107 – This was the view adopted by the majority of scholars, among them Imam Ahmad. For that reason Malik’s disciples—such as Ibn al-Qasim and those like him—used to perform ribat on the Egyptian frontiers.

The second approach to ribat

108 – The second approach1 permits ribat on the Syrian frontiers and similar regions where fighting the Christians takes place.

109 – Accordingly, ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak would come from Khurasan to stand guard on the Syrian frontiers, and the same is reported of Ibrahim ibn Adham and their peers. The Syrian shaykhs—al-Awza‘i, Hudhayfah al-Marghashi, Yusuf ibn Asbat, Abu Ishaq al-Fazari, Mukhlad ibn al-Husayn, and others2—also took part in defending those borders.

110 – The Muslims had conquered Cyprus during the caliphate of ‘Uthman, and it remained under their rule for more than three hundred years.

111 – Sis was one of the Muslim frontier posts, and Tarsus, too, was counted among the well-known frontiers. For this reason the jurists mention it in their manuals, and its judgeship was held by Abu ‘Ubayd the Imam, Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others3.