'religious reservation' (wuquf al-din) or, as some call it, 'safety reservation' (wuquf al-salamah). This is the reservation about a legally capable person whose case is unknown to the believers.

All Ibadhi scholars agreed on this section, but did not agree on the others. The second is reservation about an 'associate' (waliy) involved in action which the believers were not sufficiently aware of to form judgement; some scholars say that the believers' attitude in this case must be of 'reservation'.

The third section of 'reservation' is the 'reservation' of questioning (wuquf al-sual). It resembles the second section with the additional stipulation that the believer should ask learned people about the unknown action.100

The fourth section is the 'reservation' about dubious matters (wuquf al-ishkal). It is applied in the case of two 'associates' (awliya) who curse or kill each other, leaving the fact of the real wrongdoer unknown to the believers. The Ibadhi sources cite the case of al-Harith and 'Abd al-Jabbar; who were found dead with the sword of each thrust into the body of the other. Both of them were in the state of 'association' (walaya) but their death left doubt in the minds of believers about the real offender.

Some scholars, including Nukkar, say that it is illegal to have a reserved attitude about them; while others (i.e. Maghribi Wahbi scholars) held the view that they should be left in their former state of 'association'.101

The fifth section according to al-Salimi is the 'reservation' out of doubt (wuquf al-shakk). This is to have a reserved attitude about all people, and to take as 'associates' only those who held the same attitude of 'reservation'. This kind of 'reservation' is considered to be illegal, because it implies the neglect of obligatory association for those who deserve it.102

THE ORIGINS OF THE SYSTEM OF AL-WALAYAH AND AL-BARAAH

In the Pre-Islamic period, the family ('ashirah'), and the tribe were the most important units in the pagan society of Arabia. In this society an individual Arab was brought up with the sense of complete loyalty to his family and tribe. This loyalty was not more than "Faithful devotion to his equals; and it was closely connected with the idea of kinship. The family and the tribe, which included strangers living in the tribe under a covenant of protection- to defend these, individually and collectively was a sacred duty".103

It was also required that the man must support his people even if they were wrong. This was why the Arab poet considered friendship with his kinsmen a matter of supreme importance: