Mihna (inquisition)
E49165
The Mihna (inquisition) was a 9th-century religious and political persecution in the Abbasid Caliphate during which scholars were forced to conform to the caliphs’ official theological doctrine, particularly regarding the created nature of the Qur’an.
Aliases (2)
- Mihna ×45
- the Mihna inquisition ×1
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Abbasid-era event
→
religious inquisition → theological persecution → |
| abolishedBy |
al-Mutawakkil
→
|
| appliedTo |
Islamic scholars
→
traditionalist theologians → |
| chronology |
9th century
→
|
| continuedBy |
al-Muʿtasim
→
al-Wathiq → |
| country |
Abbasid Caliphate
→
|
| describedIn |
Islamic historiographical works
→
|
| doctrineImposed |
Qur’an is created
→
|
| endedBecauseOf |
policy reversal under al-Mutawakkil
→
|
| endTime |
848
→
|
| enforcedBy |
Abbasid caliphs
→
|
| field |
Islamic law
→
Islamic theology → |
| hasAspect |
judicial inquisition
→
political control → religious policy → |
| hasCause |
Muʿtazilite theology
→
caliphal attempt to assert religious authority → |
| hasEffect |
enforced public affirmation of created Qur’an
→
persecution of dissenting scholars → tension between caliphal power and religious scholars → |
| hasHistoricalSignificance |
defined later Sunni view of caliphal religious authority
→
|
| historicalPeriod |
Islamic Golden Age
→
|
| ideologyPromoted |
Muʿtazilism
→
|
| initiatedBy |
al-Maʾmun
→
|
| languageOfContext |
Arabic
→
|
| location |
Baghdad
→
Samarra → |
| mainTopic |
createdness of the Qur’an
→
|
| opposedBy |
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
→
broader Sunni community → traditionalist scholars → |
| opposedDoctrine |
Qur’an is uncreated
→
|
| partOf |
Islamic theological controversies
→
|
| religion |
Islam
→
|
| result |
limitation of caliphal role in defining doctrine
→
strengthening of Sunni traditionalism → |
| significantEvent |
trial and flogging of Ahmad ibn Hanbal
→
|
| startTime |
833
→
|
| targetedGroup |
Sunni traditionalists
→
hadith scholars → |
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
al-Ma'mun
("the Mihna inquisition")
→
|
knownFor |
|
Abbasid Caliphate
→
|
significantEvent |