areas such a way that the most important centres of central North Africa were covered so that each area would have its own religious leader of the native people. These students were: Abu Dirar Ismail b. Dirar al-Ghadamsi, or Ghadamas; Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam who was of Persian origin, from Qairawan, and 'Asim al-Sadrati of Sadratah. Abu al-Khattab 'Abd al-'A'la, originally from Yemen, joined them in Basrah96 where he was pointed out by their teacher Abu 'Ubaidah Muslim, as the first Imam of the expected Imamate of North Africa. This fact shows that the power which was still to count more on the question of leadership was that of the Arab settlers, and Abu al-Khattab was sent to North Africa to cover this need. There were no Nufusis among this mission because the Nufusi representative on a similar mission, Ibn Maghtir al-Jannawani had gone to Basrah and returned earlier.97

The training of these students was undertaken by Abu 'Ubaidah himself. They spent five years with him and he was satisfied with the standard, which they acquired. Apart from their political struggle which started on the year 140 H. under the leadership of Abu al-Khattab, and continued under the leadership of his colleague 'Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam, who managed to flee to central Algeria after the death of Abu al-Khattab, and established the Rustamid Imamate in the year 160 H. which lasted up to 296 H., the 'bearers of learning' played an important part in passing over to their fellow Ibadhi's of North Africa the teachings which they had learned in Basrah. It is not known whether they had brought those teachings in a written form. In fact, the only written work ascribed to one of the 'bearers of learning' is the Tafsir of 'Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam.98 It is reported that Ibadhi doctrine in written form by Abu 'Ubaidah Muslim was to be found in Fazzan in Libya during the middle of the second century H. In a letter to the Fazzani scholars 'Abd al-Qahhar b. Khalaf, Jannaw b. Fata al-Madyuni, of the Berber tribe of Madyunah, wrote, "And know, may God bless you together with us, that I long very much for you presence and the renewal of personal contacts with you, so that you may benefit from the Books of Abu 'Ubaidah, may God bestow his mercy on him."99 There is no information how these books of Abu 'Ubaidah Muslim b. Abi Karima got into the hands of his Fazzani scholar, but it may be that he himself had studied under Abu 'Ubaidah in Basrah and brought them back with him.

The point which must be asserted here is that the final form of the Ibadhi doctrine was established in Basrah and was brought over to North Africa through the missionary students, who seem to number more than the five mentioned above, and who are known in Ibadhi sources by the title (Hamalat al-'ilm). It is also clear that the contracts between the centre of the Ibadhi movement in Basrah and North Africa were established at an early stage of the latter's history.