Al-Salt bin Malik

Except for the fact he was a Kharusi hailing from the Yahmad branch of Azd, little is known about al-Salt bin Malik's life prior to his election as imam. He was elected by the Ibadi ulama on the same day as the death of his predecessor, al-Muthanna bin Jayfar, in 851. During his reign, he dispatched an armada of over one-hundred ships, supposedly at the request of the female poet Fatima al-Suqutriyya, to successfully retake Socotra, which had been occupied by the Ethiopians.[1] A proclamation to the Omani army attributed to al-Salt ibn Malik details Ibadi military jurisprudence and the treatment of Muslims and non-Muslims.[2] In addition, a fortification was constructed at the site of Nizwa Fort.[3]

The deposition of al-Salt bin Malik sparked conflict between the Qahtanite and Adnanite tribes of Oman, culminating in a civil war which ended with an invasion led by Muhammad ibn Nur reestablishing Abbasid rule over the region and the dissolution of the first Ibadi imamate.[1]

A schism developed amongst Ibadi scholars concerning how al-Salt bin Malik's deposers should be considered: the Nizwa school suspended judgement, whereas the Rustaq school held they were apostates. In 1052 CE, Imam Rashid bin Said's support for the Rustaq school induced the Ibadis of Hadhramaut to form a breakaway imamate under the leadership of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Qays al-Hadrami.[4]