practical life. I also mention them
to point out the differences between groups whose conduct is a sincere
implementation of their doctrines and principles and those in whom you
find a stark contrast between their conduct and their claim to follow Islam
and to conduct themselves according to its rules.
I am especially concerned in this inquiry to discuss the succession of
scholarship of those who carried this school forward; to depict:
the excellent examples of mghtly-guided conduct followed by its
members throughout the ages and conditions during periods of
manifestation, concealment, and the intervening periods;
theirstrongadherencetoIslamanditslawsinthefaceof
accumulatingcommunalstrife(fitnah)andtrials(mihan)and
diminishing security;
the reality of holding fast to God and disdaining [the power of]
created beings, however powerful, violent and tyrannical they might
be;
the turning away from the material temptations of this world in favour
of that which God has;
the narrative of lives filled with good example and integrity of
character, and actions such as faith in God enjoins, out of fear of God
and for God, and which do not judge any creature, and as a jihad for
God and on the path of God, which has not received any mention in
this world;
a worthy and persistent effort to construct that which was supported
by Islam, erected by the Holy Book and preserved by Muhammad,
may God bless him and grant him peace.
The reader will be able to read about a life full of peace, guidance,
rightly- guided conduct and good deeds in the brief biographical sketches
that I present in the pages to follow.
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Jabir b. Zayd®
Abu 1-Sha‘tha’ Jabir b. Zayd al-Azdi" was born in 21 AH and died in the
year 96. Although Omani by birth, he lived in Iraq and spent most of his
blessed life in Basrah, one of the Iraqi centres of scholarship at the time.
 He spent his life in Basrah — as did most of his eminent fellow Successors
— disseminating knowledge in mosques and religious centres, instilling
 good morals in people, enjoining strong adherence to the noble religion
 and the preservation of its principles and methods, and pronouncing
fatwas on problems encountered by the people, to such an extent that Iyas
b. Mu‘awiyah once said: ‘I have been all over Basrah and there is no mujti
in it besides Jabir b. Zayd.’ The great interpreter of the Qur’an, ‘Abd Allah
b. ‘Abbas, may God be satisfied with him, once said, ‘The people of Iraq
are strange — why do they need us when they have Jabir b. Zayd?’ When
 he [Jabir] died, Anas b. Malik, the Companion of God’s Messenger, may
 God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘The most knowledgeable
 person on the face of the earth has now died’. Thabit al-Bunani visited
Jabir b. Zayd when he was near death and asked him: ‘Do you desire
anything?’ He said: ‘I desire to see al-Hasan al-Basri’. Al-Hasan was in
hiding out of fear of the tyranny of the Umayyads and their agents. Thabit,
knowing his whereabouts, went to al-Hasan and brought him to his dear
friend, now on the edge of death. The great Muslim Successor spoke to
 the great Muslim scholar and they exchanged mutual advice in
preparation for a long separation in this world and in hope of a happy
encounter in the next. Al-Hasan said of his colleague, companion and
friend whohad departed from this world and met with the next: ‘By God,
this man was a learned fagih.’
Many others had testified to his knowledge, intellect, religion and
forbearance: many Companions, Successors and the following generation.
Except that I consider the testimony of ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, Anas b. Malik
and ‘A’ishah mother of the believers, who are the most distinguished of
the Companions of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant
him peace, the most knowledgeable of the true and inner meanings of
religion, the most versed in the meanings of the Holy Qur’an and the
application of the Sunnah, the best acquainted with his excellent life and
noble guidance, in addition to the testimony of al- Hasan al-Basri, the best
*° See al-Shammakhi, Siyarand Qutb, Sharh mugaddimat al-tawhid.
*! Reports of Jabir’s date of birth and that of his death vary between 18-96 and 22-
93.
97
of the successor generationandthe closest to, andmostintimatewith,
Jabir, I consider this testimony given by the most distinguished of the
 Companions of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him
 peace, and sealed by the best of the Successors, as the highest, most
 reliable certificate that could be granted for scholarly knowledge at that
 time.
Jabir received knowledge from ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, Anas b. Malik,
 ‘A’ishahmotherof the believers,‘Abd Allahb. ‘Umarandother
 companions. Jabir once said: ‘I met 70 of those that fought at Badr and I
 took on all their knowledge,except for the Bahr(‘vast sea’in termsof
 knowledge)’, referring to ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, may God be satisfied with
 bothof them.If this great imamwas able, withthe energy,intelligence
 and patience that he was given, to accumulate the knowledge of 70 of
 those that fought at Badr, then it would not be surprising if he had also
 acquired knowledge from the remaining Companions, may God be
 sausfied with them, which, on account of their number and the facility of
 taking (knowledge) from them, cannot be quantified. Many individuals
 took knowledge from him, among them Qatadah, the teacher of al-
 Bukhari, Ayyub, Ibn Dinar, Dammam b. al-Sayib, Hayyan al-A‘raj and
Abu ‘Ubaydah Muslim b. Abi Karimah. Jabir lived as did other great
 Successors, striving to implement the Sunnah of the Messenger of God,
 may God bless him and grant him peace, through word and deed, and
 declaring privately and openly that the Islamic community was obliged to
 adhere to God's laws in order to be ‘the best community brought forth for
 mankind’. In his seminars and gatherings, he used to criticize those who
 had deviated from God's religion, given in to their caprices, satisfied their
 desires and followed the way of Satan. He would give his blessing to
 resistance movements that sought to bring down injustice and wrest power
from the hands of traitors in order to place it in the hands of the
 trustworthy who guarded the sanctity of God’s laws.
