The Mihna

The Mihna was an attempt by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun to impose his own theological views on his subjects. This is what comes closest to the Spanish Inquisition in Islamic history. Mihna means ‘testing or ‘trial’. He wanted people to believe the Quran was created. The Mihna continued after al-Mamun’s death under his successors al Mustasim (r. 833-42) and al-Wathiq (r. 842-7), and was finally ended in 861 (refer to pages 97-99 in Mecca The Sacred City, Ziauddin Sardar, Bloomsbury, 2015 )

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