Mihna (Islamic Studies)

Introduction

Mihna literally means “trial, ordeal, test”; it is the term coined by medieval Arabic chroniclers to describe events that took place between 833 and 847 CE, initiated by the seventh Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmun (r. 813–833). In this context, it is usually translated as “inquisition,” though it only vaguely resembles the Spanish Inquisition, which started in 1478 and lasted until the beginning of the 19th century. The mihna is foundational for Islam because it constitutes the watershed in which the relationship between the state and the ulama (religious scholars) regarding authority in religious matters was defined in Islam, irrespective of how this is explained in the studies below. Additionally, the events of the mihna contributed to the further crystallization of Islamic religious thought. Eventually, the Sunnite schools of law (madhahib) came to profess the uncreatedness of the Qurʾan, with Ashʿarism providing a standard Sunnite formulation of this theological stance. Succinctly stated, this standard Sunnite stance is that the Qurʾan is God’s eternal uncreated Word; proponents of the createdness of the Qurʾan, on the other hand, also believe that the Qurʾan is God’s Word, but that it was created in time and formulated such that 7th-century Arabs could understand its eternal message. To understand the implications of the two stances, recall that historical events are mentioned in the Qurʾan, like the battle of Badr (624 CE). Belief in the Qurʾan as God’s eternal Word suggests that the battle of Badr and its outcome were predetermined, whereas the latter position implies indeterminism—a debate known in Christianity as predestination versus free will. The chronology of events that, taken together, constitute the mihna, is generally clear. In 826, al-Maʾmun had a herald announce that there would be no protection for anyone who spoke positively about the first Umayyad caliph Muʿawiya. One year later, in 827, al-Maʾmun declared ʿAli ibn Abi Talib to be the best of all Companions of the Prophet (tafdil ʿAli), and he announced that the Qurʾan was created (khalq al-qurʾan). Some six years later, and four months before his sudden death, the caliph introduced by way of a number of letters the mihna proper to enforce the createdness of the Qurʾan doctrine. Initially, al-Maʾmun personally interrogated seven leading jurisconsults (fuqahaʾ). Continuing a systematic approach, al-Maʾmun then ordered his governor in Baghdad to interrogate larger groupings of ulama. To further broaden the scope of acceptance, al-Maʾmun ordered all court officials (judges, witnesses) throughout the empire to first declare the createdness of the Qurʾan before performing their duties; those who refused disqualified themselves. However, al-Maʾmun suddenly died four months after the beginning of the mihna. The two succeeding caliphs, al-Muʿtasim (r. 833–842) and al-Wathiq (r. 842–847), continued the policy with varying degrees of intensity, threatening at times opponents to the doctrine with whipping or execution. All told, the mihna lasted about fifteen years and was ended in either 849 or 851/2 by the caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), who officially proclaimed the exact opposite doctrine—the uncreatedness of the Qurʾan—which, as noted before, remains up to today an integral part of Sunnite Islam.

General Overviews

The mihna has been studied from many perspectives and, as indicated in some of the annotations in this article, there are still more to be studied; the last word about the mihna has not been spoken yet, and the debate remains a very lively one. Most works on the mihna emphasize the question why: Why did al-Maʾmun focus on the doctrine of the createdness of the Qurʾan, and why did he introduce an inquisition to enforce acceptance of this doctrine? Most general histories tend to adopt, either directly or indirectly, the too simplistic thesis that the rationalist Muʿtazilites were behind the mihna—despite the fact that Van Ess 1967a (cited under Theological Aspects) very cogently showed decades ago that al-Maʾmun was not a Muʿtazilite proper. At once, however, all studies do approach the mihna as a defining moment in the roles of caliph versus ulama. The list that follows contains general histories that have more than average to say about the mihna. ʿAbd al-Qadir 1939 is included here as one representative of Arabic language works. Hodgson 1974 is a good example of how the mihna is usually presented in most textbooks. Hinds 1998 (EI2) is a must for every student of the topic and offers the standard account of the mihna succinctly summarizing the most important events and interpretations. Cooperson 2005 and Melchert 2006, both biographies, should be used alongside each other because they offer contrasting perspectives; both (in addition to Cooperson 2000) also give very good overviews of current secondary literature.

ʿAbd al-Qadir, Muhammad Subayh. Al-Maʾmūn. Cairo, Egypt, 1939.
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Chapter four (pp. 140–150) of a short biography of al-Maʾmun discusses the mihna, with standard arguments used to assert that the caliph introduced the mihna because he was a Muʿtazilite.
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Cooperson, Michael. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Maʾmūn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511497469Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Presents a very succinct and clear summary of the views found in the secondary literature regarding the reasons for the mihna (pp. 34–40).
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Cooperson, Michael. Al-Maʾmūn. Makers of the Muslim World. Oxford: Oneworld, 2005.
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Provides a good overview of the literature while discussing the mihna within the context of a biography of its initiator, al-Maʾmun (pp. 115–128).
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Hinds, Martin. “Miḥna.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2d ed. Vol. 7. Edited by C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and Ch. Pellat, 2–6. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic, 1998.
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An astute summary of the most important events and interpretations; far more than an encyclopedic entry, and difficult for someone just starting with the topic. Nonetheless, well worth the effort to study after acquainting oneself with other general works.
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Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization. Vol. 1, The Classical Age of Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.
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A succinct discussion of the Miḥna as a struggle between the rationalist Muʿtazilites versus the literalist Hadith scholars (pp. 389–391).
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Melchert, Christopher. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Makers of the Muslim World. Oxford: Oneworld, 2006.
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A good synopsis of the secondary literature on the mihna, discussed from the purview of its most celebrated victim, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, with due attention to the hagiographical tradition (pp. 8–16).
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Primary Sources

It should be noted at the outset that the term mihna was derogatory, and hence the primary sources contain a structural bias by using it. The Sunnite ulama who only afterwards wrote about the mihna condemned the actions of al-Maʾmun because he tried to force a “false” doctrine upon the Islamic Community. In the long run, the exact opposite of this doctrine became Sunnite creed, which holds that the Qurʾan is the eternal, uncreated Word of God. Almost all universal sources (i.e., sources that deal with the entire Islamic empire) go back to al-Ṭabari’s chronicle; al-Yaʿqubi 1993 offers here and there an extra detail regarding the mihna. Al-Maʾmun’s orders to start the interrogation were formulated in a series of letters (the first one dates April 833); these letters are found in al-Tabari 1879–1901, together with responses given by interrogees. Al-Tabari, in turn, used an older source, Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur 2009, who was born during al-Maʾmun’s caliphate and who was the closest source in time. Local histories that deal with a particular city or region (e.g., al-Azdi’s Taʾrīkh al-Mawṣil, or Ibn al-Taghribardi’s al-Nujūm al-zāhira fī mulūk miṣr wa-l-qāhira) may provide a detail or two about the mihna as carried out in that locality. Alongside narrative accounts, Arabic biographical dictionaries (ṭabaqāt-works such as al-Khatib al-Baghdadi 2001, Taʾrīkh Baghdād) offer information about the ulama who were interrogated during the mihna. A number of literary sources exist that directly deal with the mihna or the doctrine of the createdness of the Qurʾan (e.g., al-Jahiz 1987, al-Risāla fī khalq al-qur’ān).

Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur. Kitāb Baghdād. Edited by Ihsan al-Thamiri, 231–238. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār Ṣādir, 2009.
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One of our oldest and most important sources for the reign of al-Maʾmun (only the section on part of al-Maʾmun’s caliphate is extant). Contains the oldest copies of portions of the mihna letters and interrogation reports. There are three other editions: Sechster Band des Kitāb Baġdād von Aḥmad ibn abī Ṭāhir Ṭaifūr Arabic text with a German translation by H. Keller. Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1908, 338–347 (Arabic), 156–157; Muhammad Zahid al-Hasan al-Kawthari/ʿIzzat al-ʿAttar al-Husayni, Kitāb Baghdād, Cairo: Maktabat al-khanji, 1949, second printing 1994; ʿIsam Muḥammad al-Hājj ʿAli, Tārīkh Baghdād [sic], Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2009), but Thamiri’s edition is the best up to now. A new edition is currently being made by John Nawas with an English translation (by John Nawas and Shawkat Toorawa) for the Library of Arabic Literature/New York University Press.
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al-Jahiz, Abu ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Bahr. Al-Risāla fī khalq al-qurʾān. In Rasāʾil al-Jāḥiẓ: al-Rasāʾil al-kalāmiyya. Edited by ʿAli Abu Mulhim, 163–175. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Hilal, 1987.
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Gives an overview of views at the time regarding the dogma of the createdness of the Qurʾan. Also claims, unlike other sources, that Ahmad ibn Hanbal gave in to the demands of the caliph. A good introduction to understand the debate in its own contemporary terms.
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al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad b. ʿAli. Taʾrīkh Baghdād. Edited by Bashshar ʿAwwad Maʿruf. 17 vols. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 2001.
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This huge biographical dictionary has information on almost all interrogees of the mihna whose names are known and who, in one way or another, were associated with the city of Baghdad. This new edition supersedes the standard edition of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Taʾrīkh Baghdād (14 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, n.d.), which most researchers have used until recently.
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al-Tabari, Abu Jaʿfar Muhammad b. Jarir. Ta’ rīkh al-Rusul wa-l-Mulūk. Edited by M. J. de Goeje, et al. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1879–1901.
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Al-Tabari is the dean of medieval Arabic chroniclers. His account on the mihna is the most elaborate one, containing, as his style dictated, various anecdotes about the mihna. Moreover, this source contains the fullest texts of the mihna letters and reports. Translations: The History of al-Tabarī. Volume 32: The Reunification of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. English translation of the section on al-Maʾmun’s caliphate by C. E. Bosworth (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987), 199–223. Das Kalifat von al-Maʾmūn: Aus den Annalen von aṭ-Ṭabarī übersetzt und unter Heranziehung der sonstigen bedeutenden Quellen ausführlich erläutert. German translation of the exact same period by H. F. Uhrig (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Peter Lang, 1988), 249–288. Both translations have elaborate annotations that are very useful for the researcher.
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al-Yaʿqubi, Ahmad b. Abi Yaʿqub b. Jaʿfar. Taʾrikh Baghdād. Vol. 2. Edited by ʿA. A. Muhanna, 432. Beirut, Lebanon: Muʿassasa al-ʿUlami liʾl-Matbuʿat, 1993.
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Adds one or two details not mentioned by other primary sources. Some researchers suggest that this chronicler was a (proto-) Shiʿite, and this may have influenced his work.
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Hagiographical Sources

Inasmuch as the famous Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, eponym of one of the four Sunnite schools of law, is thought to have refused to the end to acquiesce in the doctrine—unlike his contemporary peers, who almost all gave in to the caliph’s demands—his defiance has led to a hagiographical portrayal of his opposition, such as Ṣālih b. Ahmad b. Hanbal 1960 or Ḥanbal b. Ishaq b. Hanbal 1977. Although this material should be treated with care, it offers insights into the perspective of the opponents.

