He also said, “A Book whose verses have been perfected and then set out in detail” (Qur’an 11:1). It is Allah who perfected it; therefore He is its Creator and Originator.

The letter continues: “A number of people whose outward piety is but a lie—who display a show of humility for other than Allah—have died while still holding that view. The Commander of the Faithful judges them to be the worst elements of the community. By the life of the Commander of the Faithful, the greatest liars are those who fabricate against Allah and His revelation, failing to know Him as He ought to be known. Bring together the judges and test them concerning what they say. Inform them that I will neither employ anyone nor place my trust in a man whose religious integrity is doubtful. If they concur, order them, in the presence of the witnesses, to give an explicit statement, question them about their knowledge of the Qur’an, and reject the testimony of anyone who does not acknowledge that it is created (1).”

Al-Maʾmun also wrote concerning seven individuals—Muḥammad ibn Saʿd, Ibn Maʿīn, Abū Khaythama, Abū Muslim al-Mustamlī, Ismāʿīl ibn Dāwūd, and Aḥmad al-Dawraqī. They were examined and they complied (2). Ibn Maʿīn later said, “We lost our nerve, fearing the sword” (3).

He then ordered the arrest of those who had refused: Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, Abū Ḥassān al-Ziyādī, al-Qawārīrī, Sajjāda, ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd, Isḥāq ibn Abī Isrāʾīl, ʿAlī ibn Abī Muqātil, Dhiyyāl ibn al-Haytham, Qutayba ibn Saʿīd, Saʿdawayh, and others. Some wavered, but Aḥmad and Ibn Nūḥ held firm; they were fettered and sent off. When they reached al-Raqqa, news came of al-Maʾmun’s death—he had fallen ill on the frontier.

As death approached, he summoned his son al-ʿAbbās to come to him. The son arrived at his father’s very last breath, while letters had already been dispatched to the provinces bearing the heading: “From al-Maʾmun and his brother Abū Isḥāq the Caliph…”