The Ibadi School

1A scholar from Oman in Basra

Our story begins with a man from Oman who lived and taught in Basra: Jabir ibn Zayd al-Azdi, known as Abu ash-Sha'tha', may Allah have mercy on him. He belonged to the generation of the Tabi'un, the Successors of the Companions, and learned from some of the greatest scholars among the Companions, above all Abdullah ibn Abbas and the Mother of the Believers Aishah, may Allah be pleased with them.

Jabir was not respected by the Ibadis alone. Sunni hadith scholars also narrate from him, and his name appears in the well-known Sunni hadith collections, including the Sahih of al-Bukhari. The biographical works report that Ibn Abbas held his knowledge in very high regard. For the Ibadis he is the true founder of their school, their first great Imam of knowledge.

2Where the name comes from

The name "Ibadi" goes back to Abdullah ibn Ibad, a man from Basra in the second half of the first century after the Hijrah. He was known mainly for his public positions rather than as a jurist. It is remarkable that the Ibadis themselves for a long time did not use the name as their own. They preferred to call themselves Ahl al-Haqq wa-l-Istiqamah – "the people of truth and steadfastness" – or simply Ahl ad-Da'wah. The name "Ibadi" took hold mainly because others called them that, and it was later adopted by the Ibadis themselves.

After Jabir, Abu Ubaydah Muslim ibn Abi Karimah led the community in Basra. He taught discreetly, because the times were unsettled, and trained students who came to be called the bearers of knowledge (hamalat al-'ilm). They travelled to different regions, to Oman and to the Maghrib, and carried what they had learned there. One of his most important students was ar-Rabi' ibn Habib al-Farahidi from Oman, to whom the most important Ibadi hadith collection goes back.

3Ibadis and Khawarij – an important distinction

In some older books by other traditions, the Ibadis are counted among the Khawarij, the group that separated from Ali ibn Abi Talib after the arbitration at Siffin, and from whom extreme factions later committed violence against other Muslims. The Ibadis themselves firmly reject this classification, and it is a matter of fairness to know their own view.

Their scholars point to fundamental differences:

• No violence against Muslims: early on, the Ibadis clearly separated from the extreme groups of their time that declared other Muslims idolaters and regarded their blood as lawful. The Ibadis explicitly rejected this.
• Other Muslims are Muslims: according to Ibadi teaching, whoever shares the direction of prayer with them belongs to the Ahl al-Qiblah, the people of the qiblah. Marriage, inheritance and praying together with them are permitted.
• Sin is not apostasy: when Ibadi texts call grave sins "kufr", they mean kufr ni'mah, ingratitude towards Allah's blessings, not the disbelief that takes a person out of Islam.

For this reason many historians, including those outside the Ibadi tradition, describe the Ibadis as a school of its own with a moderate outlook. For us the rule of a good teacher applies: a community should above all be described as it understands itself.

4The method: sources and legal reasoning

Ibadi legal theory will feel very familiar to Sunni Muslims. It rests on:

1. 1The Quran, the word of Allah.
2. 2The Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Especially valued is the collection of ar-Rabi' ibn Habib, known as al-Jami' as-Sahih or Musnad ar-Rabi'. It was later rearranged by the scholar Abu Ya'qub al-Warjlani. Ibadi scholars, however, also draw on hadith from other collections.
3. 3Consensus (ijma') of the scholars.
4. 4Analogical reasoning (qiyas) and considered judgement (ra'y), including methods such as regard for the public good.

The Ibadis attach great importance to the early transmission from the Companions, especially from Ibn Abbas and Aishah, from whom Jabir received his knowledge. Ijtihad never came to a standstill among them, and over the centuries their scholars wrote extensive works dealing with questions from every area of life.

In theology the Ibadis hold their own positions, which on some questions are close to rational theology, for example in emphasising that Allah resembles no created thing. As with all schools: these questions were discussed by serious scholars with great care.

5Oman: the home of the Ibadis

Islam reached Oman already in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and according to tradition the Omanis accepted it peacefully. Through the students of Jabir and Abu Ubaydah, the Ibadi school took root there. Over many centuries Oman produced a rich scholarly tradition, with centres such as Nizwa, known as a city of learning.

Today most of the world's Ibadis live in Oman, and the Ibadi tradition shapes culture and scholarship there. Alongside them, many Sunni and Shia Muslims live in the country. Oman is known throughout the Islamic world for its culture of tolerance: in many mosques Muslims of different schools pray side by side, and its calm, respectful coexistence is seen by many as an example. Non-Muslim communities also have their houses of worship there.

Through Oman, Ibadis also reached the coast of East Africa, especially Zanzibar, where Ibadi communities existed for a long time.

6North Africa: Mzab, Djerba and Nafusa

In the Maghrib the Ibadi school spread early, especially among the Berber (Amazigh) peoples. In the second century after the Hijrah (eighth century CE), the Rustamid imamate arose in Tahert in present-day Algeria, a state known in historical writing for its lively intellectual life and the coexistence of different groups.

