ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sincere thanks are extended to Professor R.B. Sergeant for many helpful suggestions, discussions and criticism, which he constantly rendered throughout the period in which he supervised the writing of this research.

Special thanks are due to many Ibadhi friends and scholars in the Ibadhi communities of North Africa for their hospitality and unrestrained help. I am extremely grateful to the owners of private collections of Mss. for free access to their valuable libraries without which this work would have been impossible. Thanks are also due to Sheikh Muhammad al-Salimi, and Salim al-Harithi of Oman for lending me many valuable manuscripts, as well as all other friends who have helped me in one way or another.

I would also like to thank the Libyan Ministry of Education for providing me with a grant for the duration of this research, and the Faculty of Arts, University of Libya, for granting me a study leave in which to undertake this work. My thanks are also due to Pr. Omar Shaibani, the president of the Libyan Univ, Dr. Mansur Kikhya, Dean of the faculty of Arts and Mr. Abd al-Rahman al-Sharidi, head of printing and publication dep. to whom I owe the publication of this work in this excellent form.