ALTHOUGH THE FALL of the Rustamids in 909 clearly marked the end of the Ibāḍī Imāmate and the role of Tāhart as. political and economic capital, Ibāḍīsm was by no means finished. Indeed, as will be shown here, Ibāḍī communities continued to prosper in the Jabal al-Nafusa, the Jarīd, and Wārjlā. Within these places, Ibāḍī precepts were actively observed and passed on by merchant-shaykhs whose travels in search of further learning and commercial opportunities extended Ibāḍī influence beyond the eastern and central Maghrib, and even as far as the Bilad al-Sūdān.

Regarding these post-Rustamid Ibāḍīs, we will trace two themes: the continuation of Ibāḍīsm as. source of authority, and the geographical extent of Ibāḍī expansion. Though we may isolate an individual shaykh to illustrate his ties with the Bilad al-Sūdān, he nevertheless may have been just as important as. teacher drawing students to. town previously unheard of. In this way the two themes of Ibāḍī continuation and its extent over. wide area are closely interwoven, although for clarity they will be discussed separately.

Chapter III above followed the development of the Ibāḍī Imāmate from ideological chrysalis to full-fledged political leadership. In 909 the Rustamids as. ruling dynasty fell to Fāṭimid attack and fled. Yet even before this happened new centres had sprung up. North African Ibāḍīsm cannot be regarded as limited to Tāhart alone.