Ibadis used to follow his opinion on many issues, as did many other
 Muslims. Jabir was not the only Successor, of whom most of the
 Companions and Successors of that time held such an opinion. The
 tyranny of the Umayyads and their agents used to persecute these scholars
and proponents of religion (du‘at) wherever they went. Often, these
scholars and men of guidance would flee from tyranny and take their
religion with them, away from such despotism. Some of them would fall in
harm’s way, but endure it patiently for the sake of God.
Jabir was one of the heroes of Islam, intent on informing Muslims
about their religion and about the glory and honour that God wanted for
 them. He used to fight against the tyranny of the despots and the
98
misguided ideas of the innovators with patience and conviction. He was
very capable of exercising self-control and keeping himself on the straight
path. Scholarly fame did not tempt him, nor was he deluded by the extent
of people’s confidence in him and he never revelled in the satisfaction of
victory and the defeat of opponents.
Once, he saw one of his students writing something down during a
class. He then forbade him to write anything other than a clear verse or an
established sunnah. As for his own opinion, (he thought that) nothing
could be learnt from it, since in the evening he might find a stronger
argument than the one he had used that morning, and would reject the
former in favour of the stronger argument, while the student would have
gone about spreading among people something invalid that he had
written down.
Al- Hajjaj had a secretary called Yazid b. Muslim, who loved Jabir very
much and admired him greatly. One day, circumstances of everyday life
led to Jabir going to visit this admiring secretary. It seems the secretary
wanted to please both his master and his friend, and so he set up a
meeting withoutthembeing aware of it. Al-Hajjaj listened to the great
imam and, admiring his knowledge and his manners, offered him the
position of judge. He said to him: ‘You need not seek the pleasure of
anyone, we shall appoint you as judge for the Muslims.’ This had been the
intention of his secretary friend, but Jabir was not one who sought the
things of this world. So he said to him: ‘I am not up to the task.’ Al- Hajjaj
then asked him: ‘What makes you incapable?’ He said: ‘An evil [a dispute]
is occurring between a woman and her servant, but I cannot make peace
between them.’ Al-Hajjaj said: ‘That is certainly a weakness’.
In this way, the great imam was able to extricate himself from this
prestigious offer, which someone else would have been overjoyed with. It
seems,however,that his secretary friend had not understood the imam’s
purposein extricating himself (from the offer), desiring to exploit the
occasion to the benefit of the imam, and to do him a long-term favour.
Thus, he said to al-Hajjaj: ‘Here is an idea — it is of no burden for the
shaykhandof assistanceto Muslims: employ him as an assistant to the
Treasurer in Basrah’. Al-Hajjaj agreed to the suggestion, but the devout
scholar did not accept it. He said to Yazid: ‘You have accomplished
nothing: do you see me as assistant to the Treasurer?’
The imam did not accept the second offer which this loving and
admiring person had brought to him. He avoided employment in an
oppressivegovernment:howcould it be mght for Jabir to assist such
oppressors, when he criticized their actions on a daily basis and called for
them to grant what is due to those who deserve it, to release payment and
99
stipend to those who had a night thereto, and to give such jobs to
trustworthy and careful people who fear God and dread His reckoning?
When it was time for him to return home after the visit and prepared
for the journey, Yazid ordered his slaves to saddle a horse. But the imam
was too ashamed before his Lord to ride a mount picked out for him by
luxury-loving tyrants and bestowed upon him by opulent despots. He
accordingly excused himself from his friend. A mule was then brought for
him. He accepted it and rode off on it, knowing full well that riding on a
mule was rougher and less comfortable, as well as being the opposite of
prestigious, but it was closer to the Sunnah of God’s Messenger, may God
bless him and grant him peace: the best of creation used to nde on a grey
mule called Duldula. Yazid went to excess in his generosity towards the
imam, as the rich and wasteful rulers in an oppressive state are wont to do.
He ordered his servants to perfume Jabir’s head and beard with musk and
ambergris. The great imam made his way to the Tigris and washed his
head and beard, scrubbing them hard and saying: ‘O God do not make it
my fate that I be amid these people.’