Ḥanbal b. Ishaq b. Hanbal. Dhikr miḥnat al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Edited by M. Naghash. Cairo, Egypt : Dār nashr al-thaqāfa, 1977.
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Again an account by one of Ibn Ḥanbal’s relatives about his persecution.
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Ibn al-Jawzī. Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Vol. 1. Edited and translated by Michael Cooperson. Library of Arabic Literature. New York: New York University Press, 2013.
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Translation of Manāqib al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. A very elaborate laudatory biography of Ibn Hanbal that stresses his piety and respectability. Volume 1 deals with his childhood, education and adult life. Elements of Ibn Hanbal’s religious thinking are interspersed throughout the text. This latest edition makes use of all earlier Arabic editions. Volume 2 in press.
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Ṣālih b. Ahmad b. Hanbal. “Sīrat Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal.” In Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal bayn miḥnat al-dīn wa-miḥnat al-dunyā. Edited by A. al-Dumi, 266–304. Cairo, Egypt: al-Maktaba al-Tijāriyya al-Kubra, 1960.
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An account of Ibn Ḥanbal’s trials and tribulations as presented by one of his sons.
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Standard Studies

The works under this category offer a specific perspective on the reasons behind the mihna. These various perspectives range from religious aspects and theological arguments to struggles between political factions and the possible influence of ethnic elements. The literature here will help one understand al-Maʾmun’s letters on the mihna and clarify a number of inconsistencies in the narratives and chronology of events. A standard text is Patton 1897, the first monograph on the mihna; al-Maʾmun is portrayed here as a “freethinking” rationalist who was influenced by Muʿtazilism and Shiʿism, while Nagel 1975 is an example of a theoretical approach to the mihna, situating the event in the broader context of the evolution of the Islamic Community. Abusaq 1971 and Watt 1973 stress a conflict with a specific elite, while Lapidus 1975 introduces what has become known as the “Khurasani connection”— the influence of the abnaʾ (the soldiers who had helped the Abbasids take over from the Umayyads and who primarily hailed from the province of Khurasan). Sourdel 1962 is the classical exposition of al-Maʾmun being a Shiʿite and acting from this conviction; it lists a number of novelties introduced by the caliph that Sourdel considers to be Shiʿite. Steppat 1981, finally, suggests that al-Maʾmun’s conceptualization of the caliphate may have been influenced by a pre-Islamic Persian code of conduct. Each of these theses would later be studied, followed or criticized by others (see Revisionist Studies).

Abusaq, Muhammad O. “The Politics of the Miḥna.” PhD diss., University of Edinburgh, 1971.
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Deals with mihna from its beginning under al-Maʾmun until its ending by al-Mutawakkil; focuses on the role of Ahmad b. Hanbal and the religio-political aspects of the mihna. Posits an ethnic element in the conflict: the mawali having played a role in ousting the “Arab-Iranian aristocracy.”
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Lapidus, Ira. “The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 6.4 (1975): 363–420.
DOI: 10.1017/S0020743800025344Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Important hypothesis that the mihna was carried out, at least in part, to subdue political opposition amongst the troops of Khurasan (the abnaʾ) which vied with the caliphate for authority, a struggle ultimately leading to the separation of state and religion in Islam.
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Nagel, Tilman. Rechtleitung und Kalifat: Versuch über eine Grundfrage der Islamischen Geschichte. Bonn, Germany: Selbstverlag des Orientalischen Seminars der Universität, 1975.
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Offers a theoretical framework to explain the evolution of the Islamic community with the mihna as apogee. Three “substitute” institutions (Ersatzinstitutionen) are at play in this evolution: the Qurʾan, Imamate, and Sunna. Argues that the mihna is the result of a paradigm shift of emphasis between these “institutions”: al-Maʾmun stressed the role of Imamate but ultimately failed.
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Patton, W. M. Ahmed ibn Ḥanbal and the Miḥna: A Biography of the Imam, Including an Account of the Mohammedan Inquisition Called the Miḥna, 218—234 A.H. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1897.
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Al-Maʾmun’s actions are explained as being due to his affiliation with the Muʿtazilites and the Shiʿites; Patton assumes a “rational,” “freethinking” caliph who wanted to suppress nonrationalist opponents.
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Sourdel, Dominique. “La politique religieuse du calife ʿabbaside al-Maʾmūn.” Revue des etudes islamiques 30 (1962): 27–48.
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Al-Maʾmun’s religious policies (including the mihna) were the result of his sympathies for the Shiʿa. This study is, however, partially based on a retrojection of elements that only later would become “Shiʿite”.
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Steppat, F. “From ʿAhd Ardašir to al-Maʾmūn: A Persian Element in the Policy of the Miḥna.” In Studia Arabica et Islamica: Festschrift for Ihsan Abbas. Edited by Wadad al-Qadi, 451–454. Beirut, Lebanon: American University of Beirut, 1981.
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Using an Arabic version of the ʿAhd Ardašir, a collection of rules for Sassanid princes, Steppat suggests that Persian-Sassanid elements in al-Maʾmun’s conception of caliphate helped shape his policies.
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Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
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Suggests struggle between an “autocratic” block within the Abbasid state, consisting of clerks and some theologians, versus a “constitutionalist” block represented by the emerging group of ulama (pp. 175–179).
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Revisionist Studies

