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On the other
hand, Ibadhis refused to regard the people of the Qiblah
(Muslims) as polytheists, they called them (muwahhidun)
'monotheists", or 'infidels-ingrate', kuffar alni'mah, and held
it lawful to live among them on terms of mutual tolerance67.
This doctrine was clearly expressed by Abdullah b. Ibad, and for
it he was opposed by the Kharijite leaders68.
Abdullah b. Ibad declared Nafii al-Azraq a polytheist (mushrik)
for killing Muslim women and children and for taking their
property as spoils69.
Jabir b. Zaid also adopted the same attitude as Abdullah b. Ibad,
and used to argue with the Kharijites and refute their views
concerning their attitude towards their Muslim opponents70.
It is reported that Jabir b. Zaid was informed that Zaid b. al-A’sham,
who was believed to be a good Muslim, regarded the Muslim
opponents as polytheists. Jabir sent for him and asked his
opinion on the sacrificial animals (hady) sacrificed by the
Muslim opponents. His reply was, I kill them and cut their
livers and humps, they have no sacrifices (la hadya lahum)."
The sense of this curt statement is that Zaid b. al-A’sham
refused to regard sacrificial animals dedicated by the Muslim
opponents of the Khawarij as consecrated (to Allah), since he
considered these men to be polytheists, and in consequence he
regarded them as lawful to be slaughtered should they fall into
his possession, freely, since they were not, in his eyes,
Allah's consecrated property. The livers and humps are the
choice parts of camel meat. So Jabir renounced him71.
During their
history, Ibadhis never broke this principle; they never killed
women or children of their opponents or killed the injured or
followed a routed enemy of them, nor did they take their
property for spoils72.
One of the well known examples of this attitude is to be found
in the celebrated action of Abu Mansur Ilyas, governor of Jabal
Nufusah on behalf of the fourth Rustumid Imam Muhammad b. Aflah.
Abu Mansur fought al-Abbas b. Tulun who attached Tripoli in the
year 267H and conquered him, but left on the battle field sixty
loads of gold, not taking a single piece73.
The Ibadhi scholar Abu Ya’qub al-Warijlani, reporting on this
event, commented: "What a great loss!"74.
The other
question was, who were true Muslims among the contending
parties, and what were the others? Were they also Muslims or
were they infidels? There was no denial that all those groups
believed in the same God and the same Prophet. The question was
about the practice of the religion. The Ibadhis' solution of
this problem was based on their definition of sin. Grave sins (kabair)
were divided into two groups75.
a)
Grave sins falling within the category of Polytheism (kabair
al-shirk). This type of sin includes:
i)
Rejecting any aspect of the faith of which Muslims may not be
ignorant (ما لا يسعى جهله ), such as Unity of God, Cognition of
Allah, Prophets and Angels.
ii) To
regard as permissible what is prohibited by the Qur’an such as
carrion, blood, pork, slaying the soul without right, deriving
profit from usury, etc. Those who commit such sins are
polytheists (mushrikun).
b)
Grave sins falling within the category of hypocrisy (kabair al-nifaq).
This type of sins consists of:
i)
Mistakenly regarding as permissible what God has forbidden (al-istihlal
bi ta'wil al-khata).
ii)
Committing that for which God has threatened punishment in this
world and chastisement in the world to come, or for which he has
punished one of the previous nations. The sinner of this nature
is neither a believer (mu'min) nor a polytheist (mushrik) but a
Hypocrite (munafiq) and an 'infidel-ingrate (kafir kufr ni’mah)76.
This expression was used to differentiate this type of sinner
from the Polytheists for whom the Arabic work kafir is also
used. Ibadhi sources speak of two types of kufr:(i) kufr juhud,
or kufr musawat which means to disbelieve in God or to make Him
equal with others. In this sense the term kafir is synonymous
with mushrik, polytheist77 (ii)
Kufr ni’mah: ingratitude for the blessings of God. This term
was used for those Muslims who commit hypocritical grave sins,
and for those who acknowledge the faith of Islam but do not
practice it78.
The terms nifaq, kufr nifaq, and kufr ni’mah are used in the
same sense, for Ibadhis held that hypocrisy (nifaq) is only in
deeds and not in the faith79.
In his
collection of hadith, al-Rabi'i b. Habib narrated 25 Traditions
in support of the Ibadhi doctrine of applying the term Kufr to
Muslims80.
Ibadhi use of this term in this sense is based on usage in the
Qur’an and traditions81.
This distinction of terms (al-asma) was based on the Ibadhi view
of 'faith (iman) which consists in professing the faith in words
and practising the required duties. Those who fulfil the
obligations of the faith in both word and deed are complete
Muslims or Believers (muslimun muwaffun, or muminun muwaffun).
Ibadhi creeds state two items to explain their opinion of the
state of the other 'monotheists':
a)
Intermediate position, i.e. the state of hypocrisy between
'faith' and 'polytheism'.
b) No
position between two positions, i.e. no state between 'faith'
and kufr82.
This latter proposition was directed against Mu'tazilites, who
held that he who commits a grave sin is in an intermediate
position, neither a Believer nor a polytheist, but he is a fasiq,
and they refused to call him a kafir. According to Ibadhi
doctrine, fisq and kufr are one and the same.
Coming back
to the Ibadhi view of the relation between their community and
the rest of the Muslim community, they held that the only true
Muslims are those who fulfil the obligations of the faith in
work and deed. these are al-Muslimun al-muwaffun and they form
the body of the 'Muslims' (jamaa'at al-Muslimin) or the
'missioners' (ahl al-da;wah), i.e. the Ibadhi community. The
rest of the Muslim community is divided into three categories;
tyrants, heretics (Ahl al-bida), and the general body of
Muslims. they were all regarded as kuffar ni'mah, therefore
Ibadhis can mix with them and live under their rule on the terms
of religious dissimulation (taqiyah)83 within
the Ibadhi state of secrecy (kitman). Changing the rule of
tyranny, or commanding good and prohibiting evil is recommended
under special rules84. |
