'History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân by Salîl-ibn-Razîk, from A.D. 661-1856; translated from the original Arabic, and edited with notes, appendices, and an introduction, continuing the history down to 1870, by George Percy Badger, F.R.G.S., late chaplain in the Presidency of Bombay.' [‎393] (554/612)

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APPENDIX B. 393
say that between faith and polytheism is a middle course, which
is the knowledge of God, (may He be magnified and glorified !)
and therefore that whoever knows God, and denies every other
i.in Him, and yet commits one of the greater sins, is an infidel,
though not a polytheist.
" ± El-Yezidlyyah, derived from Yezid-bin-Amsah, [the latter
a female name ] who are deeper in infidelity and heresy than the
[original] Ibadhiyah These say that God, (may He be glorified!)
will send a Prophet from a foreign country with a Book, and
that Book is written in heaven, and will descend upon him fthe
I rophet] at a single time [>. e. not in chapters,] and that he will
discard the law of Muhammad, (may God grant him mercy and
salvation !) and incline to the religion of the Sabseans 2 mentioned
in the Kuran.
" 3. El-Hdrithiyyah derived from el-Hareth, el-Ibadhy. Thev
are at vanance with the original Ibadhiyah on predestination,
that is to say, m that the deeds of men are created of God and
that power to do precedes the doing.
4. 1 hese are they who hold by an obedience which God has not
ordained, that is to say, they affirm that should a man do what
is commanded of him, and not intend it to [the honour of] God
yet that this is [true] obedience. Hence, according to them. In
tention is not a condition of true piety. But this doctrine is
opposed to the Book [the Kuran,] the Sunnah* [the authorized
Iraditions], and the consent of the Imams, for God said of old
m His word, ' And they were commanded no other than to wor
ship God, exhibiting towards Him the true Din* religion!
bome commentators understand the word Din to mean Intention.
Moreover, the Prophet says that ' works depend on intention 5
and the four Imams 6 concur in this, that the merit of works
depends on the intention. Intention signifies design, that is
the design to do a thing. Now the works which depend [for
their merit] on Intention, are the obligatory acts, such as prayer.
1 «
A Piophet is on© whoni Grod has inspired with a law which he him
self is bound to observe, and if, in addition thereto, he is commanded to
make it known to mankind, he is a Prophet and also an Apostle."
- Palgrave mentions several peculiarities among the 'Omanis, especially
in their nomenclature for some of the principal stars and planets, and
also their repeated inquiries about the pyramids of Egypt, which he
regards as relics of the old Sabaean religion. Cent, and East. Arabia,
vol. ii. 258, 263.
3 The Sunnah is a sort of supplement to the Kuran, consisting of the
traditions, sayings, and actions of Muhammad.
4 Kuran, Stirat-el-Bdyyinah, (xcviii.), 4.
r ' This quotation and several others in this paragraph are probably
from the Sunnah; they are not in the Kuran.
B Of the four orthodox sects, namely, el Hanafy, esh-Shafa'iy, el-
Maliky, and el-Hanbaly.