The studies here tend to take issue with earlier work on al-Maʾmun’s motives for instigating an inquisition, or to offer new vistas for research. Most studies emphasize the political dimensions of the mihna and the conflict between the caliph and the religious scholars. Crone and Hinds 1986 proposes that the authority of the caliphs was gradually diminishing and that al-Maʾmun attempted to restore this authority. Ja ͑dan 1989 conceptualizes a contest between people of the State (ahl al-dawla) versus people of Religion (ahl al-din). Nawas 1992 and Nawas 1994 make the analytical distinction between the public proclamation of the caliph’s belief in the doctrine and the mihna six years later, with a focus on al-Maʾmun’s conception of the caliphal institution. Yücesoy 2009 more or less concurs but adds the dimension of messianic expectations—al-Maʾmun’s reign coincided with an Islamic turn of the century. Zaman 1997, on the other hand, very originally dismisses the idea of struggle altogether and explains the mihna in terms of a cooperation between the caliph and the ulama. Hurvitz 2001 and Hurvitz 2002 can be considered as putting forth an in-between position, and they also illustrate the importance of the selection of primary sources. The monograph Turner 2013 differs from most other studies listed here in that it uses the mihna as a hinge to study political and religious authority prior to and after the mihna—on this last aspect, see also Melchert 1996, an important study for showing how the mihna contributed to the consolidation of Sunni orthodoxy in the tenth century CE.

Crone, Patricia, and Martin Hinds. God’s Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
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Centering on the title “caliph of God” rather than “caliph of the messenger of God,” this interpretation of Islamic history explains the mihna as an attempt by al-Maʾmun to reclaim religious authority that was slowly being taken over by the ulama.
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Hurvitz, Nimrod. “Miḥna as Self-Defense.” Studia Islamica 92 (2001): 93–111.
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The mihna is approached here from the purview of kalam (speculative theology) texts in order to situate al-Maʾmun’s actions within its historical-theological context; stresses groups rather than individual acts of one man (al-Maʾmun); shows the importance of selection of primary sources.
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Hurvitz, Nimrod. “The Miḥna (Inquisition) and the Public Sphere.” In The Public Sphere in Muslim Societies. Edited by Miriam Hoexter, Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, and Nehemia Levtzion, 17–29. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002.
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Argues that the mihna was not a clash between caliphate and ulama regarding religious matters, but rather an intra-ulama clash between rationalist ulama (mutakallimun) and literalist ulama (mutahaddithun). See also Zaman 1997.
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Ja ͑dan, Fahmi. Al-Miḥna: Baḥth fī jadaliyyat al-dīnī wa-l-siyāsī fī l-islām. Amman, Jordan: Dar al-Shuruq li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawziʿ, 1989.
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Extensive but difficult analysis of mihna. Argues, like Van Ess, that no single group of Muʿtazila existed, and that the createdness of the Qurʾan was a tenet held by others as well (see Van Ess 1967a, cited under Theological Aspects). Concludes that mihna was a contest between the ahl al-dawla (men of state) and the ahl al-din (religious scholars) to attain politico-religious supremacy.
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Melchert, Christopher. “Religious Policies of the Caliphs from al-Mutawakkil to al-Muqtadir, A.H.232–295/A.D.847–908.” Islamic Law and Society 3 (1996): 316–342.
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Al-Mutawakkil is credited as having ended the mihna. This article takes a look at the judicial appointments of this caliph and a number of his successors to show their unevenness in the wake of the demise of the mihna, and how their policies nevertheless contributed to the further development of the classical schools of law.
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Nawas, John Abdallah. “Al-Maʾmūn: Miḥna and Caliphate.” PhD diss., Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, 1992.
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Rejects Muʿtazilism and Shiʿism as explanations for the imposition of the mihna. Emphasizes the sociopolitical struggle between ulama and caliphal institution as conceptualized by al-Maʾmun. Makes, for the first time, an analytical distinction between the decree of 827 and the mihna of 833, since these two events may not have had the same motives.
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Nawas, John Abdallah. “A Reexamination of Three Current Explanations for al-Maʾmūn’s Introduction of the Miḥna.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 26.4 (1994): 615–629.
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All suggested explanations for the introduction of the mihna are categorized and then tested based on primary sources. Argues that al-Maʾmun acted in accordance with his conception of the caliphal institution and the duties of its incumbent, the caliph, including supremacy in spiritual matters.
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Turner, John P. Inquisition in Early Islam: The Competition for Political and Religious Authority in the Abbasid Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2013.
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Unlike many other studies, Turner analyzes the struggle between political and religious authority, with the mihna as climax, but then continues to show how the failure of the caliphal scheme ultimately contributed to the crystallization of Sunni orthodoxy in the course of the tenth century CE.
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Yücesoy, Hayrettin. Messianic Beliefs and Imperial Politics in Medieval Islam: The ʿAbbāsid Caliphate in the Early Ninth Century. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2009.
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Sees al-Maʾmun as appropriating religious authority to himself as God’s caliph because this was a caliphal task. Inasmuch as al-Maʾmun’s reign coincided with the turn of the second/third Islamic century, suggests the influence of the turn-of-the-century belief that each century will bring a religious reinvigorater (mujaddid). See pp. 127–135.
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Zaman, M. Q. Religion and Politics under the Early ʿAbbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunnī Elite. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1997.
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Assumes that the ulama always had superiority in formulating religious dogma; launches a very original thesis that the mihna entailed collaboration rather than conflict between caliph and ulama. See also Hurvitz 2002.
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Specific Studies

This category contains works that go beyond the reasons behind the mihna. Among the more detailed studies, Cooperson 2001, Hurvitz 2001, and Nawas 2004 deal with the tactics and strategies the caliphs used to pursue the policy of the mihna. Here, the theological dogma itself is somewhat relegated, making place for the importance of winning public opinion in general or stressing the “moral defects” of opponents to the mihna. Nawas 1996 deals directly with the Khurasani connection noted in Lapidus 1975 (cited under Standard Studies), which Nawas rejects. Winkelmann-Liebert 2003 deals with the motives behind the continuation of the mihna during the caliphate of al-Muʿtasim, importantly adding the arrival of Turkish troops at the caliphal court as an extra factor to be considered. Miah 1969 and Turner 2010 offer quite different explanations for the termination of the mihna during the caliphate of al-Mutawakkil. Finally, Hurvitz 2002 analyzes the impact of the role played by Ahmad ibn Hanbal in the mihna for the early development of the Hanbali school of law.