It was Jabir’s custom to do the pilgrimage each year. In one year, the
governor of Basrah sent him a message asking him not leave town that
year because people were in need of him for teaching and fatwas. Jabir,
however, insisted on his custom and informed the governor that he would
not abandon a deed for God’s cause on account of a command issued by a
human being, even if that human being was a governor of the Umayyad
state. The governor arrested him and put him in jail.
When the crescent moon began to appear in Dhul-Hijjah, people
went to see the governor and pleaded with him: ‘May God make the emir
good! the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah is upon us and there is almost no
time left to make the journey from Basrah to Makkah’. The emir released
him. When Jabir got to his house, he began to saddle up a she-camel of
his — he would race her to the pilgrimage. He said: Whatsoever mercy God
opens to men, none can withhold[Fatir, 2]. Then he asked Aminah,‘Do you
have anything (I can take)?’ She said that she did, and presented some
provisions in a pair of knapsacks. He asked her not to tell anyone that he
was leaving that day. When he arrived at ‘Arafat where the people were
standing (in the rite of pilgrimage), his she-camel struck the ground with
the front part of her neck and began to tremble. People shouted:
‘Slaughter her! Slaughter her!’ He then said: ‘It is not fitting for a she-
camel that has seen the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah in Basrah and reached
people in (pilgrimage) sanctity that this be done to her.’ The she-camel
was unharmed. He travelled on her 24 times to do hajj and ‘umrah.
It is superfluous for me to talk about Jabir’s religiousness and moral
character, his fear of his Lord, his adherence to the Sunnah, avoidance of
100
 bid'ah, deep understanding of the Shari‘ah, his self-reckoning and the way
 in which he used to force himself (to do) what the human soul hates to
 do, if by this he could bring himself closer to God, may He be exalted and
 glorified. Jabir was well-known for never bargaining in three things: the
 cost of travelling to Makkah, the price of a slave that he bought in order to
 set free, and a sheep bought for sacrificial slaughter. He used to say: ‘One
 does not bargain over something through which he seeks closeness to God
Almighty.’ Whenever a stig came into his possession, he would break it
 and throw it away, so that no Muslim would be tempted to use it: a stiqis a
 counterfeit dirham.
His heart was filled with faith in God, sincere calls to God’s religion
were always on his lips and his limbs constantly performed the good deeds
 that please God. Hind bt. al-Muhallab said, ‘Jabir b. Zayd more than
 anyone used to give much of his time to myself and my mother. Anything
 that he knew would bring me closer to God, may He be exalted and
glorified, he would command me to do, and anything which he knew
would make me distant from God, he would forbid me to do; he also used
 to tell me where to wear the veil’. She used to place her hand on her
forehead, indicating the place for the veil on a Muslim woman’s face.
IfI were to look for similar testimonies of Jabir’s knowledge, religion,
character, intelligence or genius, there would be many such instances that
would require much time and space to relate. It is sufficient here to realize
that he, may God have mercy on him, knew better than to leave out
anything from God’s Book, or from the Sunnah and guidance of His
Messenger, that concerned his own behaviour. He was more intelligent
than to be deceived by the temptations of bid‘ah, whether manifest or
hidden. He was more fearful of God than to keep quiet about an evil act
when he saw it. He was more courageous than to comply with the actions
of oppressorsor be satisfied with the conduct of tyrants. He was more
concerned with fulfilling Islam’s message than to weary of the duties of
teaching in every place.
He once noticed one of the chamberlains performing prayers on top
of the Ka‘bah. So, he shouted out to him: ‘You, praying on top of the
Ka‘bah! You are not facing any giblah!’ Ibn ‘Abbas heard him from another
part of the mosque and said: ‘Jabir b. Zayd is somewhere in town. That Is
him speaking.’ This gifted teacher knew which of his students had a sound
mind, a spark of talent and a keen eye, as well as being concerned for the
affairs of Muslims and working to better guide them and direct them to
the nobler path.
In addition to all this, Jabir is considered one of the earliest, if not the
earliest, authors of Islam. His vast and valuable work, Diwdn Jabir, had a
resounding effect in early Islam. It was the subject of much competition
101
between Islamic libraries. The Baghdad Library was able to acquire it for
its own use, denying it to other libraries. It only produced one copy of it
and the story of how one of the brilliant minds of Jabal Nufusa fought
hard to acquire this copy is a long one, which, God willing, will be told ina
forthcoming volume. This book was of great value on account of the
knowledge and guidance it contained, its proximity to the age of
Prophethood, and its author’s direct transmission from Companions, may
God be satisfied with them. Its other valuable feature was as a historical
relic, in that it was the first large work composed in Islam. It 1s a shame
that such cultural heritage was lost from the library of Baghdad at the tme
when all those great libraries were set on fire and thousands of precious
items were lost. It is also a great shame that the copy that reached Libya
should have been lost, along with all the great Islamic heritage that
perished, because of people’s ignorance, spite and concern for their
positions and ranks. There is no greater test for a Muslim community than
the loss of its scientific, religious and moral heritage, especially when its
present condition can only become upright on the solid foundations its
past was built upon. Indeed, this community’s present state can only
become good through that which made its earlier existence good.
