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Western
scholars also dealt with the Ibadhi theology in a number of
articles. These appeared after Motylinski presented a French
translation of the Ibadhi creed of Amr b, Jumai; i in the year
1905. Nailino afterwards wrote his notes on what he considered
to be a Mu'tazili influence on Ibadhi theology. Marino followed
up this line of study in his article "Note de teologia ibadita".
In this field, the Polish scholar Smogorzewski wrote an article
on difference between Ibadhis and Malikis based on a few lines
of verse by an anonymous Ibadhi "Un poeme abadite sur certaines
divergence enterlest Malikites et les Abadites". Lewicki on his
part wrote an informative article on the subdivisions of the
Ibadhiyah. There is also a study of the Ibadhi creed of Abu
Zakariya' al-Jannawni with an Italian translation and an
examination of its relation to other Islamic sects by Rubinacci.
Ibadhi
Jurisprudence has not been dealt with seriously up to the
present time. A few articles have appeared in which minor
aspects of this subject were treated. There is the article by
Rubinacci "La purita rituale secondo gli Ibaditi" in which the
presented a comparative study of the subject al-taharah, in
Ibadhi and other Islamic schools. There is also an article
dealing with the authorities who transmitted the Ibadhi doctrine
in North Africa written by Crupi La Rosa in Italian, and based
on the work of the modern scholar, 'Abdullah b Yahya al-Baruni,
Sullam al-ammah wa al-mubtadi'in. In French there is the work
of Goichon on "La vie feminine au Mzab", and also the work of
Milliot, "Recueil de deliberations des djema'a du Mzab" in which
some points of Ibadhi law were touched upon.
Few other
articles were directed to the study of the Ibadhi organization
of the 'Azzabah. There is the article of Lewicki on al-Halka
and also the article of Rubinacci, "Un antico documento di vita
cenobitica musulmana" which deal with the rules of the Halqah.
There were the main works on Ibadhi studies concerned with the
Maghribi Ibadhis in the European languages. Few notes are to be
found where the subjects of the early sectarian movements of
Islam were studied, for all European scholars include Ibadhis
among the Kharijites.
As for non-Ibadhi
Muslim scholars, they always regarded Ibadhis as extreme
Kharijites and heretics, and did not pay any serious attention
to studying Ibadhi doctrine and forming a clearer image of the
Ibadhi School. It was only recently that the Ibadhi School was
included among the Islamic schools represented in the new
Encyclopaedias of Islamic law appearing in Egypt and Kuwait.
This interesting event came about as a result of the continuous
Ibadhi activities directed towards gaining better understanding
from the neighbouring Muslims. These activities were started by
Sulaiman Basha al-Baruni of Jabal Nafusah, who was an active
Muslim politician and played a major part in the fighting
against the Italian invaders of Libya in 1911. Interest of the
Muslim in the Ibadhi affairs was aroused by the part which al-Baruni
played together with the Ibadhis of Jabal Nafusah in the war
against Italy, his firm loyalty to the Ottoman Empire and his
hard struggle for the Muslim cause. He stood for better
understanding between Muslims, and was one of the earliest
voices to invite Muslims to forget the differences caused by
conflict of opinion among the (المذاهب
)original masters of their Schools.
and to return to
the direct judgement of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The prestige
which was established by al-Baruni in international Muslim
circles through his heroic struggle against Western colonial
invasion brought appreciation for the Ibadhi contribution to
Islamic unity, which was the slogan of most Muslim leaders at
the time, and paved the way for the Ibadhi views to be heard.
In addition to Baruniyah Lithographic Press, established in
Cairo before the beginning of this century, Sulaiman al-Baruni
established his own printing press during the early part of this
century, and issued his newspaper al-Asad al-Islami, in which he
propagated his views and tried to give a clearer picture of the
Ibadhis. He also published a few Ibadhi books by Omani and
Maghribi authors, including his own work on Ibadhi history, al-Azhar
al-riyadiyah. The late scholar Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Atfaiyish of
Mzab afterwards followed the activities started by al-Baruni in
Egypt. He was exiled by the French from Algeria and settled in
Egypt, where he issued his journal, al-Minhaj, and participated
in editing and publishing the works of the modern Ibadhi scholar
Muhammad b. Yusuf Atfaiyish, and some works of the Omani scholar
al-Salimi. He was, during his long stay in Egypt, an unofficial
representative of the Ibadhi school, defending and propagating
Ibadhi views, and he was always ready for consultation on Ibadhi
studies. There can be no doubt that his contribution towards
presenting a clearer view of the Ibadhi School was of great
importance. This is much in evidence in his magazine, al-Minhaj;
in his notes on the works he edited and in his notes on the
parts of E.I. translated into Arabic, in which he tried to
correct euphonious views on the Ibadhiyah. |
