Al-Salt bin Malik () was the seventh

Imam of Oman The sultan of the Sultanate of Oman is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most Power (politics), powerful absolute monarch, position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the House of Busaid, Bu ...

, ruling from 851 until his deposition in 885.

Reign

Except for the fact he was a Kharusi hailing from the Yahmad branch of

Azd The Azd ( ar, أَزْد), or ''Al-Azd'' ( ar, ٱلْأَزْد), are a tribe of Sabaean Arabs. In ancient times, the Sabaeans inhabited Ma'rib, capital city of the Kingdom of Saba' in modern-day Yemen. Their lands were irrigated by the Ma ...

, little is known about al-Salt bin Malik's life prior to his election as imam. He was elected by the

Ibadi The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis. Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

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 Fāṭima bint Aḥmad Muḥammad al-Jahḍamī ( ar, فاطمة بنت أحمد محمد الجهضمي), known as Fāṭima al-Suqutriyya ( ar, فاطمة السقطرية, Fatima the Socotran) and nicknamed al-Zahra on the model of the Prophet' ...

, to successfully retake

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

, which had been occupied by the Ethiopians.al-Rawas, Isam Ali Ahmed (1990)
Early Islamic Oman (ca - 622/280-893): a political history
'. Doctoral thesis, Durham University. A proclamation to the Omani army attributed to al-Salt ibn Malik details

military jurisprudence and the treatment of Muslims and non-Muslims. In addition, a fortification was constructed at the site of

Nizwa Fort The Nizwa Fort is a large castle in Nizwa, Oman built in the seventeenth century. It is a popular tourist destination. History It was built in the 1650s by the second Ya’rubi ; Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya'rubi,Walker, Jenny (editor) (20 ...

Deposition

The latter years of al-Salt bin Malik's reign saw a rise in discontent from tribal

sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

s, possibly due to his less tribal attitude to governance compared to his predecessors. The opposition was headed by a certain Musa bin Musa, who, with his supporters, marched on al-Salt bin Malik's army headquarters near

Nizwa Nizwa ( ar, نِزْوَى, Nizwā) is the largest city in Ad Dakhiliyah Region in Oman and was the capital of Oman proper. Nizwa is about (1.5 hours) from Muscat. The population is estimated at around 72,000 people, including the two areas o ...

with the intent of presenting their demands and forcibly removing him from power if needed. Too weak to resist, al-Salt bin Malik left for his son's house on 3

Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijja ( ar, ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة, translit=Ḏū al-Ḥijja, ), also spelled Zu al-Hijja, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the ''Hajj, Ḥajj'' (P ...

271 AH (22 April 885 AD). Musa then installed

Rashid bin al-Nadhar Rashid or Rachid ( ar, راشد ) and Rasheed ( ar, رشيد ), which means "rightly guided", may refer to: *Rashid (name), also Rachid and Rasheed, people with the given name or surname *Rached, a given name and surname *Rashad, a surname Plac ...

as imam.

Legacy

The deposition of al-Salt bin Malik sparked conflict between the

Qahtanite The terms Qahtanite and Qahtani ( ar, قَحْطَانِي; Arabic transliteration, transliterated: Qaḥṭānī) refer to Arab people, Arabs who originate from South Arabia. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple ancient Arabian inscriptio ...

and

Adnanite The Adnanites ( ar, عدنانيون) were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelite Arabs, traces their lineage back to Ismail son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Ibrahim and his wife Hajar through Adnan, who originate from the Hejaz. The ...

tribes of Oman, culminating in a civil war which ended with an invasion led by

Muhammad ibn Nur Muhammad ibn Nur ( ar, محمد بن نور) (also known as ibn Thawr or ibn Thur; pejoratively referred to as ibn Bur) was the governor of al-Bahrain for the Abbasid Empire in the last decade of the ninth century. He is known for his invasion and ...

reestablishing

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

rule over the region and the dissolution of the first Ibadi imamate. 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 Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...

to form a breakaway imamate under the leadership of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Qays al-Hadrami.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salt bin Malik Omani imams 9th-century imams 9th-century Omani people 9th-century Arabs