Mihna

The Mihna was an Abbasid state inquisition begun in 833 that tested religious scholars and officials on the claim that the Quran was created.

Createdness of the Quran: The theological claim that the Quran was created by God rather than eternally coexistent with God. This proposition was the test at the center of the Mihna.
Mu'tazilism: An Islamic theological movement that emphasized divine unity, justice, and human responsibility. Its scholars defended the createdness of the Quran, the doctrine imposed during the Mihna.
Ulama: Muslim scholars recognized for expertise in religious learning and law. The Mihna exposed how state pressure could test scholars' independence and public authority.
Uncreated Quran: The doctrine that the Quran is eternal and uncreated, rather than brought into existence by God. This was the opposing position that many scholars refused to renounce.
Al-Ma'mun: An Abbasid caliph who ruled from 813 to 833 and initiated the Mihna near the end of his reign. He ordered provincial officials to examine scholars on the Quran's createdness.
Abbasid Caliphate: A caliphate founded in 750 that ruled much of the Islamic world from Baghdad and other capitals. The Mihna was a state policy conducted through Abbasid government institutions.
Sunni Islam: The largest branch of Islam, whose traditions developed through diverse scholarly and legal communities. The controversy helped shape Sunni memories of legitimate religious authority and coercion.
Ash'arism: A Sunni theological tradition founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, combining rational argument with revealed sources. Its later account of divine speech differs from the simple created-versus-uncreated framing of the Mihna.
Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Muslim jurist and traditionist who became a leading Hanbali authority. His refusal to affirm the Quran's createdness made him the Mihna's most famous detainee.
Al-Jahiz: A Basran prose writer and Mu'tazilite intellectual who lived in the ninth century. His writings show the intellectual milieu in which Mu'tazilite doctrines gained influence.

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