The Caliph’s trial: when an empire tried to legislate the nature of God

Wars & Conflicts · Published 17 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 833, the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun launched the Mihna, a state-sponsored inquisition. He sought to force a specific theological doctrine upon the Islamic world, testing the loyalty of judges and scholars. It was a high-stakes struggle over whether the Qur'an was the eternal word of God or a created object.

The Mihna, or 'test,' centered on the doctrine of the createdness of the Qur'an. Al-Ma'mun believed that if the Qur'an were considered coeternal with God, it would compromise the absolute unity (tawhid) of the Divine. To protect this foundation, he used his political authority to enforce the view that the scripture was created by God, rather than being an eternal attribute of the Divine essence. This theological stance was closely linked to the Mu'tazilite principle of God's justice, which posited that human free will allows individuals to be responsible for their actions. This school of thought also emphasized that the distinction between good and evil could be established through human reason alone.

The enforcement mechanism targeted the religious elite rather than the common populace. In 833, while at Raqqa, al-Ma'mun ordered his governor in Baghdad to examine the views of judges and hadith scholars. This period of persecution lasted eighteen years, spanning the reigns of al-Ma'mun, al-Mu'tasim, and al-Wathiq. The most famous resistance came from the scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who endured interrogation and flogging under al-Mu'tasim for refusing to accept the caliphal position. The scope of these examinations was largely restricted to the religious leadership, such as the scholars of hadith, rather than the general public. Even the prisoners held in Byzantine captivity were interrogated on their views of the scripture before the caliphate would decide on their ransoming.

The inquisition was heavily influenced by the Mu'tazila, a rationalist school of theology that utilized Hellenistic philosophy to argue for the createdness of the Qur'an. Figures like the Chief Qadi, Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad, were central to maintaining the policy. However, the Mihna eventually unraveled under the caliph al-Mutawakkil. By 849, he forbade theological disputations, and by 851, the removal of Mu'tazili officials signaled the end of the era, marking a significant shift in the balance of religious authority in the Islamic world. The decline of this era was marked by the dismissal of the Mu'tazili chief judge and the seizure of his family's assets. This decisive move by al-Mutawakkil effectively dismantled the institutional power of the inquisition.

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