Ibāḍī Writings Concerning the Life of Prophet Muḥammad: Historiography, Ḥadīth Transmission, Theology, and Legal Integration - Fāris, Walīd; أ.د. وليد فارس (al-Muʼtamar al-Duwalī al-ʻĀshir: al-Sīrah al-Nabawīyah fī al-Turāth al-ʻUmānī, 2026)
The study of Ibāḍī writings concerning the life of the Prophet Muḥammad raises historiographical and methodological questions that have only recently begun to receive sustained scholarly attention. Unlike Sunni Islam, where independent biographical works such as the recension of Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833) preserve the earlier sīrah of Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767), and unlike Shiʿi Islam, which integrates prophetic biography within an imamate-centred sacred history, Ibāḍī Islam does not transmit a comprehensive, standalone chronological sīrah text running from birth to death. That absence has sometimes led to the mistaken conclusion that Ibāḍīs held a diminished interest in the life of the Prophet. Modern scholarship demonstrates that this assumption does not hold. The paper accordingly locates the Ibāḍī sīrah question and examines how material on the Prophet's life is carried within Ibāḍī historiography, hadith transmission, theology, and the integration of prophetic precedent into legal reasoning.
Ibāḍī Writings Concerning the Life of Prophet Muḥammad: Historiography, Ḥadīth Transmission, Theology, and Legal Integration Waleed Faris University Nevada Las Vegas 1. Introduction: Locating the Ibāḍī Sīrah Question The study of Ibāḍī writings concerning the life of Prophet Muḥammad (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) raises important historiographical and methodological questions that have only recently begun to receive the sustained scholarly attention they deserve. Unlike Sunni Islam—where independent biographical works such as the recension of Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833) preserve the earlier sīrah of Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767)—or Shiʿi Islam, which integrates prophetic biography within imamate-centered sacred history, Ibāḍī Islam does not transmit a comprehensive, standalone chronological sīrah text from birth to death (Lecker 1999; Guillaume 1955; Motzki 2002). This absence has sometimes led to the mistaken conclusion that Ibāḍīs possessed a diminished interest in the Prophet’s life. Modern scholarship, however, demonstrates that this assumption reflects genre bias rather than substantive deficiency (Wilkinson 2010; Hoffman 2012). As Valerie J. Hoffman has argued, Ibāḍī engagement with prophetic biography is structured differently from Sunni and Shiʿi models but is no less theologically or juristically substantive (Hoffman 2012, 45–47). Similarly, John C. Wilkinson’s landmark study of Ibāḍī origins underscores that the preservation of prophetic memory in Ibāḍī communities was mediated through legal and ethical frameworks rather than narrative epic forms (Wilkinson 2010, 112–19). Ibāḍī engagement with prophetic biography is, in essence: embedded rather than autonomous; normative rather than narrative; juristic rather than epic; and communal rather than imperial (Cuperly 1984; al-Salimi 2009; Ennami 1972). These four characteristics will serve as an organizing framework throughout this review. Ibāḍism emerged in the late first/seventh century from Basran pietist circles associated with figures such as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ibāḍ and especially Jābir ibn Zayd (d. ca. 93/711). Over time, Ibāḍī communities established durable political-religious structures in Oman and North Afri
Keywords: conference publication; Ibāḍī studies; Sīrah; Islamic historiography; Hadith transmission; Islamic theology; Islamic law