number of Traditions concerning the obligation of obedience to rulers, which state clearly that such obligation depends on the obedience of the rulers to the commands of God and His Prophet.111

On the practical side, Ibadhis never acknowledged the Imamate of anyone except their own Imams, with the only exception of Umar II. Their movement was established with the motive of returning to the true Islamic Caliphate as it existed under the rule of the two rightly guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. They directed their activities towards this objective from the start, and established special rules for such activities. These rules were discussed in a special chapter on the stages of the Muslim community (masalik al-din).112

Among the early opinions formed on the basis of Traditions from the Prophet two more need to be mentioned here:

1. Intercession (shafa'ah). Jabir b. Zaid reported that the Prophet said, "No one of you enters Paradise except through good deeds, the mercy of God, and my intercession."113 According to other Traditions reported by Jabir b. Zaid, intercession does not apply to those who commit grave sins. He reported that the Prophet said, "Intercession is not for those who commit grave sins of my community."114 Jabir thereupon swears that there will be no intercession for those who commit grave sins, for God threatened them with Hell in His Book. "As for the tradition reported from Anas b. Malik, that intercession is granted for those who commit grave sins, by God, he never meant slaying, fornication, magic and sins for which God has threatened Hell." Jabir then added, "Anas b. Malik used to say, 'You commit a sin that appears to you thinner than a hair, yet we would not have considered it anything but a grave sin in the time of the Apostle of God.'"115

Two more Traditions which support this opinion were reported:

a) The prophet said, "My intercession shall not reach a tyrant who treats people with oppression, and a man who does not fear God in regard to orphans."116

d) My intercession shall not reach him who transgresses the proper bounds of religion, nor him who has an aversion to it."117

A long Tradition describing the way in which intercession will take place on the Day of Intercession is reported in the Ibadhi collection of Hadith; the faithful, after death, when brought the glad tidings that they have passed the interrogation of the angels Munkar and Nakir and that God has forgiven them, will be allowed by God to enter Paradise through intercession, which is stored where no Prophet or Angel can reach it, till the Apostle of God, Muhammad, opens the door to it. The faithful will implore for intercession