In this section, I have tried to present a biography of Jabir b. Zayd, but
must admit thatI have not been successful. I have not been able to achieve
what I intended and what such a subject requires. I shall not, however,
miss the opportunity to conclude this section by borrowing the following
 (words) from the scholar Qasim b. Sa‘id al- Shammakhi:””
As regards our school being called the ‘Ibadiyyah’, that is because
‘Abd Allah b. Ibad, may God be satisfied with him, was the one
who struggled and fought openly so that truths might be
identified and established, so that issues of reasoning might be
rectified,wherethefollowersofpolemicsandbid‘ahhad
originated distortions and falsehoods against the Shari‘ah of our
Lord. He was zealous in matters concerning God, exalted is He.
Heheld debates with menof expert knowledgeand
philosophers. He was the overwhelming proof before which all
prattlers recoil and retreat. He had some exchanges with ‘Abd al-
Malik b. Marwan; he put terror into the spint of the tyrant
oppressor. The term ‘Ibadiyyah’ prevailed among those Muslim
companions of his who adopted his opinions, and the school was,
in this sense, called by his name. However, the leading imam and
therightly-guidedagent,the founderand protectorof the
42 41-Qawl al-matin.
102
school, to whose merit is due its construction and the fortification
of its supports, was Jabir b. Zayd, may God be satisfied with him.
‘Abd Allah b. Ibad was his like and his successor. He would not
proceed in any case except on his opinion and point of view.
After Jabir b. Zayd died, ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad manifested the
clearest zeal for religion, instilling in his companions the
principle of being courageous to establish truth and defeat
tyrants and oppressors who deviate from the right path.
Eventually, this saved sect appeared, the one that is truthful and
right in its conduct with regard to existence during periods of
both concealment and manifestation. It is protected by the
guardianship of God Almighty: no-one can harm it. They are the
workers of miracles, enemies of evil acts and crimes, severe in the
face of injustice and its instigators, and hypocrisy and those who
engage in it.
Abii ‘Ubaydah Muslim”
 Many groups of individuals that spread throughout the east and west
 acquired knowledge and learnt the founding principles of the school from
Jabir b. Zayd.
The greatest of these individuals was the imam Abu ‘Ubaydah Muslim
b. Abi Karimah, who was the undisputed authority for Ibadis after Jabir b.
 Zayd, even though there were colleagues of his who were just as
knowledgeable in God’s religion and its application. Aba ‘Ubaydah
Muslim b. Abi Karimah, the maul4 (client) of the Banu Tamim, was widely
known as al-Qaffaf (basket-maker), since he used to weave baskets. This
was a noble and free profession, with which he and his students were able
to earn a legitimate and noble living, through sweat and hard work. He
succeededimamJabirasteacher,andmanypeople acquired their
knowledge from him, in spite of the harassment inflicted upon him by the
oppressors.Hewaskept undertight surveillance and prohibited from
teaching and diffusing the spirit of freedom that can withstand injury, but
not overlook degradation.
48 See al-Shammakhi,Siyar, Qutb al-Ummah, Sharh muqaddimat al-tawhid.
103
Under pressure from these tyrants, he, together with his friend and
colleague Dammam, was forced to carry on his teaching activities in hiding
and to conceal his noble school from the eyes of al- Hajjaj and his agents
— al-Hajjaj the despot whose tyranny and oppression few sincere believers
managed to escape. Al-Hajjaj sought the advice of a Magian concerning
them, since he wanted a type of food that would torture the person who
ate it but would not kill him. The Magian told him to give them a
combination of leeks and oil. This remained their diet untl al- Hajjaj died
and they were released. Many a time the impnsonment and torture would
makeDammamvery weary, but Abt‘Ubaydah would say to him, with the
patience of a faithful believer in God, “Whom have you become weary of?’
Imam Abt ‘Ubaydah was released from al-Hajjaj’s prison to carry on
his message of calling to God, adherence to religion and _ the
implementing of His laws. He was liberated in his thinking, and
disseminated proper Islamic principles, such as the dignity of a Muslim,
his rejection of debasement and his (duty to) demand integrity of those in
power, integrity in religion, in morals, in conduct, and in government. He
used to enjoin those in power to adhere to the Sunnah, to follow the way
of the nghteous predecessors,to establish justice betweenpeople, andto
implement the commands of God as they are presented in God’s Book.
This appeal is what oppressive tyrants of every time and place most hate.