Cooperson, Michael. “Two Abbasid Trials: Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq.” Al-Qantara 22.2 (2001): 375–393.
DOI: 10.3989/alqantara.2001.v22.i2.218Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Takes issue with Van Ess 1991–1997 (cited under Theological Aspects), which maintains that Ahmad ibn Hanbal did give in to the demands of the caliph. Caliphs made their decisions based on reasons of state, not on theological grounds: the theology behind the dogma was less important than accepting the caliph’s authority.
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Hurvitz, Nimrod. “Who is the Accused? The Interrogation of Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal.” Al-Qantara 22.2 (2001): 359–373.
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Analyzes both Sunnite and non-Sunnite sources to show that presentation of events surrounding the mihna was contest to win the public opinion, an aspect undervalued by other studies; shows (like Hurvitz 2001) the importance of selection of primary sources.
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Hurvitz, Nimrod. The Formation of Hanbalism: Piety into Power. London: Routledge Curzon, 2002.
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Best critical study until now about the views espoused by Hanbalism vis-à-vis the mihna during the formative period of this Sunnite school of law (pp. 113–157).
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Miah, M. Shamsuddin. The Reign of al-Mutawakkil. Decca: A.B.M. Habibullah, 1969.
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Argues that al-Mutawakkil had no choice but to accept “traditional or Sunnite Islam” as the basis for his power, especially against the Shiʿites, and hence ended the mihna (pp. 75–105).
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Nawas, John Abdallah. “The Miḥna of 218A.H./833A.D. Revisited: An Empirical Study.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 116.4 (1996): 698–708.
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Empirically tested refutation of Lapidus’s hypothesis that the Khurasani elite (abnāʾ) constituted an oppositional force to al-Maʾmun (see Lapidus 1975, cited under Standard Studies). Prosopographical study of all known interrogees of the mihna contrasted with a “control group” shows that targeted ulama had no other shared characteristic except their intellectual prominence.
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Nawas, John Abdallah. “The Moral Imperative in Contemporary Islamic Movements: An Early Expression in the Structure of al-Maʾmūn’s Inquisition (Miḥna), 833 CE.” In Strategies of Medieval Communal Identity: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Edited by W. J. van Bekkum and P. M. Cobb, 75–86. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2004.
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Focuses on al-Maʾmun’s assertion that those who refused to acquiesce in the dogma were “morally” defective and hence not able to pronounce judgment on the matter. The caliph’s tactics were to “expose” the “evil” of his opponents (much like many contemporary Islamist movements argue).
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Turner, J. P. “The End of the Miḥna.” Oriens 38 (2010): 89–106.
DOI: 10.1163/187783710X536671Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Challenges common assumption that al-Mutawakkil ended the mihna because the ulama had clearly won the day. Instead, Turner argues that al-Mutawakkil’s turnaround was an attempt to rid himself of powerful elite that had held sway under his predecessor, al-Wathiq.
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Winkelmann-Liebert, Holger. “Die miḥna im Kalifat des al-Muʿtaṣim.” Der Islam 80.2 (2003): 224–283.
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Focuses on the mihna during the caliphate of al-Muʿtaṣim; sees mihna—like Lapidus 1975 (cited under Standard Studies) and Van Ess 1991–1997 (cited under Theological Aspects), and contrary to Nawas 1996, an article of which the author was apparently not aware—as a power struggle against Khurasani forces that opposed the caliph; hence al- Muʿtasim continued the mihna and brought in new, Turkish, troops to distance himself from this Khurasani dependency.
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Theological Aspects

The list of works here only includes literature on theological aspects that are directly linked to the mihna. All have in common a focus on the doctrine of the createdness of the Qurʾan as point of departure for their studies. Other discussions on the nature of the Qurʾan (not included here) usually deal with the theological repercussions of the mihna, especially after it was ended. Watt 1950 delineates early debates on the Qurʾan, while Watt 1963 stresses (like Patton 1897, cited under Standard Studies) Muʿtazili influences on the caliph. Van Ess 1967a analyzes all information we have regarding the religious thought of al-Maʾmun, and concludes that he was not a Muʿtazili proper; despite these findings of decades ago, most general histories on Islam nonetheless still claim that al-Maʾmun started the mihna because he was a Muʿtazili. Madelung 1974 narrates what we know about the earliest discussions on the status of the Qurʾan; Heydorn 2008 provides a nice summary of all these views. Van Ess 1991–1997 is a gold mine of information, much of which is mentioned nowhere else, and an excellent integration of theology and politics written by a leading Islamicist; it is an absolute must. Melchert 2004 analyzes Ibn Hanbal’s attitude toward the Qurʾan, which was more liturgical than theological.

