In that same year the following masters of hadith passed away: al-Hasan ibn Musa al-Ashyab (1); Abu ʿAli al-Hanafi (2); Hafs ibn ʿAbd Allah, the judge of Nishapur (3); ʿUthman ibn ʿUmar ibn Faris (4); and Yaʿla ibn ʿUbayd al-Tanafisi (5).

Then came the year 210 AH.

In the month of Safar, Nasr ibn Shabath was brought to Baghdad, dispatched by ʿAbd Allah ibn Tahir from al-Raqqah. He entered the city with no contingent of soldiers to receive him; he came in alone. He was first lodged in the quarter of Madinat Abi Jaʿfar and was later moved to another location.

During that same month al-Maʾmun seized a group of leading men who had pledged allegiance to Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi. He punished them and imprisoned them in the Matbaq dungeon.

The reappearance of Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi after his long concealment:

On the night preceding Sunday, with thirteen days of Rabiʿ al-Akhir still remaining, Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi—who had spent six years and some months in hiding from al-Maʾmun, veiled in women’s dress and accompanied by two women—passed through one of the alleyways in the depth of night. A watchman challenged them, saying, “Where are you going at this hour, and from where have you come?” He moved to seize them, but Ibrahim slipped him a ruby ring he was wearing. When the guard examined it he grew suspicious, saying, “This is the ring of a man of high standing.” He therefore took them to the officer of the night patrol, who ordered them to unveil their faces. Ibrahim refused, so they uncovered his face—and it was indeed he. Recognizing him at once, the officer led him to the commander of the bridge and handed him over.