behalf of the community in order to gain entrance
into paradise. A minimum force of 40 men is
required before shira is permitted, however.
Generally, in contrast to extremist Kharijites, the
Ibadis do not consider other Muslims to be dis-
believers who must be fought and killed. Rather,
their relations with outsiders range from peaceful
association to neutrality to hostile avoidance. In
their ritual life, Ibadis practice the same duties of
worship as do other Muslims, with some minor
differences.
Ibadis heed the aUthority of their own imam,
an office of leadership that began in 730. Unlike
the Shia, whose imams are descended from the
household of Muhammad, Ibadi imams attain
office through election by a body of Ulama and
tribal leaders. The Ibadi imam may also be
deposed for errant behavior. Moreover, in contrast
to the Shia, there can be more than one imam at a
time among the different Ibadi communities, and
there may also be times when there is no official
imam. In Ibadi history, the elective tradition of
leadership has competed with a dynastic one. In
recent times, their imams have been members of
the Al Bu Said dynasty in Oman, which has held
power since the 17th century. However, they now
prefer to call themselves sUlta ns, which empha-
sizes their temporal power. Oman, therefore, is
called a sultanate.
See also Free Will and determinism; gUlF states;
khaWariJ; mUtazili school; shiism; sUnnism.
Further reading: Dale F. Eickelman, “From Theocracy to
Monarchy: Authority and Legitimacy in Inner Oman.”
International Journal of Middle East Studies 17 (1985):
3–24; ———, “Ibadism and the Sectarian Perspective.”
In Oman: Economic, Social, and Strategic Developments,
edited by Briam R. Pridham, 31–50 (London: Croom
Helm, 1987); Valerie J. Hoffman, “The Articulation of
Ibadi Identity in Modern Oman and Zanzibar.” Muslim
World 94 (2004): 201–216.
Iblis See satan.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (1703–
1791) conservative religious reformer who launched
the Wahhabi movement and helped found the first
Saudi state
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was born in Uyayna, an oasis
town located in the Najd, the central region of
what is now saUdi arabia. He was raised in a fam-
ily of Hanbali jurists and religious scholars and
demonstrated an early interest in studying the
qUran and other areas of Islamic learning, espe-
cially hadith studies. His father, a Hanbali judge
and teacher of hadith and fiqh, provided him
with his early education in the religious sciences.
Further details about Ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s early
career are anecdotal, but it appears that he began
to advocate a strict Islamic reformism while in his
early 20s. He gained a following in his hometown,
but political opposition forced him to go to mecca
and medina, where he met and studied with other
reform-minded Ulama. He became familiar with
the writings of the medieval Hanbali reformer Ibn
Taymiyya and excelled in his knowledge of Han-
bali law. Later he traveled to Basra, a port town
in iraq, where he encountered Shii doctrines and
practices that met with his disapproval because
they departed from the Islam of the Quran and
the sUnna.
After Basra, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab moved to
Huraymila, the Najdi town where his father
lived. This was where he wrote The Book of
Unity (Kitab al-tawhid), which expressed many
of his key teachings. Copies of it were circu-
lated throughout the Najd. After his father died
in 1740, his mission became more public. He
promoted the doctrine of tawhid, belief in God’s
absolute uniqueness and rejection of polythe-
ism (shirk), idolatry, and unbelief. His belief
that tawhid included following God’s command-
ments and prohibitions meant that he also
sought to address moral issues in his society
and culture. He favored strict enforcement of
the sharia, including performing prayer, giving
zakat (almsgiving), and enforcing punishments
for adUltery. Those who failed to heed hisK 324 Iblis