Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad (, death 854) was an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

chief 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 Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad's Mu'tazili views, he was an acting 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 848, however he was not influential and was merely a puppet of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

caliph

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 ...

Background

Muhammad was the son of Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad, who 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 (''

'') 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

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.

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 ...

's reign (r. 847–861) marked a significant break with the policies of

and

. 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.

Appointment

The new caliph initially took no action against Ahmad 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 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.

Dismissal and Imprisonment

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.

Death

His father, Ibn Abi Du'ad survived for only three years after the loss of the (nominal) chief judgeship. He died in June 854, twenty days after the death of Muhammad.; ; (giving an exact death date of June 23, 854); .

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{Authority control 820s births 854 deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate People from Basra Mu'tazilites Chief qadis of the Abbasid Caliphate Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate