It seems that the opinion of the early Ibadhi scholars on this problem was not sufficiently clear and determined for there was a conflict of opinion on this matter between the Ibadhis of Jabal Nufusah and the Ibadhis of Afriqiyah, i.e. Tunisia and Algeria. The latter held that man is free in acquiring his acts60, while the Nufusis believed in Jabl, i.e. being created with natural disposition to do what God 'knows' of one's actions61. However, all Ibadhis of North Africa, apart from this question of jabl and ikhtiyar, acknowledged 'acquisition' (iktisab). Jitali, in Sharh al-Nuniyah, tried to explain the word jabl in a way which distinguishes it from the word jabr, which means compulsion and does not leave any way open for acquisition62. According to Nufusi scholars, no opinions were reported on this question from the early Ibadhi Imams of Basrah, or from their students, the 'bearers of learning,' or even from the Rustumid Imams63. However, the idea of jabl has disappeared from Ibadhi writings of Nufusah since the time of Abu Sakin 'Amir b. Ali al-Shammakhi, a contemporary of al-Jitali, who expressed in his 'Aqidah, al-Diyanat, the view that people 'acquire' and perform their actions and they are not compelled to them64.

iii) Problems concerning the relation between man and man

The relations between Muslims and non-Muslims was defined in the Qur'an. The Qur'an mentioned three different groups of people, the Polytheists, the People of the Book, and hypocrites. As for the two first groups, relations of the Muslims with each group in terms of war and peace were made clear in the Qur'an and were observed by the Prophet. The civil wars among Muslims brought about new problems to the Muslim community. These wars started when 'Uthman b. Affan was killed by fellow Muslims, and continued between 'Ali the fourth Caliph on one side, and Talhan and al-Zubair on the other, then between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah, as also between 'Ali and the people of al-Nahr. During these wars, each group was claiming the justification of fighting the other on religious terms, each group with its own arguments and proofs. Information about this period is very confused, and a lot of it may have been so formulated later as to support the claims of each of the conflicting groups. Ibadhi authorities reported five detergent attitudes held by Companions concerning the question of Uthman.

a) Those who held that Uthman deserves to be killed by Muslims for his innovations. The Muslims tried for six years to make him change them, and keep to the path of his predecessors or resign. When he refused to agree to them they killed him. His blood was lawful for being unjust and insolent. They called him tyrant (ja'ir), profligate (fasiq), unjust (zalim), and infidelingrate' (kafir kufr ni'mah). Among this group were the companions , abdullah b. mas'ud , ammar b yasir , abu , dharr al ghifari , abd al rahman b.