Mihna

Mihna, also known as al-Mihnah or the Abbasid inquisition, was a state-sponsored religious controversy and policy implemented by the Abbasid Caliphate in the early 9th century. Initiated in 833 CE during the reign of Caliph al-Ma'mun, its purpose was to impose a specific theological creed on scholars, jurists, and officials as a test of allegiance to the caliphate's authority.

The core issue of the Mihna was the Mu'tazilite doctrine that the Qur'an is created, a belief aligning theology with a rationalist worldview and the caliphate’s political goals. Those who refused to affirm the createdness of the Qur'an faced dismissal, imprisonment, or torture. The most famous respondent to the Mihna was Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who resisted the doctrine and endured imprisonment; his stance became a rallying point for traditionalist currents and later reform movements.

The policy continued with varying intensity under successive caliphs, including al-Wathiq and al-Mutawakkil. It gradually weakened after al-Mutawakkil began to roll back the inquisition, and by around 848 CE the state had repudiated the policy, restoring a freer environment for theological and scholarly discussion. The end of the Mihna did not erase its political and intellectual ramifications, but it marked a shift away from centralized doctrinal enforcement toward a more pluralistic, traditionalist orientation in Islamic thought.

Impact and legacy of the Mihna are debated among historians. It is often cited as a landmark conflict between state power and religious authority, illustrating the periods' tensions between rationalist and traditionalist currents and contributing to the future shaping of Sunni orthodoxy.