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(Masalik al-din)
Ibadhi scholars use
the term (masalik al-din), literally, the ways of
religion, as referring to the stages of their community in which
the laws of shari’ah are to be carried out. They mention
the following four states:
Manifestation (zuhur);
Defence (difa);
Sacrifice of one’s life (shira);
The stage of Secrecy (kitman).1
Each stage has its
rules and regulations, and all of them were experienced by
Ibadhis throughout their history. All Ibadhi scholars agree
that there are no stages other than these four. It is reported
that Abu Bakr al-Zawaghi used to say at the sessions (majalis)
which he held, ‘We are not in a stage of manifestation (zuhur),
or defence (difa), neither in a state of the sacrifice of
one’s life (shira), nor in secrecy (kitman), but
our time is undefined.”2.
On hearing this, his colleague Abu Zakariya Fasil b. Abi Miswar
commented, “The stages of the Muslim community are four,
whosoever increases or decreases them is in error.”3
These stages (masalik) were defined very early by Ibadhi
scholars. Ibadhi interpretation of Islamic history in its first
fifty years demonstrates that the Muslim community went through
the four stages, whether during the Prophet’s lifetime or
afterwards. The cycle of these stages was completed when the
Umayyads took over and subjected the Muslim community to their
rule. Under Umayyad rule, there was no chance for the true
Muslims to propagate their views or to command well and prohibit
evil,; for any such attempt usually led to imprisonment or
death. The alternative for true Muslims was to practise their
activities in secret. The Ibadhi movement intended to revive
the true religion, and had to start in secrecy (kitman)
with the aim of going through the same experience as the first
Muslim community towards the stage of manifestation (zuhur).
In the following
pages a brief study of the stages of the Muslim community (masalik
al-din) is undertaken.
Zuhur
means the proclamation of the independent Imamate. During the
state of manifestation Ibadhis elect their own Imam, who should
rule them according to the Qur’an, sunnah, and the example of
the rightly guided Imams.4
This is the principle stage which must be maintained by
Muslims. The Prophet died leaving the Muslims in the stage of
manifestation (zuhur).5
It is obligatory for Muslims to maintain this state in order to
execute the commands of God. Hadd punishments, the
Friday prayers, the collection of zakat and protection
tax (jizyah), fighting such enemies as Polytheists and
rebels (al-bughat) the proper division of spoils and
zakat, none of these obligations can be carried out without
the authority of the Imam.6
Ibadhi scholars cite the Caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar as
examples of the stage of manifestation in early Islam.
Whenever Muslims
attain satisfactory conditions of proper, wealth, and knowledge
of religion, so that they can execute the commands of God, and
when they number about half of the enemy around them, they must
proclaim the Imamate and elect their own Imam from among their
outstanding men.8
The Imam had to implement the orders of God as long as his
followers numbered more than forty. If their number becomes
less, he must proclaim the dissolution of the Imamate.9
Defence becomes the
obligatory duty in the absence of manifestation (zuhur).10
When under attack, or suspecting a sudden attack, the Muslims
must elect a leader to lead them in fighting their enemy. Such
a leader is called Imam al-difa, Imam of defence. He
must be a learned man of high military capability.11
He has the same full authority as the Imam of zuhur until
the end of the war.12
At the end of the war his Imamate dissolves automatically, so
the Muslims would have no difficulty in removing him from his
office. The Muslims must then elect their new Imam as required
by the resultant state, either of ‘manifestation’ or ‘secrecy’.13
The first Imaam of defence given in Ibadhi sources is Abdullah
b. Wahb al-Rasibi who was elected before the battle of
al-Nahrawan.14 The
other Imams of defence of North Africa included Abu Hatim al-Malzuzi,
who tried to revive the Imamate of ‘manifestation’ which was
established by Abu al-Khattab Abd al-Ala b. al-Samh al-Ma'afiri,15 and
Abu Khazr Yaghla b. Zaltaf, who tried to revive the Rustamid
Imamate and fought the Fatimids for this purpose.16
Defence, (difa),
can be regarded as a general revolution against the unjust
rule of tyrants or external enemies. If the general revolution
fails to achieve its aim and is suppressed, the Ibadhi community
enters a new stage known as the stage of secrecy, (kitman).
Both secrecy (kitman)
and the sacrifice of one’s life, (shira), can operate at
the same time; for shira is not more than a voluntary
action of sacrificing one’s life; taken by a group of not less
than forty men who sacrifice their lives in the way of God in
order to encourage the rest of their community to change the
unjust rule of the enemies of God.17 |