For this reason, they mustered all their forces and employed every tactic to
obstruct this appeal, and prevent it from reaching people in its true, clear
and proper form, so that the community would remain meek and
submissive, and the people would go on waiting and enduring, overcome
by resignation and patience.
But however powerful injustice may be, however violent tyranny may
become and however arrogant and overweening despotism may seem, can
all this, and muchmore,silence truth andextinguishthe light of truth?
Can it indefinitely prolong the enslavement of people who believe that
God's religion calls for liberation from subservience to human beings, that
their Lord’s Book forbids them to accept helplessness and meekness, and
that God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, teaches
his community that ‘the best jihad is the word of truth (spoken) in the face
of an oppressive imam, which leads to the death of its speaker’.
Al-Hajjaj, his agents and his leaders did all they could to silence the
voice of truth, oppress those that call to dignity and carry forward the holy
law, imprisoning, torturing and killing them. They filled the earth with
fear and terror. They did all that and much more, but they were only
successful in fanning the flames of revolt and bringing about the end of
their power. In the end, al-Hajjaj perished, along with the state that he
used to worship beside God and the powers he set up to fight believers.
104
The faithful Muslims among the Successors, however, passed away into the
mercy of God. Jabir, al- Hasan, Dammam, Abii ‘Ubaydah and thousands of
others who suffered harm, some less, some more, at the hands of al- Hajjaj
and his assistants, went to meet their Lord. How great the contrast is
between what history recorded of these and those others: that which your
Lord has is better and endures.
Al-Fiajjaj with the facilities and powers at his disposal was able to
increase the illegitimate wealth enjoyed by those of Bani Umayyah who
sought luxuries. He was able to provide them with greater security during
their orgies and drinking sessions and to facilitate for them occasions to
drink, gamble and commit sinful acts. While the oppressed who had
suffered torture were able to nourish the Islamic community with God’s
religion, to make sure that Muhammad’s message reached them in its
pure and original form, to envelop their hearts in faith in God alone. They
were able to inform the people that only God deserves worship and that all
creatures are equal in this duty. Those individuals who had been
oppressed and tortured succeeded in teaching the community that caliphs,
governors, those employed by the state and the agents of government in
all positions and sectors are but bearers of a temporary trust, employed to
administer the affairs of the state in exchange for sustenance and clothing,
without excess or wastefulness. If they guard this trust well, look after the
interests of the community, and give what is due to those to whom it is
due, as justice and probity require, then they receive their due from the
community in the way that we have just mentioned. As regards their
reward for being sincere, trustworthy, hardworking and truthful, that is
from God: and your Lord gives the better reward. If, however, they feel
that they are not up to safeguarding this trust and fear the consequences
of breaking it, let them return the trust to those who are capable, and
withdraw unstained and with thanks. But, if they become deluded and
Satan overpowers their conscience and desire to take God's wealth in turns
and His servants as friends, to appropriate more than is nghtfully theirs,
then the community is obliged to confront them and prevent them from
their objectives and to demand that they respect the prescribed limits and
follow the right path. If they then see the nght path and return to it, God
will forgive them, and the community will accept this from them. They can
then continue to carry out their duties and perform their tasks, preserving
thetrustthat Godhadplacedontheir shoulders.If, however,Satan
manages to establish himself in them, if wantonness overcomes them, and
vainglory seizes them in their sin, and they acquire a taste for power, the
community must lie in wait for them and reckon with them for their
actions and remove them from their positions, even by lethal force. For
thekillingof thosewhoseekcorruptionis better withGodthanthe
105
corruption of decent individuals, the oppression of believers and toying
with the rights of Muslims. This was the call that was enjoined by the
believers from among the righteous predecessors and on account of which
tyrants in power used to persecute them fiercely in order to silence the
voice of truth. In addition to this call to freedom, those great imams did
not desist from disseminating knowledge and spreading praiseworthy
morals: they used to devote themselves to educating God's servants about
God's religion and explaining to them what they did not know of God’s
Book or the Sunnah of His Messenger.
Although tight surveillance meant that Abu ‘Ubaydah was constantly
spied on, and the orders of the oppressors prevented him from teaching,
he set up his school in an unknown dungeon that was very long. He placed
metal chains at the door, so that if he or his students heard rattling they
knew that a stranger was trying to enter. They would, thus, suspend class
and go about making baskets, so that the visitor would not suspect them.
But when he departed, and they felt secure from the gaze of oppressors,
they would resume what they had been doing, going from the
administration of a workshop that produced baskets to the administration
of one that produced sound hearts, minds and convictions.
Despite all the unrelenting surveillance, constant pressure and
ongoing hardship, this great imam succeeded in creating an Islamic
school, one that carried forth the light of Muhammad's guidance to the
remotest places. Countless Muslims were educated in it: it is enough that it
produced bearers of knowledge that went both eastwards and westwards.
