he has already entered your name among the seven—Yahya ibn Maʿin and the others (1)—but I rubbed it out, and it has truly distressed me that they have laid hands on you.
He went on, “The Commander of the Faithful has sworn that he will have you beaten blow after blow, and that he will throw you into a place where you will never see the sun.
“If he gives me the answer I want, I shall go straight to him and set him free with my own hand.” Then he departed.
When morning came (2) his messenger arrived, took me by the hand, and led me in to him. He said to the assembled men, “Debate with him and speak to him.”
They began to dispute with me, and I would respond to them. Whenever they produced an argument that could not be found in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah, I said, “I do not know what this is.”
They would then say, “Commander of the Faithful, whenever the proof is established against us by him (3) he stands firm, but whenever we address him with something else, he says, ‘I do not know what this is.’”
He replied, “Continue debating with him.”
One man said, “Ahmad, I see you citing hadith and making them your support.”
I answered, “What do you say about Allah’s words: ‘Allah instructs you concerning your children: the share of the male equals that of two females’ (Q 4:11)?”
He said, “Allah has confined that verse to the believers.”
I asked, “What is your view if the heir is a murderer or a slave?”
He fell silent. I used this argument only because they were accustomed to relying on the outward wording of the Quran. Since he had said to me, “I see you depending on hadith,” I countered with the Quran—meaning that the Sunnah has specified the murderer and the slave and excluded them from the general wording.
They kept at it until shortly before midday. When he grew weary he said, “Leave.”
Then he remained alone with me and with ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq, speaking to me at length. After a while he rose and went inside, and I was returned to my place.
When the third night came, I said, “It is likely that something concerning me will take place tomorrow…"