The IbÄá¸Ä« movement, Ibadism or IbÄá¸iyya (Arabic: الاباضية‎ al-IbÄá¸iyyah) is a school of Islam dominant in Oman and Zanzibar; IbÄá¸Ä« are also found in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa. The IbÄá¸Ä« movement is said to have been founded 20 years after the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, predating both the Sunni and Shia denominations. Historians and a majority of Muslims believe that the denomination is a reformed sect of the KhawÄrij or KhÄrijite movement; IbÄá¸Ä«s, however, deny anything more than a passing relation to the KhawÄrij and point out that they merely developed out of the same precursor group.
Though the Ibadis' strict adherence to the sharia in public and private matters has been described as puritanical, the character of their denomination is considered to be moderation and tolerance of other views and religions.
"History">History
The school derives its name from Ê¿Abdu l-LÄh ibn IbÄḠof the Banu Tamim. Ibn Ibad was responsible for breaking off from the wider Kharijite movement roughly around the time that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth Umayyad ruler, took power. However, the true founder was JÄbir ibn Zayd of Nizwa, Oman. Initially, Ibadi theology developed in Basra, Iraq. The Ibadis opposed the rule of the third caliph in Islam, Uthman ibn Affan, but unlike the more extreme Kharijites the Ibadis rejected the murder of Uthman as well as the Kharijite belief that all Muslims holding differing viewpoints were infidels. The Ibadis were among the more moderate groups opposed to the fourth caliph, Ali, and wanted to return Islam to its form prior to the conflict between Ali and Muawiyah I.
Due to their opposition to the Umayyad Caliphate, the Ibadis attempted an armed insurrection starting in the Hijaz region during the 8th century. Caliph Marwan II led a 4,000 strong army and routed the Ibadis first in Mecca, then in Sana'a in Yemen, and finally surrounded them in Shibam in western Hadhramaut. Problems back in their heartland of Syria forced the Umayyads to sign a peace accord with the Ibadis, and the sect was allowed to retain a community in Shibam for the next four centuries while still paying taxes to Ibadi authorities in Oman. For a period after Marwan II's death, Jabir ibn Zayd maintained a friendship with Umayyad general Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who supported the Ibadis as a counterbalance to more extreme kharijites. Ibn Zayd ordered the assassination of one of Al-Hajjaj's spies, however, and in reaction many Ibadis were imprisoned or exiled to Oman.
It was during the 8th century that the Ibadis established an imamate in the inner region of Oman. The position was an elected one, as opposed to Sunni and Shi'a dynasties where rule was inherited. These imams exerted political, spiritual and military functions.
By the year 900, Ibadism had spread to Sind, Khorosan, Hadhramaut, Dhofar, Oman proper, Muscat, the Nafusa Mountains, and Qeshm; by 1200, the sect was present in Al-Andalus, Sicily, M'zab (the Algerian Sahara), and the western part of the Sahel region as well. The last Ibadis of Shibam were expelled by the Sulayhid dynasty in the 12th century. In the 14th century, historian Ibn Khaldun made reference to vestiges of Ibadi influence in Hadhramaut, though the sect no longer exists in the region today.
Relations with other communities
Despite having predated all Sunni and Shi'ite schools by several decades, the Ibadis and their beliefs remain largely a mystery to outsiders - both non-Muslims and even other Muslims. Ibadis have claimed, with justification, that while they read the works of both Sunnis and Shi'ites, even the learned scholars of those two sects never read Ibadi works and often repeat myths and false information when addressing the topic of Ibadism without performing proper research. The isolated nature of Oman granted the Ibadi denomination, secretive by nature, the perfect environment to develop in isolation from the Islamic mainstream. Ibadhis were even cut off from the Kharijite sect due to Ibn Ibaá¸'s criticism of their excess and rejection of their more extreme beliefs. The spread of Ibadism in Oman essentially represents the triumph of theology over tribal feudalism and conflict.
Ibadis have been referred to as tolerant puritans or as political quietists due to their preference to solve differences through dignity and reason rather than with confrontation, as well as their tolerance for practicing Christians and Jews sharing their communities. Due to Ibadism's movement from Hijaz to Iraq and then further out, Ibadi historian al-Salimi once wrote that Ibadism is a bird whose egg was laid in Medina, then hatched in Basra and flew to Oman.
Views
Ibadis state, with justice, that their school predates that of mainstream Islamic schools, and Ibadism is thus considered to be an early and highly orthodox interpretation of Islam. IbÄá¸Ä« communities are generally regarded as conservative. For example, IbÄdÄ«ya rejects the practice of qunÅ«t (supplications) while standing in prayer.
Their views assimilate those of the KhÄrijites, in that the attitude of a true believer to others is expressed in three religious obligations:
- walÄyah: friendship and unity with the practicing true believers.
- barÄ'ah: dissociation (but not hostility) towards unbelievers, sinners, and those destined for Hell.
- wuqūf: reservation towards those whose status is unclear.
Doctrinal differences with other denominations
IbÄá¸Ä«s have several doctrinal differences with other denominations of Islam, chief among them:
- Muslims will not see God on the Day of Judgment, a belief shared with Shi'ites. Sunnis believe that Muslims will see God on the Day of Judgment.
