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The Ibadhis considered their
movement a continuation of the opposition which overthrew 'Uthman
b. Affan, the third Caliph and caused his death. They regarded
that opposition as being a purely Islamic rejection of the
innovations introduced by 'Uthman and his 'Umayyad court. Those
innovations (ahdath), were pointed out in K. Sifat Ahdath 'Uthman,
the letter of 'Abdullah b. Ibadh and the Sirah of Salim b.
Dhakwan. There is no mention in Ibadhi sources of the rule of
'Abdullah b. Saba' in this first revolt against 'Uthman, a fact
which indicates that Ibadhis understood that the revolt was an
Islamic duty carried out by the Companions of the Prophet who
wanted to keep to the Sunnah of the Prophet and the example of
his two successors, and not a result of any outside or
mysterious influence. They (the Ibadhis) approved of the
Caliphate of 'Ali b. Abi Talib and regarded Talhah, al-Zubair,
A'ishah and their party as the rebellious party (al-fi'atu al-baghiyah).45
It is reported that both Jabir b. Zaid and Abu Bilal Mirdas
discussed with 'A'ishah her attitude at the battle of the Camel
and blamed her for her opposition to 'Ali who was the legal
Caliph at that time, and she once more repented. 46
They also approved of 'Ali in his wars against Mu'awiyah and
regarded both Mu'awiyah and 'Amr b. al-'As and their party as
the rebellious party which should be fought until they accepted
the commands of God. 47 But they disapproved of
Ali's acceptance of arbitration, regarding those who rejected
arbitration as the true Muslims, and their leader 'Abdullah b.
Wahb al-Rasibi the fifth legal Caliph. 48 They
renounced 'Ali b. Abi Talib for killing the people of al-Nahr
and argued that he had no right whatsoever to fight them. Abu 'Ubaidah
Muslim b. Abi Karimah commented on the statement made by 'Ali
regarding the slogan of the people of al-Nahr (la hukm illa
lillah), that it was a word of truth meant for falsehood. Abu 'Ubaidah
said that, since 'Ali know that their slogan expressed the
truth, who informed him that false hood was their intention?
49
It is reported on the authority
of Jabir b. Zaid that when 'Ali b. Abi Talib noticed that his
followers were disturbed at the slaughter of pious Muslims in
the battle of al-Nahrawan, and regretted what they had done, he
asked them on the next day of the battle to search for a devil
among the dead people of al-Nahr, so they brought him a man who
was bitten in the chest by a camel, and 'Ali told them that this
was the devil. When his son al-Hasan reminded him that the man
was Nafii', the client of the Companion himself and participated
in jihad, 'Ali silenced him and told him that war is deceptive,
(al-harbu khud'ah)! 50. This information shows that
early Ibadhi authorities believed that 'Ali b. Abi Talib was not
in the right in fighting against the people of al-Nahr, and that
his attitude was based on worldly desires and not on religious
grounds as was the case with the people of al-Nahr51.
Thus was the view of the Ibadhis
regarding the early political changes, as they understood them.
To them, the Muhakkimah were the only party struggling to resume
the just Islamic Imamate as it was during the time of Abu Bakr,
'Umar, the first six years of 'Uthman's rule and the early years
of 'Ali before he accepted the arbitration. The military
struggle of this party ended in the massacre of the people of
al-Nahr by 'Ali b. Abi Talib and his forces (37 H/658 A.D.), and
the people of al-Nakhilah by the joint forces of both Mu'awiyah
and al-Hasan b. 'Ali. 52
After this stage 'Umayyad rule
became established and made its aim to prevent any sort of
opposition. So the sympathisers of the Muhakkimah party, or
'al-Muslimun', or 'Jama'at al-Muslimin' as they were called in
the early Ibadhi literature, were obliged to hide their faith
and to carry out their activities in secret53. Among
the survivors of the battle of al-Nahrawan were 'Urwah b. 'Udayyah
and his brother Abu Bilal Mirdas. 54 They continued
their activities in Basrah, being known for their devotion to
their religious duties, and were among the leading men of 'Jama'at
al-Muslimin' in Basrah. It appears that Abu Bilal was a leading
man of Basrah, for he was one of three men who commented on the
first sermon of Ziyad b. Abih in the mosque of Basrah when the
latter was appointed governor of Basrah, Khurasan and Sijistan
by Mu'awiyah. 55 It is also reported that Abu Bilal
and Jabir b. Zaid were in a close touch during this period and
he used to spend a considerable time with Jabir b. Zaid. It is
reported that they together visited 'A'ishah and reproached her
for her stand at the battle of the Camel. 56 during
this period Jabir's leadership of the Muhakkimah party was
established. He was a learned pious man from al-Azd, the same
tribe as 'Abdullah b. Wahb al-Rasibi, the last elected leader of
the party. On the whole, the activities of Jabir were
intellectual, so that he was able to propagate and preserve the
teaching of Islam in a way which did not arouse the suspicion of
the 'Umayyad authorities. His position as an outstanding mufti
in Basrah provided him with useful cover and enabled him to
establish widespread contacts with leading persons in different
parts of the Islamic countries. 57
The policy of Jabir was to use
all means to ensure the security of his movement and safety for
his followers. He even went to the extent of ordering the
assassination of a certain Khardalah who informed the 'Umayyad
authorities about the names of the members of the Ibadhi
movement in Basrah and disclosed its secrets. 58
Jabir also allowed bribery to avoid difficulties with the
authorities during the rule of 'Ubaidulah b. Ziyad. 59 |
