"The Letters of Jābir bin Zayd (d.93H)"
Mohamed Said Al-Mamari Sultanate of Oman

The letters of Jābir bin Zayd are among the ancient Islamic papers; their period goes back to the first Islamic century. Because of their age they bear particular importance in the field of early Islamic studies.
They would also be essential to somebody who is interested in Ibādi jurisprudence. In general these letters have not been used as much as they should. It is true that some researchers have made studies based upon these letters; however, these studies were reflecting only parts of their importance. The paper is to shed some light on:
1) Jābirs’ letters are being considered as one of the important sources to explain the establishment and development of the Ibādism, with regard to the fact that the Ibādia was the first Islamic sect to emerge.
2) The letters are able to reveal some activities which were unidentified in the Ibādīhistory so far. They are useful concerning the examination of the methods how ideas were spread among people without
detection by the Umayyad authority.
3) This letters helped the researchers to explore some personalities which history does not mention in detail, who played – as shown by these letters – a magnificent role in the political and civil community
during the Umayyad period.
4) These Letters consist of more than 120 different jurisprudential cases distributed in 6 sections on general Islamic doctrine