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Abu 'Abdallah Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad al-Iyadi () (776/7–June 854) was an
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic religious judge (''
qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...
'') of the mid-ninth century. A proponent of
Mu'tazilism Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
, he was appointed as chief judge of the
Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
in 833, and became highly influential during the caliphates of
al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...
and
al-Wathiq Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad al-Wathiq bi'Llah (; 18 April 81210 August 847), commonly known by his regnal name al-Wathiq bi'Llah (), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until his death in 847. Al-Wathiq is described in the so ...
. During his tenure as chief judge he sought to maintain Mu'tazilism as the official ideology of the state, and he played a leading role in prosecuting the Inquisition (''
mihna The Mihna () was a period of religious persecution instituted by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 in which Sunni scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conformed to Mu'tazilite doctrine. The policy lasted for eighteen y ...
h'') to ensure compliance with Mu'tazilite doctrines among officials and scholars. In 848 Ibn Abi Du'ad suffered a stroke and transferred his position to his son
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, but his family's influence declined during the caliphate of
al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...
, who gradually abandoned Mu'tazilism and put an end to the '. As one of the most senior officials during the reigns of several caliphs, Ibn Abi Du'ad's stature at the Abbasid court has been compared with that of the
Barmakids The Barmakids ( ''Barmakiyân''; ''al-Barāmikah''Harold Bailey, 1943. "Iranica" BSOAS 11: p. 2. India - Department of Archaeology, and V. S. Mirashi (ed.), ''Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era'' vol. 4 of ''Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum' ...
at their height. Considered a leading Mu'tazilite and one of the chief architects of the ', his persecution of orthodox scholars, including the famed theologian
Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...
, caused his reputation to suffer after his death, and he was made into an object of vilification by later
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
biographers.


Early career

Born in
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
in 776 or 777, Ibn Abi Du'ad belonged to an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
family that originated from a village near
Qinnasrin Qinnašrīn (; ; ; ), was a historical town in northern Syria. The town was situated southwest of Aleppo on the west bank of the Queiq (historically, the Belus) and was connected to Aleppo with a major road during Roman times. Some scholars p ...
in northern
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and which belonged to the
Adnanite The Adnanites () were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelites, Ishmaelite Arabs who originate from the Hejaz. They trace their lineage back to Ishmael in Islam, Ishmael, son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Abraham in Islam, Abraham and hi ...
tribe of Iyad, although the latter claim was later contested by Ibn Abi Du'ad's enemies. Early in his life he moved to
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
with his father, and he spent his youth learning Islamic jurisprudence (''
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
'') and scholastic theology (''
kalam ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...
''). His teacher Hayyaj ibn al-'Ala' al-Sulami had formerly been a pupil of Wasil ibn 'Ata', the founder of Mu'tazilism, and under his tutelage Ibn Abi Du'ad became an advocate of Mu'tazilite doctrines. Following the completion of his studies, Ibn Abi Du'ad became affiliated with Yahya ibn Aktham, the chief judge (''qadi al-qudat'') under the caliph
al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...
(r. 813–833). It was while in Yahya's service that he first met al-Ma'mun – according to one anecdote, this occurred as early as the year of al-Ma'mun's arrival in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
in 819 – and he quickly found favor with the caliph. Al-Ma'mun was himself inclined toward Mu'tazilism, which represented a moderate alternative between orthodoxy and the
Alids The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are th ...
while simultaneously affirming his authority as
imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
to preside over religious matters, and in 827 he proclaimed his belief in a central Mu'tazilite tenet, that the Qur'an had been created. By the end of al-Ma'mun's reign in 833, Ibn Abi Du'ad had become a close associate of the caliph, and on his deathbed al-Ma'mun recommended to his brother and successor
al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...
that he admit Ibn Abi Du'ad to his circle of advisors.


Chief judge under al-Mu'tasim

Following the accession of al-Mu'tasim, the new caliph followed his brother's advice by appointing Ibn Abi Du'ad as chief judge, replacing the latter's erstwhile patron Yahya ibn Aktham. During al-Mu'tasim's reign (r. 833–842), Ibn Abi Du'ad wielded enormous political and economic influence, and the caliph was said to be completely under his power, with neither his public or private business done without his advice. He became one of the senior officials of the state, although he was forced to contend with the
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
Muhammad ibn al-Zayyat Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, better known as Ibn al-Zayyāt (), was a wealthy merchant who became a court official and served as Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate), vizier of the Abbasid caliphs al-Mu'tasim, al-Wathiq, and al-Mutawakkil, from 836 until ...
, who became his chief rival in the administration. During the reign of al-Mu'tasim, Mu'tazilism was maintained as the official creed of the state. Although the caliph reportedly lacked al-Ma'mun's personal zeal for Mu'tazilism, he nevertheless continued his brother's religious policies, allegedly due to the influence of Ibn Abi Du'ad. To ensure compliance with the doctrine of the created Qur'an, the chief judge continued the Inquisition or '. Initiated by al-Ma'mun just four months before his death, the ' required officials, judges and scholars to be tested on their beliefs regarding the nature of the Qur'an; individuals who refused to adhere to the position that it had been created were subject to dismissal, arrest or torture. Among the victims of the ' during this period was
Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...
, the founder of the
Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...
school of jurisprudence, who was tried by Ibn Abi Du'ad and flogged for maintaining his orthodox beliefs. Ibn Abi Du'ad also oversaw the appointment of several like-minded ''qadi''s to various cities throughout the empire, who similarly prosecuted the ' within their respective jurisdictions. Outside of his overseeing of the ', Ibn Abi Du'ad spent his time at court developing a reputation for moderation and compassion, interceding on several occasions to save individuals who had become subject to al-Mu'tasim's wrath from punishment and securing favors from the caliph for various patrons. At the same time, he came to play an important role in the fiscal affairs of the caliphate, his staff overseeing, for example, the division of spoils during the Amorium campaign in 838; he is also said to have pushed through an irrigation canal project in
Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...
, and following a large fire in Baghdad he was able to convince the caliph to entrust him with distributing five million ''
dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...
s'' for the relief of the citizens there. Ibn Abi Du'ad additionally took part in the move to the new capital of
Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...
in 836, where he received a land allotment in the central city, and in 840 he presided over the heresy trial of the disgraced general al-Afshin.


Under al-Wathiq

Ibn Abi Du'ad remained influential under al-Mu'tasim's son and successor
al-Wathiq Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad al-Wathiq bi'Llah (; 18 April 81210 August 847), commonly known by his regnal name al-Wathiq bi'Llah (), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until his death in 847. Al-Wathiq is described in the so ...
(r. 842–847), who similarly maintained the doctrine that the Qur'an had been created. For the majority of al-Mu'tasim's reign, the ' had generally been only lightly enforced, although Ibn Abi Du'ad and his allied ''qadi''s had escalated their activities in the last year of the caliph's life. With the accession of al-Wathiq, however, the new caliph ordered that the severity of the ' be increased, giving advocates of the inquisition approval to proceed with vigor. At the beginning of al-Wathiq's reign, Ibn Abi Du'ad appointed several new ''qadi''s to Baghdad who supported the ', and in the provinces there was a marked increase of persecutions against individuals who were considered dissenters. In 845 the ' was even extended to Muslim prisoners held by the Byzantines, when Ibn Abi Du'ad sent an agent to test their opinion on Qur'anic createdness and ransomed only those who supported it, leaving those who did not in Byzantine custody. Al-Wathiq's continued adherence to the belief of the created Qur'an eventually prompted a traditionalist backlash, which manifested itself in 846 as a planned popular revolt in Baghdad. The plot was discovered ahead of time, however, and its ringleader Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i was arrested and sent to al-Wathiq in Samarra, where he was questioned on his beliefs regarding the nature of the Qur'an. Ahmad's statements during the interrogation enraged al-Wathiq, and despite Ibn Abi Du'ad's reluctance to have him killed the prisoner was personally executed by the caliph and his soldiers. The public death of Ahmad only further increased populist agitation in Baghdad against the caliph's religious policy, and Ahmad was soon turned into a martyr by supporters of orthodoxy. Under al-Wathiq, the rivalry between Ibn Abi Du'ad and the vizier Ibn al-Zayyat continued. During a general crackdown against the state bureaucracy in 843-4, Ibn al-Zayyat took action against the chief judge and other court of complaint (''
mazalim ''Al-Maẓālim'' () were an ancient pre-Islamic institution that was adopted by the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth century CE. The main purpose of the maẓālim courts was to give ordinary people redress. Al-Maẓālim, or the sultan's court, w ...
'') officials, who were investigated and imprisoned as a result. Their cases were presided over by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Mus'abi, and they were publicly displayed and treated in a harsh manner.


