said, “I was angry for his sake, so He allowed me to behold His Face.”

His head remained displayed in Baghdad, while his body was crucified in Sāmarrāʾ for six years, until both were taken down and reunited in 237 AH. He was then buried—may Allah have mercy on him.

71 – Aḥmad ibn Abī Dāwūd, Faraj ibn Ḥarīz al-Iyādī

The senior judge, Abū ʿAbd Allah Aḥmad ibn Faraj ibn Ḥarīz al-Iyādī—first of Basra and later of Baghdad—was a Jahmite and an avowed enemy of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

He was an active propagandist for the doctrine that the Quran is created. At the same time, he was renowned for generosity, liberality, refined etiquette, and many virtues.

Al-Ṣūlī said, “The most munificent men of the dynasty were first the Banū al-Barāmikah, then Ibn Abī Dāwūd—were it not for the disgrace he brought upon himself through his love of the inquisition.”

He was born in 160 AH in Basra, and no further generosity could be added to the generosity he already possessed.

Ḥarīz ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Dāwūd related, “Whenever my father prayed, he would raise his hands toward the sky, address his Lord, and say:
‘You are no feeble means; indeed, the success of affairs lies in powerful means.
Today our need is wholly to You, for the physician is summoned only at the hour of pain.’ (1)

Abū al-ʿAynāʾ remarked, “Ibn Abī Dāwūd was a gifted poet, eloquent and articulate; I have never seen a leader more fluent than him.”