Ibadi Hadith & Transmitter Reliability - Sh. Al-Muatasim Al-Maawali

Despite being a school that began its formalization process in the second half of the first century AH, the Ibāḍī school remains underappreciated and often misunderstood in mainstream Islamic scholarship. A limited understanding of its early sources, foundational figures, and guiding principles has led both Muslim and non-Muslim researchers to draw unsupported conclusions, often overlooking the voices of Ibāḍī scholars in narrating the history of their own tradition.

To offer a corrective perspective, we are honored to speak with Shaykh Al-Muatasim Said Al-Maawali of Sultan Qaboos University, who is currently completing his PhD in Ibāḍī ḥadīth literature at the University of Birmingham. His extensive scholarly contributions include a comparative study of Ibāḍī and Ḥanafī jurisprudence, a seminal article employing a multidisciplinary approach to distinguishing Ibāḍīs from the Khawārij, and a seven-volume series on Ibāḍī jurisprudence titled al-Mu‘tamad. He has personally translated the first volume, The Reliable Jurisprudence of Prayer, into English.

In his PhD research, Shaykh Al-Maawali is conducting a codicological and jurisprudential study of the rarely examined Ibāḍī ḥadīth collection, Musnad ar-Rabī‘ b. Ḥabīb. His work addresses critical questions regarding its early provenance, the historical existence of its compiler, the reliability of its transmitters, and the continuity (ittiṣāl) of transmission. Additionally, his study includes a case analysis of one of the collection’s unique narrations and its contemporary application in Oman’s growing Islamic banking industry.

📚 RECOMMENDED READING:

📖 General Studies on Ibāḍism:
🔹 Studies in Ibāḍism – ʿAmr K. Ennami
🔹 Ibāḍī Muslims of North Africa: Manuscripts, Mobilization, and the Making of a Written Tradition – Paul M. Love Jr.
🔹 Ibāḍism: Origins and Early Development in Oman – John C. Wilkinson

📖 Ibāḍī Ḥadīth & Jurisprudence:
🔹 Ibāḍī Ḥadīth: An Essay on Normalization – John C. Wilkinson
🔹 The Origins of Muḥammadan Jurisprudence – Joseph Schacht
🔹 The Reading of the Qur'ān, Sunna, and Akhbār in Early Ibāḍī Sources – Dr. Saleh Ahmed Al-Busaidi

📖 Law & Identity Formation:
🔹 Constructing an Identity: The Development of Ibāḍī Law – Ersilia Francesca
🔹 A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Distinguishing Features Between Ibāḍīs and Khārijites – Sh. Al-Muatasim Said Saif Al-Maawali
🔹 Towards Understanding Ḥadīth – Sh. Juma Muḥammad al-Mazrui

This collection of scholarly works provides essential insights into the historical and doctrinal evolution of Ibāḍism, its legal tradition, and its broader impact on Islamic thought. 📖✨