In addition to the long and persevering struggle waged by this imam
against oppression and those who perpetrate it, he was also waging a long
and persistent intellectual and religious struggle against bzd‘ah seductively
contrived by the perverted minds and defective insight of Qadariyyah,
Mujbirah and Khawarij, minds which in those days were afflicted with the
love of dispute and negligent of good deeds.
Abu ‘Ubaydah, in addition to his noble religion, his honourable
legacy, wide knowledge, adherence to principle, his holding on to the
truth, severity towards sinners and steadfastness in the face of misfortunes,
was the epitome of modesty, of gentle disposition and a yielding character,
who acknowledged the limits of his knowledge and his weaknesses. He was
a Muslim in the way he practiced religion, in his character, in his actions
and his knowledge. He was one of those charged with making the call to
Islam, and who would not be tempted by the material things of this life,
nor by the delights of this world: he had no indulgence or leniency for
falsehood. He was born to fight: to fight falsehood in all its forms and
manifestations, to fight falsehood propagated by power of government, to
106
fight falsehood created by minds using the logic of bid‘ah, to fight
falsehood in education that results from neglecting the (cultural) heritage
of this community, to fight falsehood that is the result of the ignorance
stemming from blind imitation, to fight the falsehood of meekness
disguised as patience in enduring humiliation, to fight the falsehood of
fear in the form of relinquishing steadfastness in order to endure
misfortunes and avoid upheaval.
In fighting against falsehood in all its forms and manifestations, he
was aware that the life of an individual is too short to establish this Noble
Message. For this reason, he worked towards the creation of a generation
of conscientious and educated young men, who perceived the truth of the
Islamic Message and who understood the inner meanings of its laws. The
foremost qualities that a believer in God must possess is to feel powerful
because of God, to be humble towards believers, stern towards unbelievers
and steadfast in the face of trials in order to uphold God’s word.
The notable scholar al-Shammakhi said this of Abu ‘Ubaydah: ‘He
assimilatedknowledgeanddisseminatedit, memorizedthedifferent
hadith reports and mastered them. He is the one, from among all his
colleagues, to whom the people looked and around whom they crowded
in order to listen to the advice and cautions that echo in the listener's
mind.Despiteits extensiveness, he always professed(that he had only)
limited knowledge.’ In spite of the weight of such testimony, the scholarly
activities that the imam engaged in are too great to be summanised in a
few words. It must suffice to say that he was a source of illumination in
Basrah. From that hidden dungeon on whose gates chains used to rattle
and in which baskets were piled up with pen and paper, the free and
glorious call burst forth in order to preserve Muhammad's legacy, as
Muhammad bequeathed it. This bursting forth reached to the furthest
points of the compass. From that tme to this day it has not swerved from
striving for the cause of this glorious message until the heedless have
become aware and those asleep and those astray have come to their senses
andbeguntoexaminethemselvesandreturnto theirLord,coming
together, united in their ranks to safeguard God's message from new
dangers: the dangers of apostasy and unbelief, the worship of human
beings hallowed by a false civilization and biased propaganda, whose
purpose is to distance this noble religion from claily life, knowing well that
the laws of mere humans cannot stand up to the laws of God, and that the
laws of philosophy have no value next to the laws of Islam.
107
A necessary word
Some readers might see in this very modest work, which I add to the rich
collection of Islamic works, propaganda for and a spirited defence of a
particular religious affiliation. Some colleagues have said that. I hasten to
point out the following: as for my spirited defence, it is on account of what
I believe to be true, and that is only for the sake of truth, not for the sake
of this school of thought. Defenceof the truth, whether it is coloured by
the perspective of a particularreligiousaffiliationor not, is a duty’
incumbent upon every Muslim.
As for religious schools, in my opinion, all the different Islamic
schools are no more than little streams issuing from the same pure spring,
which the Creator of man wanted humans to drink from. This bountiful
spring poured out during a period when intellectual and existential thirst
overcame the life of humans. People, at that tme, drank from it enough to
quench and satisfy this burning thirst, and it revived and resuscitated
them. People came after them, and each of them dug a canal for himself,
to bring good to himself and his kin: it is according to the cleanliness of
the canal’s current or the purity of its flow that the water reaches those
that seek it. The owners of each canal began to claim that their water
flowed in the purest and cleanest direction, and that others had to drink
from that canal if they wanted good for themselves, since their particular
canal was the one that was connected to the original spring. Many of those
who claim such things are not aware of what is taking place in these long
and winding canals that flow from the one spring, and that these canals
undergo many transformations during their flow along the creeks created
by the tools of men.
The Muslim community today, with all its differences and factions, is
inmore need than ever to go back and drink from the original,
incorruptible and unchangeable spring. It needs to abandon all these
different streams that have been created by individuals who make
mistakes.Thecall toadherencetoGod’sBook,attachmentto the
guidance of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace,
and the rejection of all other schools and disputes, is the duty of every
Muslim who wants good for himself, good for his people, good for his
community, and good for mankind.
