the opening days of 202 AH. He then gained control of Kufa, Baghdad, and the Sawad; but when al-Maʾmun drew near to Iraq, Ibrahim’s strength ebbed.

It is related that on the Day of Sacrifice he mounted in the full regalia of the caliphate and rode to the prayer-ground, led the people in prayer while keeping an eye on al-Maʾmun’s army, entertained the populace in the palace, and then went into hiding.

Al-Maʾmun captured him in 210 AH, pardoned him, and he thereafter remained in honor (1).

Abu Muḥallim reports that when Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi was ushered into al-Maʾmun’s presence he said, “My sin is weightier than any excuse, yet your pardon is too great for any sin to overawe it.” (2)

It is also said that, after he made his apology—eight years after his uprising—al-Maʾmun forgave him, calling out, “Come here, uncle! Come here, uncle!” (3)

Ibn ʿAsakir, in his biographical entry, cites a hadith through Aḥmad ibn al-Haytham: “Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi narrated to us, ‘Ḥammād al-Abahh narrated to us…’” It would seem that this refers to the transmitter from Maṣṣīṣah.

Ibrahim al-Harbi said, “In 208 AH a proclamation was issued that the Commander of the Faithful had pardoned his uncle Ibrahim. Ibrahim was handsome of face, masterful in song, and a delightful companion. I once saw him riding a donkey, and al-Qawārīrī kissed his thigh. (4)

Mansur ibn al-Mahdi said, “Whenever my brother Ibrahim merely cleared his throat, everyone who heard him was enraptured; when he sang, even the wild beasts would draw near and lay their heads in his lap, and when he fell silent they would flee. Whenever he sang, no one present remained except in a state of sheer wonder.”