What was the Miḥna, the trial of Imām Aḥmad over the createdness of the Qurʾān?

The Miḥna was an inquisition begun by the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Maʾmūn in 218 AH and continued under al-Muʿtaṣim and al-Wāthiq, in which scholars and judges were compelled, under threat of dismissal, imprisonment and flogging, to profess the Jahmī and Muʿtazilī doctrine that the Qurʾān is created. Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal refused, was imprisoned and beaten, and held to the position of Ahl al-Sunnah that the Qurʾān is the uncreated speech of Allah — argued from verses such as "Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command" (Qurʾān 7:54), which distinguishes Allah's command from His creation, "And Allah spoke to Mūsā directly" (Qurʾān 4:164), and "grant him protection so that he may hear the speech of Allah" (Qurʾān 9:6). The trial ended when al-Mutawakkil came to power and publicly restored the Sunnah, and Imām Aḥmad emerged as the imām of Ahl al-Sunnah in his era. Notably, despite the persecution, he did not call the people to rebel against the rulers, which the Salaf held as part of the correct creed regarding obedience and patience under oppression.

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