sympathisers in the 'East' were established. One of the Ibadhi leaders of North Africa, Abu Qudamah Yazid b. Fandin of Banu Yifrin, a branch of the Berber tribe of Zanatah, who was also one of the six men among whom the second Imam of Tahert Abd al-Wahhab was elected, refused to give his oath to the new Imam unless he agreed to the condition that all his decisions must be with the approval of a certain group.¹⁷⁸ This ultimatum was refused by the rest of the Ibadhi leaders of North Africa, and Abd al-Wahhab became the second Imam of the Ibadhi state there. Yazid b. Fandin and his supporters denied the Imamate of Abd al-Wahhab and some of them made an attempt of his life. As they failed, they were obliged to oppose him openly for fear that he might punish them for their abortive attempt.¹⁷⁹ After some fighting, the two parties agreed to write to the Ibadhi scholars of the East about their conflict, and wait for their reply so as to decide who was wrong.

On their way, the envoys went to Abu al-Ma'ruf Shua'ib who was in Egypt at that time and told him about the situation in Tahert, then they went to Mecca where they met al-Rabi b. Habib, Wail b. Aiyub, Abu Ghassan Mukhallad b. al-Amarrad and others. They presented them with the letters which they had brought from North Africa, explained the situation to them and returned with their reply.¹⁸⁰

From the reply of the Ibadhi Shaikhs of East, al-Rabi and his colleagues, it appears that the conflict between the Ibadhis of North Africa was based on two issues:

1. The conditions laid on the Imam;

2. The Imamate of a person excelled by others

The decision of al-Rabi and his colleagues on these two points was in favour of Abd al-Wahhab and his party. It was decided that there must be no condition laid on the Imam, and that any suitable person could be elected an Imam even if there were available men of qualities superior to him.¹⁸²

As for Shua'ib b. al-Mu'arraf, he went to Tahert and joined the rebels who fought Abd al-Wahhab before the arrival of the reply from the Ibadhi scholars of the 'East'. However, Yazid b Fandin was killed, his party was defeated, and Shua'ib headed back to Tripoli where he continued his literary opposition to Abd al-Wahhab.¹⁸³ al-Rabi b. Habib and his colleagues, on hearing of the attitude of Shua'ib and his hostile activities against Imam Abd al-Wahhab, disavowed him.¹⁸⁴ This attitude of al-Rabi made the remnants of Ibn Fandin's party sympathise with the opponents of al-Rabi among the Ibadhi scholars of the East of whom were; Shua'ib b. al-Mu'arraf, Abdullah b Abd al-Aziz, Abdullah b. Yazid and others. This was how the connection between the two wings of the Nukkarite movement, the eastern and the western took place.