Downfall and death

Following the death of al-Wathiq in 847, Ibn Abi Du'ad formed a council with Ibn al-Zayyat and other senior officials to determine who should succeed the caliph, eventually settling on al-Wathiq's brother Ja'far. Ibn Abi Du'ad gave the nominee the
regnal title A regnal title is the title held by a monarch while in office. Monarchs can have various titles, including king or queen, prince or princess (Sovereign Prince of Monaco), emperor or empress (Emperor of Japan, Emperor of India), or even duke or grand ...
of
al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...
, and the latter was accordingly invested with the caliphate. Al-Mutawakkil's reign (r. 847–861) marked a significant break with the policies of al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq. The new caliph was determined to eliminate the officials who had played a dominant role in the governments of his two predecessors, and in the first years of his rule he succeeded in killing or removing from power the majority of these men, including Ibn al-Zayyat and the chamberlain
Itakh Aytākh or Ītākh al-Khazarī () was a leading commander in the Turkic army of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833-842 C.E.). As the '' nisba'' in his name suggests, he was a Khazar by origin, and is said to have been a slave working in the ...
. Al-Mutawakkil also decided to diverge away from the religious policies of the previous caliphs, opting instead to put a stop to the controversy over whether the Qur'an was created or uncreated. Although he was not a partisan of the traditionalist party, he gradually abandoned Mu'tazilism and suspended the ', ultimately putting an end to the doctrinal regime that had been in place since 833. The new caliph initially took no action against Ibn Abi Du'ad, who continued to appoint ''qadi''s to provincial cities. Less than a year after al-Mutawakkil's accession, however, the chief judge suffered a debilitating stroke that left him partially paralyzed, and his son
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
was forced to take up the actual discharge of his duties. Muhammad proved to be less influential than his father, and the family's standing declined as al-Mutawakkil spent the next several years taking hostile steps against the Mu'tazilites, dismissing a number of Ibn Abi Du'ad's ''qadi''s from office and ordering an end to debate over the nature of the Qur'an. In late 851, al-Mutawakkil decided to completely remove Ibn Abi Du'ad from power and stripped Muhammad of his positions in the ''mazalim'' courts. He also ordered that the estates of Ibn Abi Du'ad and his family to be seized and liquidated, and Muhammad and his brothers were placed into prison. At the same time, the caliph took steps to definitively end the '. In place of Ibn Abi Du'ad, Yahya ibn Aktham was re-appointed as chief judge, while several more of Ibn Abi Du'ad's ''qadi''s were dismissed. The caliph also attempted to reconcile with Ahmad ibn Hanbal and removed Ahmad ibn Nasr's body from public display, and finally, in March 852, he ordered that all prisoners held on account of the Inquisition be released, thereby largely bringing a close to the ' period. Ibn Abi Du'ad survived for only three years after the loss of the chief judgeship. He died in June 854, twenty days after the death of his son Muhammad.


Legacy and assessment

With the political decline of Mu'tazilism and the victory of orthodoxy, Ibn Abi Du'ad was criticised for his doctrinal beliefs and the prosecution of the '.
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
writers often made no attempt to conceal their hostility toward him, and passed severe judgement on his tenure in office. The trial and flogging of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in 834-5, in which Ibn Abi Du'ad played a major role, was particularly condemned. Ahmad himself is quoted as having remarked that Ibn Abi Du'ad was a "disbeliever of God Almighty (''
kafir ''Kāfir'' (; , , or ; ; or ) is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as ...
un bi'llah al-'azim'')" and "the most ignorant of people in knowledge ('' 'ilm'') and theology (''kalam'')," and later sources portrayed Ahmad as heroically defending the traditionalist cause in the face of an ignorant bigot. Individuals associated with Ibn Abi Du'ad also occasionally faced discrimination after his death, as when the caliph
al-Mu'tazz Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh (; 847 – 16 July 869), better known by his regnal title al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh (, "He who is strengthened by God") was the Abbasid caliph from 866 t ...
(r. 866–869) cancelled the appointments of eight men as ''qadi''s and exiled them to Baghdad upon learning that they had been followers of the former judge. While condemned for his religious policies and activities, Ibn Abi Du'ad was simultaneously praised by the sources for his tolerant and humane nature, along with his learning and magnanimity. Numerous anecdotes consistently portray the chief judge as a man of compromise and generosity, and he is frequently shown as intervening to resolve disputes between the caliphs and their opponents in an effort to prevent bloodshed. He was also known as a competent poet, and was a patron of various poets and literary men. He particularly was associated with the fellow Mu'tazilite and author
al-Jahiz Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Basri (; ), commonly known as al-Jahiz (), was an Arab polymath and author of works of literature (including theory and criticism), theology, zoology, philosophy, grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, philology, lin ...
, who dedicated at least one of his works to him and provided him with theological arguments to use against the traditionalists.; ; ; . El-Hibri considers the positive portrayal of Ibn Abi Du'ad's character in the sources to be direct proof that the characterization of the chief judge as the prime instigator of the ' is propaganda. More recently, some modern scholars have argued that Ibn Abi Du'ad's role in maintaining the ' under al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq may have been overstated by the sources. Tayeb el-Hibri believed that with the gradual rehabilitation of orthodoxy to the caliphate following the abandonment of Mu'tazilism, orthodox traditionalists became less inclined to discuss the role of the caliphs in fostering the '; as a result, the caliphs were re-imagined as reluctant supporters or even outright opponents of Mu'tazilism and the Inquisition, and the blame for these was instead shifted to Ibn Abi Du'ad. Muhammad Qasim Zaman, who characterized the chief judge as a "much maligned figure" in Sunni sources, likewise saw the portrayal of al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq as halfheartedly continuing the policies of al-Ma'mun as a narrative pushed by traditionalists in an attempt to de-legitimize the '. By making the Inquisition the product of a subordinate official rather than of the caliphs themselves, supporters of orthodoxy hoped to prove the moral bankruptcy of the affair and mitigate the culpability of the caliphs.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * *Tillier, Mathieu. (2009).
Les cadis d’Iraq et l’État abbasside (132/750-334/945).
' Damascus: Institut français du Proche-Orient, 2009. . * * * {{Authority control 770s births 854 deaths 8th-century Arab people 9th-century Arab people Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence 9th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate People from Basra Mu'tazilites Chief qadis of the Abbasid Caliphate