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Who are the Ibadis?



Praise be to Allaah.


1 – Definition.

The Ibaadis are a group of Khaarijis who are named after their founder, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ibaad al-Tameemi. They claim that they are not Khaarijis, and they deny this origin. But the truth is that they are not extreme Khaarijis like the Azraqis, but they agree with the Khaarijis in many issues such as denying the divine attributes, saying that the Qur’aan is created, and allowing rebellion against oppressive rulers.

2 – After whom are the Ibaadis named?

Their first founder was ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ibaad from the tribe of Banu Murrah ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Tameem. He was named after Ibaad which is a village in al-Yamaamah known nowadays as al-‘Aarid. ‘Abd-Allaah was a contemporary of Mu’aawiyah and died at the end of the reign of ‘Abd al-Maalik ibn Marwaan.

3 – Their most important beliefs:

· From their books it seems that they deny the divine attributes, and they agree to a large extent with the Mu’tazilah in the misinterpretation of divine attributes. But they claim that their views are based on sound evidence, when they interpret the divine attributes in a metaphorical sense, which explains the meaning without likening Allaah to His creation. But the truth of this matter is the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, who follow the evidence and affirm the names and attributes of Allaah as He Himself has affirmed them, without denying them, discussing how, they are, misinterpreting them or likening Allaah to His creation.

· They deny that the believers will see Allaah in the Hereafter.

· They misinterpret some matters having to do with the Hereafter and deny that they are real, such as the Balance (Meezaan) and the Siraat.

· The attributes of Allaah are not additional to His Essence, they are His Essence.

· The Qur’aan in their view is created, and they agreed with the Khaarijis in that. Al-Ash’ari said in Maqaalaat al-Islamiyyeen, “All the Khaarijis say that the Qur’aan was created.” Maqaalaat al-Islamiyyeen, 1/203.

· In their view the one who commits a major sin is a kaafir in the sense of being ungrateful to Allaah or being a hypocrite.

· In their view people fall into three categories:

– Believers who are sincere in their faith

– Mushriks whose shirk is obvious

– People who have affirmed belief in Tawheed and Islam, but who do not adhere to its practices and acts of worship, so they are not mushriks because they have affirmed belief in Tawheed, but they are not believers either because they do not adhere to the requirements of faith. So they are included with the Muslims in rulings having to do with this world, because of their affirmation of Tawheed, and they are included with the mushriks in rulings having to do with the Hereafter because they were not sincere in their faith and they went against the requirements of Tawheed.

· They believe that those of the people of the qiblah who differ from them are kaafirs but not mushriks; it is permissible to marry them and inherit from them. Their weapons, horses and anything that may be used for war is permissible as war booty and everything else is haraam.

· The one who commits a major sin is a kaafir and when he is committing sin and persisting in it, he cannot be admitted to Paradise if he has not repented, for Allaah does not forgive major sins unless those who commit them repent before death.

· They call the one who commits a major sin a kaafir, claiming that this is kufr in the sense of ingratitude to Allaah or in the sense of hypocrisy, not in the sense that he is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam. Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah on the other hand call such a person disobedient or a sinner. Whoever dies in such a state – according to Ahl al-Sunnah – is subject to the will of Allaah: if He wills, He will forgive him by His grace, and if He wills, He will punish him by His justice until he is cleansed of his sin, then he will be moved to Paradise. But the Ibaadis say that the sinner will abide in Hell forever, so in this regard they agree with the rest of the Khaarijis and Mu’talizah who say that the sinners will abide in Hell forever.

· They deny that there will be any intercession for the sinners who are believers in Tawheed, because sinners – in their view – will abide in Hell forever, so there can be no intercession for them to be brought forth from Hell.

· Some of them criticized the caliph ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, Mu’aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan and ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them).

Mawsoo’ah al-Adyaan wa’l-Madhaahib al-Mu’aasirah, 1/63.

Praying behind ibaadis and innovators

ar – en – ur

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What is your opinion on the Ibaadi sect? Is it true that Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) described this sect as kaafirs? Here in our mosque in America there are different groups such as Zaydis and Shi’ah. Can we allow any of them to lead the prayers and we pray behind him, or should only Sunnis lead the prayers?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The Ibaadis are one of the misguided groups, as it says in the Fatwa of the Standing Committee, no. 6935, which says:

Question: Is the Ibaadi sect regarded as one of the misguided sects of the Khaarijis, and is it permissible to pray behind them?

The Committee answered as follows:

The Ibaadis are one of the misguided sects because of their aggression and rebellion against ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan and ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them both), and it is not permissible to pray behind them.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas.

For more information on the Ibaadis please see question no. (11529)

We cannot find any statement by Shaykh Ibn Baaz to the effect that this group are kaafirs.

See the ruling on praying behind a Shi’i in the answer to question no. 20093.

It is not permissible to allow the followers of innovation that constitutes kufr to lead the prayers, because prayers offered behind them are not valid according to a number of scholars, and because they deserve to be forsaken and rebuked, not put forward for positions of leadership, and because allowing them to lead the prayer may lead to the ignorant being deceived by them.

Innovations that constitute kufr include such things as saying that the Qur’aan is created, denying that the believers will see their Lord in Paradise, saying that those who commit major sins are kaafirs or will abide in Hell for eternity, denouncing Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them) as kaafirs, saying that the Qur’aan has been altered, claiming that the imams have knowledge of the unseen, seeking the help of the dead, and other forms of kufr and shirk.

This is contrast to one who follows an innovation that does not constitute kufr; prayer offered behind such a person is valid.

The following question was mentioned in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (7/364):

Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who follows innovation?

The Committee replied:

Whoever can find an imam who does not follow innovation, let him pray behind him and not the one who follows innovation. Whoever cannot find anyone but the one who follows innovation, let him advise him in the hope that he will give up the bid’ah (innovation). If he does not accept that and his innovation involves shirk – such as one who seeks the help of the dead or prays to them instead of Allaah or offers sacrifices to them – then you should not pray behind him because he is a kaafir and his prayer is invalid, and it is not proper to make him an imam. If his bid’ah does not constitute kufr, such as speaking the intention out loud, then his prayer and the prayer of those who pray behind him is still valid.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas.

And Allaah knows best.