Page 204 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

194 Arabian Studies IV
advice to this Imam and in particular was concerned with the success of
the Muiji’ah and Qadariyyah schools that had started in $ubar. In
Muhanna’s reign he openly clashed with the other great ‘Slim of the time
A. ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. Mabbub b. al-Rabll (W.40b) over the
question of the creation of the Qur’an. He seems to have died before
MuhannS(d. 237/851).
(iii) The reply of A. ’1-yawari Muhammad b. al-Hawari (W.34) to the
people of Hadramawt (discussed in section III).
(iv) a Slrah of A. ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. Mabbub (W.40b) to the
people of the Maghrib.

More or less contemporary works concerning the deposing of
al-$alt b. Malik (272/886)
7. Apart from various correspondence between the Imam himself and the
‘uiamS’ there are several very important works by his supporters which
were to form the basis for Rustaq party dogma. Amongst these are the
following works which give a great deal of historic detail: the K.
al-Afrdath wa-’l-$ifat, the Bayan wa-’l-burhan, and a letter to A. Jabir
Muhammad b. Ja‘far (W.46), all by A. ’1-Mu’thir (W.36); the Sirah of A.
Qabtan (W.37).

Material relevant to the Rustaq-Nizwa parties' dispute and to the
history of the Imamate in the 5th/11th century
8. Among this should be noted the following works of A. al-Hasan
al-BisyawI (W.33):
(i) a Slrah to some of his contemporaries called Slrat al-Su’al (fi'l-wilayah
wa-’l-bara’ah).
(ii) Sirah f'a$l ma ’khtalafat fihi al-ummah. This is about early schisms
which split Islam.
(iii) a reply to A. Sa^d al-Kudaml (W.39). N.B. It is not entirely clear
whether this is in fact a direct reply to him or part of a general rebuttal of
Nizwa party arguments.
(iv) a Sirah about al-Haf§ b. Rashid’s expedition against al-Muthar b.
‘Abdullah during his first *aqd (election), tfafs was Imam around the
middle of the 5th/11th century. There was considerable dispute about the
way he succeeded his father and a subsequent cover-up election seems to
have been carried out. Despite the dubiousness of his conduct he seems to
have been a forceful leader who defended his country from an invasion
from ‘Iraq (to which this Sirah refers).
9. A whole series of documents relevant to the Imamate of Rashid b. ‘All
(approximately the last quarter of the 5th/11th century but possibly
extending to c. 513 A.H.). This is the period when the Imamate really fell
apart and the Rustaq party itself began to elect rival Imams. A detailed
study of these documents would help clarify this very confused period of
history. Among them we should note the following:
(i) the tawbah (repentance) made (472/1079) by the Imam Rashid b. ‘All