Heydorn, Florian. Halq al-Qurʾān: Genese einer frühislamischen Häresie. Norderstedt, Germany: Grin Verlag, 2008.
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A “studienarbeit” (university paper) that summaries the most important secondary literature about the theological aspects of the doctrine of the createdness of the Qurʾan. Focus of attention is on theologians Jahm b. Safwan, Jaʿd b. Dirhām, and Bishr al-Marīsī, and on possible Greek influences or connections with thought about the attributes of God (sifat Allah). Use with Madelung 1974.
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Madelung, Wilferd. “The Origins of the Controversy concerning the Creation of the Koran.” In Orientalia Hispanica sive studia F.M. Pareja octogenario dicata. Edited by J. M. Barral, 504–525. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1974.
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Remains the standard work about the origins of the debate on the status of the Qurʾan prior to the instigation of the mihna. Reprinted in W. Madelung’s Religious Schools and Sects in Medieval Islam (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 1985), article number 5.
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Melchert, Christopher. “Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal and the Qur’an.” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 6 (2004): 22–34.
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This article strings together the ideas (found in various sources) of the leading opponent of the mihna, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, about the Qur’an, which was more for liturgical use than for theological speculation. This position was a logical consequence of the weight given to the Hadith by Ibn Hanbal and his followers.
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Van Ess, Josef. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra: Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen Islam. 6 vols. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1991–1997.
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Situates the createdness doctrine within the general development of Islamic theology; however, Van Ess does not think theology as such was in play. He sees (like Lapidus 1975, cited under Standard Studies) the mihna as a means for al-Maʾmun to rid himself of oppositional abnaʾ. This is the only work that connects mihna with anti-caliph Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi (and his policy of the uncreatedness of the Qurʾan, an otherwise unstudied topic). See Volume 3, pp. 446–508, and Volume 4, pp. 1–227.
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Van Ess, Josef. “Ḍirār b. ʿAmr und die Cahmīya. Biographie einer vergessenen Schule.” Der Islam 43 (1967a): 241–279;
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Study of the most elaborate statements we have about al-Maʾmun’s personal theological stance as found in the early source Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur 2009 (cited under Primary Sources); Van Ess shows that though al-Maʾmun believed in the doctrine of the createdness of the Qurʾan, his other known beliefs indicate that he was not a Muʿtazilite. This is the first direct refutation of Muʿtazilite thesis. Continued in Der Islam 44 (1968): 1–70, 318–320.
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Van Ess, Josef. “Ibn Kullāb und die Miḥna.” Oriens 18–19 (1967b): 92–142.
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A Shafiʿite, Ibn Kullab took issue with Muʿtazilites at al-Maʾmun’s court by stating that what was read out loud from the Qurʾan is created while the message behind the uttered words is uncreated. Connected with later theory of lafziyya about the Qurʾan. French translation by C. Gilliot, “Ibn Kullāb et la Miḥna,” In Arabica 37 (1990): 173–233.
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Watt, W. M. “Early Discussions about the Qurʾan.” Muslim World 11 (1950): 27–40; 96–105.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-1913.1950.tb01029.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Stresses, like Patton 1897 (cited under Standard Studies), al-Maʾmun’s affinity with the Muʿtazila and the Shiʿites as motivating factor behind the introduction of the mihna.
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Watt, W. M. “The Political Attitudes of the Muʿtazilah.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1963): 38–57.
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Argues that al-Maʾmun’s politico-religious thinking was in line with Muʿtazilite thought.
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