IbĀḌiyya
IBĀḌIYYA. The Ibāḍiyya sect (also known as the Ibāḍī sect, or simply as the Ibāḍīs) constitutes one of the main branches of Islam. The Ibāḍīs are relatively few in number in comparison to the Sunnīs and the Shīʿah, and for many centuries they have lived largely in isolated areas, principally Oman and Zanzibar, Tripolitania in Libya, the island of Jerba in Tunisia, and the Mzab area of Algeria. This isolation has meant that until the late twentieth century almost all of what is known about the Ibāḍīs has come through prejudiced and hostile Sunnī sources. However, since the accession of Qaboos b. Said to the sultanate of Oman in 1970, there has been a sustained program for the publication of major Ibāḍī works, so that it is at last becoming possible to view the Ibāḍīs through their own tradition. Among the works that have come to light are a number that date back to before 800 CE and are crucial for an understanding of the development of Islamic thought in general. Unfortunately, very little has so far trickled through into English.
The origins of the Ibāḍīs go back to not much more than twenty years after Muḥammad's death. They have their roots in the groups, collectively known as Khārijites, that came into existence during the First Islamic Civil War (656–661 CE).
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