lied in this sense to
Muhammad as the leader in all civil and religious questions, and to the
Khalifs, his successors. It is also, in its religious import only, applied
to the founders of the four orthodox schools of jurisprudence, and in a
restricted sense to the leader of a congregation at prayer in a mosque. It
is with the first of these meanings that we have now to deal. It is so used
in the Quran--"When his Lord made trial of Abraham by commands which he
fulfilled, He said: 'I am about to make of thee an Imam to mankind;' he
said: 'Of my offspring also?' 'My covenant,' said God, 'embraceth not the
evil-doers.'" (Sura ii. 118.) From this verse two doctrines are deduced.
First, that the Imam must be appointed by God, for if this is not the case,
why did Abraham say "of my offspring also?" Secondly, the Imam is free from
sin, for God said: "My covenant embraceth not the evil-doer."

The first dispute about the Imamat originated with the twelve thousand who
revolted from 'Ali after the battle of Siffin (657 A.D.), because he
consented to submit to arbitration the dispute between himself and Muavia.
Some years after they were nearly all destroyed by 'Ali. A few {76}
survivors, however, fled to various parts. Two at last settled in Oman, and
there preached their distinctive doctrines. In course of time the people of
Oman adopted the doctrine that the Imamat was not hereditary but elective,
and that in the event of misconduct the Imam might be deposed.
'Abdullah-ibn-Ibadh (744 A.D.) was a vigorous preacher of this doctrine,
and from him the sect known as the 'Ibadhiyah takes its rise. The result of
this teaching was the establishment of the power and jurisdiction of the
Imam of Oman. The 'Ibadhiyah seem to have always kept themselves
independent of the Sunni Khalifs of Baghdad, and, therefore, would consider
themselves free from any obligation to obey the Sultan of Turkey. From the
ordinary Shia'hs they differ as regards the "divine right" of 'Ali and his
children. The curious in such matters will find the whole subject well
treated in Dr. Badger's "Seyyids of Oman."

The term Kharigite (Separatist) has since become the generic name for a
group of sects which agree as to the need of an Imam, though they differ as
to the details of the dogma. In opposition to this heresy of the Kharigite
stands what may be termed the orthodox doctrine of the Shia'h. The Shia'hs
hold that the Imamat must continue in the family of 'Ali, and t