Ibadi communities live to this day in three well-known places:

• The Mzab Valley in Algeria: in the desert on the edge of the Sahara, the Ibadis built a group of fortified towns, among them Ghardaia and Beni Isguen. Their simple, harmonious architecture is famous, and the Mzab Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Traditionally a council of scholars, the Halqat al-'Azzabah, plays an important role in religious and social life there.
• The island of Djerba in Tunisia: here there are old Ibadi mosques and a long tradition of learning.
• The Nafusa Mountains in Libya: a highland where Ibadi communities have lived for many centuries.

These communities are often known for their honesty in trade, their sense of community and their careful preservation of manuscripts.

7The chain of knowledge

When Ibadis speak of the origin of their knowledge, they trace a chain that is easy to remember:

1. 1The Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions.
2. 2Abdullah ibn Abbas and Aishah, may Allah be pleased with them, were among the most learned of them. Ibn Abbas is often called the "scholar of the ummah" and interpreter of the Quran, and Aishah was one of the most important sources for the Prophet's ﷺ life in his home.
3. 3Jabir ibn Zayd learned from them in the generation of the Successors.
4. 4Abu Ubaydah Muslim ibn Abi Karimah took up his knowledge and passed it on in Basra.
5. 5The bearers of knowledge brought it to Oman and the Maghrib, where it is taught to this day.

This chain is very important to the Ibadis. It shows that they do not understand their school as a later innovation, but as the preservation of the knowledge of the first generations. A Sunni reader will recognise much here: Ibn Abbas and Aishah are pillars of knowledge in his own tradition too.

8Important scholars and works

A few names worth knowing:

• Jabir ibn Zayd, the founder, whose legal opinions were collected in later works.
• ar-Rabi' ibn Habib, to whom the most important Ibadi hadith collection goes back.
• Abu Ya'qub al-Warjlani from the Maghrib, who rearranged this collection and wrote on legal theory.
• The great Omani legal encyclopaedias such as Bayan ash-Shar' and al-Musannaf, both by scholars of the al-Kindi family.
• Kitab an-Nil by Abd al-Aziz ath-Thamini, a well-known law book from the Mzab.
• Muhammad ibn Yusuf Atfayyish, called Qutb al-A'immah, from the Mzab (d. 1332 AH / 1914 CE), an unusually prolific scholar who wrote, among other things, a commentary on Kitab an-Nil and a Quranic exegesis.
• Nur ad-Din as-Salimi from Oman (d. 1332 AH / 1914 CE), author of a well-known history of Oman, Tuhfat al-A'yan, a commentary on the Musnad ar-Rabi' and many didactic poems.

9What you notice in daily life

A Sunni Muslim praying next to an Ibadi in Oman will notice one thing above all: the Ibadi holds his hands at his sides while standing in prayer, instead of folding them over the chest or stomach. Many people know this from the Malikis as well. It is a visible sign of a different transmission, not of a different faith.

Beyond that there are minor differences in details of prayer and legal practice, as there are between all schools. The prayer itself – the ablution, facing the Kaaba, reciting al-Fatihah, bowing and prostration – is the same. In Oman, Ibadis and Sunnis often pray in the same row, and nobody finds anything unusual about it.

10A contribution to Islamic civilisation

The Ibadis have given the Islamic world a great deal: one of the earliest lines of transmission of knowledge, reaching back to Ibn Abbas and Aishah; a large legal literature; the unique architecture of the Mzab; and in Oman a living example of how people of different schools can live together in peace. Oman's maritime trade, which connected Arabia with East Africa and Asia, also carried Islam and its values to distant lands.

11Recognition and unity

The Amman Message (2004, endorsed in 2005) names the Ibadi school explicitly among the eight recognised schools of law in Islam and forbids declaring its followers unbelievers. Ibadi scholars from Oman have taken part in many conferences on bringing the schools closer together and repeatedly emphasise what is shared.

12How to get to know a school fairly

Smaller communities are often talked about more than talked with. So here are a few thoughts that apply to every school, but especially to the Ibadi one:

• Read what they write themselves. The works of Ibadi scholars are printed today and widely available. They tell you more about this school than the judgements of its historical opponents.
• Distinguish between history and the present. Events from the first century of the Hijrah explain how a school arose, but they do not describe the people praying next to you today.
• Ask scholars, not rumours. Whoever wants to know something about a school does best to ask someone who has studied it thoroughly.

This is the attitude the Amman Message asks of all Muslims, and it is also the attitude we want to live by at Quran Masterclass.

13In closing

The Ibadi school is small in number but rich in history. It reminds us that the ummah is more diverse than we often think, and that the diversity of the schools need not be a reason for division. Whoever has been to Nizwa or Ghardaia knows how much calm, dignity and hospitality one finds there.

And whoever has seen, in an Omani mosque, people with folded hands and people with hands at their sides standing in the same row, behind the same imam, with the same Quran on their lips, understands: our differences are small compared with what unites us.

Allah says: "The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers" Surah 49:10. The Omanis have made this verse a way of life. Perhaps that is the most beautiful lesson we can learn from them.