The notion of articulation of Islam can mean the way in which Islam was interpreted and transmitted by different individual scholars and subsequently, well-established schools of thoughts. The articulation of Islam into a body of religious sciences and well-defined ways of practice to place largely in Iraq, which served as a center of cultural efflorescence during the Abassid period of rule.the line of thought and study along which Islam was articulated were numerous, but clearly connected to each other. In fact, the materials upon which scholars could work were vast in nature, Shari"a constitution Qur"an and Sunna, Sufism and Greek thought were part of how Islam was being articulated during the Abassid period.
The greater part of Islamic religions scholarship was devoted to the Qur"anic text. The believing Muslims, Qur"an represents the very speech of God and is therefore attributed a sacred character. It is trough these words that God established contact and communicate with his will to Man.the revelation of words, and therefore of ideas and knowledge made it imperative that those who wished to confirm to the will of God should seek knowledge and reflect upon it. The search for religions knowledge as well as the interpretation of the the Sunna began early in the history of Islam, and then gradually developed a body of Muslims scholars known as Ulamma.
It is around the question of authority and legitimate Caliph that the Ulammas and religions groups began to debate questions such as: who should have authority over the Muslim community? What the nature of the leader? What are his qualifications? How he should be chosen?.
Ibadis believed that any Muslim male chosen by the community entitled the becoming a prospective Imam provided by the law outlined in the Qu"ran and the Sunna. Two important Shi"ites movements differed is that they did not accept the claims of the first three Califs and held that Ali had been the soul legitimate and appointed successor of the Prophet.
