constitutional theory .,beirut 1956,24.

CHAPTER II

JABIR B. ZAID AL-'AZDI

The Founder of the Ibadhi School.

Abu al-Sha'tha' Jabir b. Zaid al-'Azdi al-Jawfi of Banu 'Amr b. al-Yahmad, a branch of al-'Azd tribe. He comes from Farq, a village between Manah and Nazwa in 'Oman¹ where he was probably born and where he moved with his family to settle in Darb al-Jawf in Basrah, a place which took its name from the area in which the tribe of Jabir was living in 'Oman². Yaqut mentioned a place in Oman which was inhabited by the Azdis known as Jawf al-Hamilah.³ It is possible that Jabir's family came to Basrah with the army formed by 'Uthman b. Abi al-'As to fight against the Persians; this army included a large number of Azdis. According to Salimi, after defeating the Persians and killing their leader Shah-rak or Ibn al-Hamra', the army headed towards Fars and settled in Tawwaj, then it moved to Basrah during the rule of 'Abdullah b. Amir, who was the governor of Basrah for 'Uthman b. Affan.⁴ It is reported that the man who killed the Persian leader was Jabir b. Hadid al-Yahmadi,⁵ of the same family as Jabir b. Zaid; a fact which suggests that the members of the family of Jabir b. Zaid were among the army and they settled in Basrah during the caliphate of 'Uthman. Salimi suggests that Jabir was born in Farq in 'Oman and traveled to Basrah to acquire learning;⁶ but this idea can be rejected, for, if Jabir traveled to Basrah for learning only he would have returned to Oman afterwards to rejoin his family, but he lived in Basrah all his life. The following dates are given for Jabir's birth; 18 A.H. (639 A.D.)⁷ and 21 A.H. (639 A.D.)⁸. Some sources aver that Jabir was present in Medina on the day on which the first Caliph Abu Bakr was elected.⁹ there is no information about Jabir's childhood or early life; and nothing is known about his parents. Therefore we have to proceed in this study to discuss his learning and education.

Islamic studies had not been established yet in the time of Jabir; apart from reading and writing, there was the Qur'an which was to be memorised (by heart) by Muslim students, the Traditions of the Prophet, and the Futya, legal opinions formulated by the first Caliphs and outstanding Companions. The teachers from whom this knowledge of Islam could be obtained were the Companions of the Prophet. Jabir was fortunate enough to be a contemporary of a large number of the veteran Companions. He met seventy of the Companions who were present at the greater battle of Badr and learned from