Mutazilism and the abortive coup of al-Khuzai during reign of 9th Claiph of Abbasid Caliphate

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Mutazilism and the abortive coup of al-Khuzai during reign of 9th Claiph of Abbasid Caliphate

Like his father, al-Wathiq was an ardent Mu'tazilite—the sources agree that he was strongly influenced by the chief qadi, Ibn Abi Duwad[31]—but also, like his father, maintained good relations with the Alids.[3][20] In the third year of his caliphate, al-Wathiq revived the inquisition (mihna), sending officials to question jurists on their views on the controversial topic of the createdness of the Quran.[32] Al-Wathiq supported the Mu'tazili view that the Quran was created and not eternal, and hence fell within the authority of a God-guided imam (i.e., the caliph) to interpret according to the changing circumstances.[33] Even during a prisoner exchange held with the Byzantine Empire in 845, the ransomed Muslim prisoners were questioned on their opinions regarding the topic, with those giving unsatisfactory answers reportedly left to remain in captivity.[32][34] Thus Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, who opposed the Mu'tazili doctrine, was forced to cease his teachings and only resumed them after al-Wathiq's death.[32]

In 846, a well-respected notable, Ahmad ibn Nasr ibn Malik al-Khuza'i, a descendant of one of the original missionaries of the Abbasid Revolution, launched a plot in Baghdad to overthrow al-Wathiq, his Turkic commanders, and the Mu'tazilite doctrines.[35][36] His followers distributed money to the people, and the date for the uprising was scheduled for the night of 4/5 April 846. However, according to al-Tabari, those who were supposed to sound a drum as the signal to rise got drunk and did so a day early, and there was no response.[36][37] Khatib al-Baghdadi on the other hand reports simply that an informer gave the plot away to the authorities.[35] The deputy governor of the city, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim—the governor, his brother Ishaq, was absent—inquired on the event, and the conspiracy was revealed. Al-Khuza'i and his followers were arrested and brought before al-Wathiq at Samarra.[38]

The Caliph interrogated al-Khuza'i publicly, though more on the thorny theological issue of the createdness of the Quran rather than on the actual rebellion. Ahmad's answers enraged al-Wathiq so much, that the Caliph took al-Samsamah, a famous sword of the pre-Islamic period, and personally joined in the execution of Ahmad, along with the Turks Bugha al-Sharabi and Sima al-Dimashqi. Ahmad's corpse was publicly displayed next to the gibbet of Babak in Baghdad, while twenty of his followers were thrown into prison.[39][40][41]

The same year there was a break-in at the public treasury (bayt al-mal) in Samarra. Thieves made off with 42,000 silver dirhams and a small amount of gold dinars. The sahib al-shurta (chief of security), Yazid al-Huwani, a deputy of Itakh, pursued and caught them.[42] Turner points out that this episode may provide some premonition of the crisis to erupt in later decades: security even at the main palace was lax, and, based on the thieves' loot, the treasury appears to have been almost empty at the time.
So friends tomorow we will be discribe
War with the Byzantine Empire
Allah hafiz

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