1332 — I heard al-Husayn al-Akhbari say: I read in the accounts of Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi that he related from Dhubayyah al-Madani—whom he had taken with him when he was appointed governor of Damascus—that the reason for his coming to Iraq was that al-Mahdi had summoned from Medina thirty shaykhs who had spoken concerning divine decree and had become known for it. ⦗797⦘ He said:

“I was among them. When we were brought before him, he had them all whipped and held me back. When I was brought forward, he said, ‘You appear to be a young man. Was there no one in Medina older than you with whom the number could have been completed?’

“I replied, ‘There were a number of them, Commander of the Faithful.’

“He said, ‘Then you were only included among them because you are like them.’ He then called for the whips. After I had received one lash, I said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, I adjure you by Allah: let me come near and speak to you, and then you may decide as you see fit.’

“So he brought me forward, and I said: ‘I am a man from the people of Medina. My father had settled there, though he was originally from Wadi al-Qura. He was a wealthy merchant. He taught me the Quran, then instructed me to attend the study circle of Ibn Abi Dhib in the morning and that of Rabiah al-Ray in the evening. Then one day, an old shaykh whom I had never seen before approached me and said, “My son, you have attained knowledge, yet I do not see that you have gained insight into your religion.”

“‘I asked, “What do you mean, uncle?”

“‘He said, “Have you ever seen a disabled person?”

“‘I replied, “Yes.”

“‘He said, “If you saw a man requiring him to climb a palm tree, what would you say?”

“‘I replied, “He is ignorant.”

“‘He said, “And if he struck him for being unable to climb it?” ⦗798⦘

“‘I replied, “He is unjust.”

“‘He said, “My son, this is your judgment concerning a human being; then what of Allah, glorified be He, and His justice? Would you say that He burdens His servants with what lies beyond their capacity and then punishes them for it, despite His saying, Most High: “Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear.” [Surah al-Baqarah 2:286] So, Commander of the Faithful, would you compare me to the disabled man?”’

“Dhubayyah said: Al-Mahdi, the Commander of the Faithful, laughed. He then ordered that my clothes be put back on me. Once I had dressed, he brought me near and said, ‘Answer me, and you are safe: if you were travelling and saw a sick man in the wilderness who asked a man for food, but the man did not feed him, left him behind, and went on his way, what would you say?’

“I replied, ‘He is unjust.’

“He said, ‘Have you known of anyone among Allah’s creatures who was sick in the wilderness and without food or drink?’

“I replied, ‘Many.’

“He said, ‘If he called upon his Lord to save him, would Allah, glorified be He, be able to feed him and give him drink?’

“I replied, ‘O Allah, indeed He would.’

“He said, ‘Would you then say that, if he called upon his Lord to feed him and quench his thirst, but He did not answer his supplication and the man died, Allah had wronged him?’

“I replied, ‘No.’

“He said, ‘Then how can you say such a thing about the One who made you disabled in this manner? All things belong to Allah, Most High; nothing is owed by Him. Injustice can only be attributed to me when something is owed by me to others, not to Allah, Dhubayyah. ⦗799⦘ When faith settles in the heart before argumentation, argumentation cannot dislodge it; but when argumentation settles before faith, a person will shift whenever he is debated by one more skilled in argument than himself.’

“I said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, by Allah, your argument has brought relief to my heart, and I repent.’ He then ordered that I be given a gift and clothing, and he set me free.”

1333 — Shaykh Abu al-Qasim al-Tabari, the hadith master, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The Commander of the Faithful, al-Qadir Billah—may Allah safeguard his life, grant success to his affairs, and enable him in word and deed to do that which pleases his Sovereign—called the Hanafi jurists of the Mutazilah to repentance in the year 408 AH. They publicly recanted and disavowed Mutazilism. He then forbade them from theological speculation, teaching, and debate concerning Mutazilism, Rafidism, and doctrines opposed to Islam and the sunnah. He took their written pledges to this effect: should they ever contravene it, such exemplary punishment and chastisement would befall them as would serve as a warning to others like them.

Yamin al-Dawlah and Amin al-Millah, Abu al-Qasim Mahmud—may Allah strengthen his support—complied with the command of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Qadir Billah, and followed his precedent in the territories entrusted to his rule, in Khurasan and elsewhere: killing, crucifying, imprisoning, and exiling the Mutazilites, Rafidites, Ismailis, Qarmatians, Jahmites, and anthropomorphists; commanding that they be cursed from the pulpits of the Muslims; and banishing every faction among the people of innovation and expelling them from their lands. This became an established practice in Islam throughout the lands, until Allah inherits the earth and all who are upon it, and He is the best of inheritors. This was carried out at the hands of the chamberlain Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Samad, may Allah have mercy on him, in Jumada al-Akhirah of the year 413 AH. May Allah bring it to completion ⦗800⦘ and keep it firm until Allah inherits the earth and all who are upon it, and He is the best of inheritors.