I summon to seeking refuge with God’s religion, a return to His
commands on issues relating to individuals, society and mankind as a
whole. I summon to this because I believe that this is the only way for
mankind to find happiness.
108
While I call people to seek refuge with God’s religion, I am fully aware
that I live in an age seduced by a modernity which man claims to have
created,forsakingGod,throughhis ownideas,intellect andmodeof
conduct. In this modernity man has sought to defy the bonds between
creatures and their Creator, severing any contact with his Lord and
building happiness with his own organization and arrangements.
This is not the first time that misguided man has tried to defy the
connections between Creator and creation, to sever all connection with his
Lord and dispense with the need for Him. He has, indeed, behaved in this
way from the earliest time, and for this reason, the Almighty Creator
challenged him: O inbe of jinn and men, if you are able to pass through the
confines of heaven and earth, pass through them! You shall not pass through except
with an authority [al-Rahman, 33]. Man has not been able to pass through
them because he does not have the authority. Whether this human
experiment is long or short-lived, man will realize that he is too weak to
dispense with the need for God, to defy His commands or pass through
the confines of the heavens and earth. He must in the end realize that he
will only be happy if he returns to the abundance of God, to His shelter
and His care, His providence and guidance.
Epilogue
I turn to Him, may He be glorified and exalted, in thanks for His manifest
and His hidden blessings. I give praise to Him, may He be magnified and
exalted, for facilitating this meagre work as a service to religion and the
community. I ask Him that He make it a sincere seeking of His Glorious
Countenance. I implore Him, may He be glorified, to make easy for me
the composition of the remaining volumes, and to supervise my work and
make it successful. He is the best of companions and the best of helpers.
I thought it best to end this volume at this point. Looking back, I can
see in it many shortcomings and a failure to fulfil that which I had set out
to do. I think that all these sections fall short of the stated objective: to
revealthe truths concerningthe development of Ibadism. Moreover,the
biographicalsectionsonthetwogreatimamsarenotsatisfactory
reflections of their standing in my eyes. My excuse for all this is the paucity
of sources, my distance from public and private libraries on the one hand,
and the scale of the task I had set for myself on the other.
109
Those who yearn for more knowledge, and who are not satisfied by
this very modest work and whose thirst is not quenched by these trickles,
should let their eyes run over the writings of brilliant historians and
brilliant Muslim scholars throughout the ages: in these rich gardens they
will find gratification of mind, thought and soul.
In concluding these sections, I can only offer my sincere thanks to all
those who provided me with assistance during this modest research
project. Among them, especially, my loyal friend Ahmad ‘Ali ‘Askar for
facilitating this work. I appreciate all his immense efforts and vigils during
long nights.
110
Glossary
 ahl al-qiblah— the people of the qiblah, i. e. Muslims.
 bid ‘ah—heretical innovation. Refers to any act of worship or belief which
deviates from the Sunnah.
fatwa— a formal legal opinion.
fitnah— (pl. fitan) lit. temptation or trial in moral, political and religious
matters; also ‘civil strife’, commonly used to refer to the first Muslim
civil war between Mu‘awiyah and ‘Ali (657 CE).
hadd—(pl. hudid): prescribed punishments of certain acts forbidden by
the Qur’an; divine ordinances (ahkdm as used in the Qur’an).
hadith— a narrated saying or tradition of the Prophet.
tjma‘— consensus: a principle of Islamic law.
ytihad—lit. exertion, the effort of conscience and reason to arrive at
judgements in law.
jihad— lit. ‘struggle’: in moral terms, the struggle against worldly desires
(jihad al-nafs), or simply striving to do good deeds. It is also used to
refer to war waged for the cause of God (comparable to ‘holy war’).
mujahid— one who engages in jthad.
mujtahid— one who does ijtihad, or one who has achieved the juristic
competence to do ytihad.
mariqah— a group who engage in murigq, lit. ‘piercing through’; a
polemical term used of those whose Islam is superficial; in Sunni
literature, this is used to refer to the Khawarjj.
mufti— a religious authority who issues fatwas.
muwahhidin— those who profess the Oneness of God, monotheistsin
general, or those monotheists who profess the shahadah.
giblah— the direction of Makkah, the direction of prayer for Muslims.
shahadah— the declaration or testimony of faith in Islam, namely: “There
is no deity but God, Muhammad is His Messenger’.
Shari‘ah— religious law based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
sirah— conduct, way of life, or memorable action; mainly used to mean
the biography of the Prophet.
111
Sunnah— the example of the Prophet, all his precepts and practices
collectively. Also, sunnah—a particular practice of the Prophet;
recommended action, distinct from fard/faridah (obligatory action).
ummah— the community or society with which Muslims identify, and to
which they belong, because they are Muslims.
