I

The Ibadis are a subsect of the Khawarij, taking their name from their alleged founder ‘Abdullah b. ‘Ibad al-Tamimi – a seventh-century Kharijite leader. The Ibadis themselves refute the claim that they are a Kharijite group, but they do have a common origin and agree with them on a number of issues; however, it must be said that they are a moderate group within the larger sect. The Ibadis rely on the Qur’an andsunnafor their doctrine and it is worth mentioning that they have their own book ofhadith, termed ‘Musnad al-Rabi’ b. Habib. They are agreement with the Mu’tazila on a number of issues, namely that the Qur’an is created and that Allah will not be seen in the hereafter. They also metaphorically interpret some of the divine attributes, such as the hand (al-yad) and events in the hereafter, such as the scales (al-mizan) and the path over hellfire (al-sirat). They consider other Muslim who disagree with them to be non-believers (kuffar) but not polytheists (mushrikin). Similarly, they consider someone who commits a major sin (kabira, pl.kaba’ir) to be a disbeliever (kafir) and if such a person does not repent then they will punished in hell forever. Ibadis can still be found today in North and East Africa and especially in Oman, where Ibadism is the official state doctrine.