Mihna

Al-Ma’mun's motivations for imposing his beliefs upon the members of his government (such as his judges, for the scope of the Mihna was not extended to examining the beliefs of the commoners in the manner of the European Inquisitions) were attributed to his Mu'tazilite intellectual tendencies, his sympathies towards Shia Islam, or a shrewd decision to consolidate his religious authority during a time where the ulama were starting to be seen as the true guardians of religious knowledge and the Prophet's traditions.

However it remains unclear whether the appointment of Ibn Abi Du’ad is a cause or reflection of al-Ma’mun's plans to institute the Mihna.

While there is an overlap between the two schools of thought on this question, Mu’tazilism and Shi’ism were not the only theological currents to subscribe to this belief, therefore there may not necessarily be a link between the two in the event of al-Ma’mun's Mihna.

In a series of letters to his governors, al-Ma’mun's elaborated on the caliph's role as the guardian of God's religion and laws.

He appeared to draw upon the Shi’ite notion that the caliph-imam alone possessed esoteric knowledge, and used this to emphasis his role as an educator to lead the people out of ignorance in religious matters.

In that same year the famous religious scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal was put to the question, to which he answered that the Qu'ran was uncreated.

[8] al-Mu'tassim was afterwards preoccupied with the construction of the new capital at Samarra and with military campaigns, and did not pursue the Mihna as anything more than a courtroom formality (the testimony of a person who answered in the negative was inadmissible in court.

The semi-autonomy of the scholars resulted in the interesting phenomenon of the emergence of different, and regarding some issues, diametrically opposed schools of jurisprudence—all considered Islamically valid and authentic.

The Sunnah (the reliable actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) was given a divine and sacred nature and an important legislative source, in addition to marginalizing opinion and relying on the statements of ancient scholars in resolving theological disputes.