112
Index of names
 A“Ali b. Abi Talib, 15-25, 28-29, 51,
93-4
 ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, 32, 39, 45, 97,Aminah (wife of Jabir b. Zayd), 100
98, 102Ammar b. Yasir, 21
 ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad, 8, 89, 94, 102,‘Amr b. al-‘As, 18, 20
103Anas b. Malik, 39, 46, 97-98
 ‘Abd Allah b. al-Lamati, 50al-Aqra‘ b. Habis, 64
 ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, 21, 30, 39, 46,al-Ashtar al-Nakha‘, 18
98al-Ash‘ath b. Qays, 25
 ‘Abd Allah b. Wahb al-Rasibi, 20-23,‘Ata’ b. Abi Rabah, 39
25, 30Ayyab al-Sakhtiyani, 98
 ‘Abd Allah b. Yahya Talib al-Haqq,
94B
 ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, 92, 103
 ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Rustami, 27Bilal, 86
Abu ‘Abd Allah b. Jaldasan al-Lalut,al- Bukhari, 98
73
Abt ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Bakr,D
76
Abt ‘Ammar ‘Abd al-Kafi, 72, 76Dammam b. al-Sayib, 98, 104-105
Abu Bakr al-Siddigq, 17, 24, 42, 43,
95H
Abu Haran Misa b. Harin, 73
Abt Hatim Ya‘qub b. Habib b.al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf, 50, 99-100, 104-
Hatim al-Malzuzi, 95105
Abu Ishaq, 36, 68al- Hakim, 93
Abu Jahl, 91al-Harith b. Talid, 95
Abt 1-Khattab ‘Abd al-A‘la b. al-Hasan al-Banna, 13
Samh al-Ma‘afiri, 52, 95al- Hasan al-Basri, 30, 39, 93, 97, 98
Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari, 19, 20, 23Harin al-Rashid, 86
Abu 1-Rabi‘ Sulayman b. Yakhlaf al-Hayyan al-A‘raj, 98
Mazzati, 76Hind bt. al-Muhallab, 101
Abt Sa‘id al-Khudri, 15Hurqus b. Zuhayr al-Sa‘di, 21
Abu Sulayman Dawud, 62
Abt ‘Ubaydah Muslim, 32, 49, 98,I
103-107
Abit Yahya al-Arjani, 73Ibn Dinar, 98
Abt Ya‘qub Yusuf b. Ibrahim, 27, 35Ibn Fandin, 27
Abt Zakariyya’ Yahya b. Bakr, 76Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, 32
Ahmad Amin, 22Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri, 92
Ahmad b. Hanbal, 79Ibrahim b. Ahmad b. al-Aghlab, 76
‘A’ishah (mother of the believers),Iyas b. Mu‘awiyah, 97
18, 21, 39, 45, 80, 98
113
JS
Jabir b. Zayd, 15, 30, 32, 39, 44-47,Sa‘d b. Abi Waqaqas, 21, 30
50-51, 97-103, 104Sa‘id b. al-Musayyib, 39
al-Salimi, ‘Abd Allah b. Hamid al-
 KDin, 53, 94
Salman al-Farisi (‘the Persian’), 86
 al-Kadmi, 53al-Shahrastani, 42, 44, 92
 Khalid al-Liwati, 52Shakib Arsalan, 94
al-Shammakhi, Abu 1-‘Abbas, 19,
 M25, 92, 93, 97, 103
al-Shammakhi, Qasim b. Sa‘id, 102, .
 Malik b. Anas, 54, 80, 92.107
 al-Mas‘udi, 93Suhayb al-Rumi (‘the Byzantine’ );
 Mu‘adh b. Jabal, 55-5686
 Mu‘awiyah b. Abi Sufyan, 16, 18- 21,
23, 27, 30, 93, 94T
 al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufrah, 22
 Muhammad ‘Abduh, 13, 33al-Tahir al-Zawi, 92-93
 Muhammad al-Ghazali, 47, 63Talhah b. ‘Abd Allah, 18, 23, 27
 Muhammad b. Maslamah al-Ansari,Thabit al-Bunani, 97
21
al- Mundhiri, 94U
 NUsamah b. Zayd, 21
‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, 85, 92, 94
Nafi‘ b. al-Azraq, 27‘Umar b. al-Khattab, 17, 42, 62, 88
“Uthman b. ‘Affan, 17, 18, 23, 24, 27,
Q29
al-‘Uqbi, 8
Qatadah (al-Bukhan's teacher), 98
Qutb al-A’imma (MuhammadW
Atfayyish), 8, 59, 60
Wasil b. ‘Ata’, 49, 50, 93
R
Y
al-Rabi‘ b. Habib, 15, 32, 35, 45, 56,
64Yazid b. Muslim, 50, 99, 100
Z
al-Zawi, al-Tahir, 32, 83-86, 93
al-Zubayr b. al-‘Awwam, 18, 23, 27
114