MUSLIMS: THE COMMUNITYit was the only building large enough for the purpose, but it also
symbolized how Muslims had replaced the Sasanians as rulers. J:Iu-
dhayfa ibn al-Yaman (d. 656), who is credited with "enlarging" the
masjid "built" by Sa' d at Mada'in, probably built the first separate
masjid there.s
Apart from the congregational and tribal masjids at Basra and Kufa,
other early masjids existed at Anbar, Takrit, and Mawsil, and one
was built at Haditha in the time of al-J:Iajjaj.6 AI-J:Iajjaj also built a
masjid at Wasit in 702-3. Congregational masjids became increasingly
monumental structures during the course of the seventh century and
acquired features such as the maq~iira and minaret, which emphasized
both the responsibility of Muslim rulers for public worship and their
claims to religious leadership and authority. There does not appear to
be any precedent for this in pre-Islamic Iraq, nor for the way the early
Muslim governor led public worship at noon on Fridays as the local
imiim and head of the Muslim community in his province.
COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERSHowever, the natural religious leaders of the community were a
group of first-and second-generation Muslims, the Companions (Ar.
a~~iib, ~a~iiba) of MUQammad who were his contemporaries and early
converts, and the Followers (Ar. tiibi'iin), whose authority was based
on their ability to remember and interpret the Qur'an and the practices
of MuQammad.7 At first, as long as 'Umar I followed a policy of
Islamic priority in his appointments, no difference existed between
religious and secular leaders. Abu Musa al-Ash'arl was both a Com-
panion and governor of Basra from 639 until 649. But the reassertion
of aristocratic tribal and merchant leadership under 'Uthman re-
stricted such people to an unofficial or at best semiofficial interpre-
tation and development of Islamic requirements for the benefit of
converts, although Ziyad employed several Companions as governors
and judges.^8
Companions and Followers memorized and recited the Qur'an and
provided early religious leadership as popular preachers, storytellers,
5 Baiadhuri, Futu~, p. 289.
6 Ibid., pp. 290, 332-33; J. H. Kramers, "Takrit," El(1), IV, 632.
7 For the definition and development of criteria for $a~iiba see M. Muranyi, Die
Prophetengenossen in der fruhislamischen Geschichte (Bonn, 1973), pp. 12-48.
8 Tabari, Ta'rzkh, 11, 79.