- Whoever enters Hell will remain there forever. This is contrary to the Sunnī belief that Muslims who enter Hellfire will live there for a fixed amount of time to purify them of their sins, after which they will enter Heaven.
- The Quran was created by God at a certain point in time; whereas Sunnīs hold the Quran to be the word of God, as exemplified by the suffering of Ahmad ibn Hanbal during the miḥnah.
- It is unnecessary to have one leader for the entire Muslim world, and if no single leader is fit for the job then Muslim communities can rule themselves. This is different from both the Sunni belief of Caliphate and the Shi'ite belief of Imamah.
- It is not necessary for the ruler of the Muslims to be descended from the Quraysh tribe, which was the tribe of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. This is different from both Shi'ites as well as a majority of Sunnis.
Views on Islamic history and caliphate
IbÄá¸Ä«s agree with SunnÄ«s regarding AbÅ« Bakr and 'Umar ibn al-Khaá¹á¹Äb as rightly-guided Caliphs. They regard the first half of 'UthmÄn ibn 'AffÄn's rule as righteous and the second half as corrupt and affected by both nepotism and heresy. They approve of the first part of 'AlÄ«'s caliphate, and (like ShÄ«'a) disapprove of 'Ä€'ishah's rebellion and Mu'ÄwÄ«yah's revolt. However, they regard AlÄ«'s acceptance of arbitration at the Battle of á¹¢iffÄ«n as rendering him unfit for leadership, and condemn him for killing the Khawarij of an-Nahr in the NaharwÄn. Modern Ibadi theologians defend the early Kharijite opposition to Uthman, Ali and Muawiyah. Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta observed Ibadis praying Jumu'ah in Oman - which he said they prayed in the same manner as Zuhr prayer - and noticed that they invoked God's mercy on Abu Bakr and Umar but not Uthman and Ali.
In their belief the next legitimate Caliph was Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, the leader of the Kharijites who turned against Ali for his acceptance of arbitration with Muawiyah. All Caliphs from Mu'ÄwÄ«yah onward are considered tyrants except 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'AzÄ«z, on whom opinions differ. Numerous IbÄá¸Ä« leaders are recognized as true imams, including 'AbdullÄh ibn YaḥyÄ al-KindÄ« of South Arabia and the imams of the Rustamid dynasty in North Africa. Traditionally, conservative Omani Ibadism rejected monarchy and hereditary rule, and Ibadhi leaders were elected. Despite bitter religious disputes elsewhere, the Ibadis are realists and believe that reason and political expediency must temper the ideal Islamic state.
View of hadith
IbÄá¸Ä«s accept as authentic far fewer hadÄ«th than do SunnÄ«s, and some of those accepted by IbÄá¸Ä«s are rejected by SunnÄ«s. IbÄá¸Ä« jurisprudence, naturally, is based only on the ḥadÄ«th accepted by IbÄá¸Ä«s. Several of IbÄá¸Ä«sm's founding figures were noted for their ḥadÄ«th research, and JÄbir ibn Zayd is accepted as a reliable narrator by SunnÄ« scholars as well as by IbÄá¸Ä« ones. After the death of Ibn Ibad, Ibn Zayd took leadership of the Ibadis and withdrew to Oman, where his hadith along with those of other early Ibadis formed the corpus of their interpretation of Islamic law.
The principal ḥadith collections accepted by IbÄá¸Ä«s are Musnad al-RabÄ«' ibn ḤabÄ«b and Jami Sahih. IbÄá¸Ä« jurists use the rules set by AbÅ« Ya'qÅ«b al-WarijlanÄ« to determine the reliability of a ḥadÄ«th. These are largely similar to those used by SunnÄ«s.
View of jurisprudence
The fiqh or jurisprudence of Ibadis is relatively simple. Absolute authority is given to the Qur'an and hadith; new innovations accepted on the basis of qiyas, or analogical reasoning, were rejected as bid'ah by the Ibadis. They differ in this from the majority of Sunnis, but find agreement with most Shi'ites as well as the Zahiri and early Hanbali schools of Sunnism.
Demographics
IbÄá¸Ä« Muslims make up a majority (roughly 75%) of the population in Oman. The early medieval Rustamid dynasty in Algeria was IbÄá¸Ä«, and refugees from its capital Tiaret founded the North African IbÄá¸Ä«s communities which exist today in M'zab. The Mozabites, a Berber ethnic group in M'zab, are Ibadis. Ibadis are also found in East Africa (particularly Zanzibar), the NafÅ«sah Mountains of Libya, and Djerba Island in Tunisia.
Notable Ibadis
Individuals
- Sulaiman al-Barouni, wali of Tripolitania.
- Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, current Grand Mufti of Oman.
- Qaboos bin Said al Said, Sultan of Oman and its dependencies.
- Nouri Abusahmain, president of the General National Congress and current Libyan head of state.
- Moufdi Zakaria, poet, writer and nationalist militant, author of Kassaman the Algerian national anthem
Dynasties
- Rustamid dynasty: 776â€"909
- Nabhani dynasty: 1154â€"1624
- Yaruba dynasty: 1624â€"1742
- Al Said: 1744â€"present
See also
- Ghardaïa
- Islam in Oman
- Sultanate of Zanzibar
References
External links
- Ibadi Islam: an introduction
- A Concise History of al-Ibadiyyah
- Ibn-Ibad and the Ibadi School of Islamic Law
