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Second Imam of the Ibadhi Community of Basrah.
Abu 'Ubaidah Muslim b.Abi
Karimah al-Tamimi, client of b. Tamim.1 According to Jahiz, he
was a mawla of 'Urwah b. 'Udayyah, brother of Abu Bilal Mirdas.
2 He lived in Basrah and studied under Jabir b. Zaid, Suhar
al-'Abdi, and Ja'far b. al-Simak. 3 Some scholars suggest that
Abu 'Ubaidah met the same Companions as his teacher Jabir, and
narrated Traditions from the Companions, Jabir b. 'Abdullah,
Anas b. Malik, Abu Hurairah, Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri,
and 'A’ishah. 4 It is possible that he may have met some of
these Companions or all of them but not for long period as did
Jabir b. Zaid. His principle teachers were Ja'far b. al-Simak,
Suhar al-'Abdi and Jabir b. Zaid. But he acquired most of his
knowledge from Ja'far b. al-Simak and Suhar.5 He devoted his
life to learning and teaching. It is reported that he spent
forty years of his life in learning and another forty years in
teaching. 6 The development of the Ibadhi doctrine, the growth
of their organization, and the rapid expansion of their movement
in Yemen, Oman, Khurasan, and North Africa is undoubtedly due to
Abu 'Ubaidah, and his gifted abilities both as a scholar and
statesman. 7 He played the greatest part as the most successful
leader of the Ibadhi movement during the last period of the
'Umayyad rule and the beginning of the 'Abbasid rule. Shammakhi
reported that Abu 'Ubaidah died during the Caliphate of Abu
Ja'far al-Mansur (136-158). 8 It is already mentioned that he
lived for eighty years which he spent in learning and teaching.
It can be said, therefore, that Abu 'Ubaidah lived in the period
starting with the end of the first half of the first century up
to the end of the first half of the second century. It is also
suggested that he became the leader of the Ibadhi movement after
he was released from prison in the year 95, two years after the
death of Jabir b. Zaid. 9
To understand the distinctive
character of Abu 'Ubaidah and the aspect which distinguished his
personality, one must refer to the influence of his different
teachers. First there was 'Urwah b. 'Udayyah, a strong and
pious man of great experience of religious and political
conflict which took place during the civil wars between 'Ali and
Mu'awiyah. He was the first man to reject arbitration and
fought against 'Ali in the battle of al-Nahrawan; he was later
killed by 'Ubaidullah b. Ziyad. The servant of 'Urwah described
him to 'Ubaidullah as follows: "I never prepared his bed for him
at night, nor brought him food during the day;"10 meaning that
he always fasts during the days, and spends the nights praying.
Abu 'Ubaidah, being a client of 'Urwah must have been influenced
by him a great deal. His other teacher Suhar al-'Abdi was a
great orator (Khatib), great genealogist, and author of a book
on 'Amthal,11 (proverbs), as well as a theologian.12 His
teacher Jabir b. Zaid was a great Jurist, and an eminent
Traditionalist; Abu 'Ubaidah, having studied under these great
men, possessed all the various qualities they had. He was an
ascetic, pious worshipper,13 a brilliant orator,14 an excellent
teacher, and great scholar, covering fields of theology,
Jurisprudence, and Traditions. And, finally, he had an excellent
organizing ability.
In the field of Ibadhi doctrine,
Abu 'Ubaidah kept to the same method as Jabir b. Zaid, but he
contributed more theological opinion in order to face the rising
problems in this field. This may also be due to the influence
of his teacher Suhar al-'Abdi. In his legal opinions, Abu 'Ubaidah
kept to the same line as his predecessor, Jabir b. Zaid, of whom
he was very proud, as he said, "Every man of Traditions (sahib
hadith) who has no Imam in jurisprudence is gone astray. If God
had not favoured us with Jabir b. Zaid we too would have gone
astray." 15 He also kept the same respect for the Companions
and their opinions. He said, "He who has no teacher among the
companions possesses nothing of the religion. God has favoured
us with 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, cousin of the
Prophet, 'Abdullah b. Mas’ud, and 'Abdullah b. Sallam, who were
firmly rooted in knowledge. We walked in their steps, followed
their sayings, relied on their conduct, and imitated their
method....."16
The method followed by Abu 'Ubaidah was to keep fast to the
teachings of the Companions and the followers, and not to form
any line which might lead way from their way. To him, following
Sunnah is a sign that the Muslim has a good soul. He related
from Ibn 'Abbas that he said, "He who heard a Tradition inviting
to moral excellence and did his best in following it; if the
Tradition was as he heard it, he gets two rewards; the reward
for memorising the Tradition, and the reward for acting
according to it. If the Tradition was not as he heard it, he
will get the same reward, for God will not waste the wage of
good-doers. The reward for his good-doing and worship of God
will not be wasted unless his work was in a heresy." 17 After
quoting this opinion of Ibn 'Abbas, Abu 'Ubaidah commented,
"Know that the Muslim if God granted him a good soul which is
directed to obedience to God, whenever he hears what brings him
nearer to God he will do his best in following it, and he will
be rewarded as previously mentioned. But if the person has a
bad soul he becomes weary of worshipping God and dislikes
worship. All his concern will be in argument and doubt; so
whenever he hears a Tradition which invites him to work, he
opposes it with analogical reasoning (qiyas) and says, "This
Tradition is not authentic, (Sahih), because his opinion which
agrees with his desire has nothing to do with obedience to God."
18 However, Abu 'Ubaidah was a Traditionalist and was largely
influenced by Traditions as a Jurist and Theologian. He was
against using ra'y (personal judgement). When he was told that
the people of Oman use ra'y in forming legal opinions, Abu 'Ubaidah
said, "They will not be safe in the cases of blood shedding and
marriage." 19 His followers were taught not to accept any
opinion unless it is a narration, 'Athar, from the Shaikhs of
the Ibadhi School. It is reported that 'Umm Shihab, an Ibadhi
woman was visited by 'Abdullah b. 'Abd al-'Aziz and Saleh b.
Kathir, students of Abu 'Ubaidah, she asked them for a legal
opinion and Saleh answered her. She asked him from whom he
narrated that opinion. His reply was that it was his own
opinion based on his ra'y. She said, "Throw your ra'y against
the wall, I do not need it." 20 During his time more attention
was given to the system of al-walayah, and al-bara'ah, both in
theory and practice, than the time of Jabir b. Zaid. The
following two cases show the change of attitude as between the
two leaders: |
