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The arrest and killing of Ibn al-Furat and his son

القبض على ابن الفرات وابنه وقتلهما

312 AH

In the year 312 the vizier Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Furat was arrested and his son was sought. Al-Tabari reports that the army commanders incited the young men to demand that the two be killed, so al-Muqtadir ordered them killed, and their heads were thrown into the Tigris 1 2. According to Ibn al-Athir, al-Muhsin, the vizier's son, had been hiding with his aunt, the sister of al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat, dressed as a woman, until a righteous woman whose maidservant had seen him in the house pointed him out to Nasr the chamberlain. Al-Muqtadir ordered Nazuk, the chief of police, to bring him; he was tortured to make him agree to a confiscation, but he refused, saying: «I will not let you combine myself and my wealth against me». The vizier Abu al-Qasim told Mu'nis, Harun ibn Gharib and Nasr the chamberlain to move Ibn al-Furat to the caliphal palace instead of having his wealth extracted, since they could not feel safe while the two of them lived. Nazuk slaughtered them both like sheep. Ibn al-Furat had seen his brother al-Abbas in a dream saying to him: «You and your son are with us on Monday». His son was killed on Monday, thirteen days into Rabi' al-Akhir, and his head was carried to his father, who was alarmed; he was then presented to the sword and said: «Nothing but the sword. Reconsider my case, for I have great wealth and many jewels»; he was told: «The matter is far beyond that». Ibn al-Furat was seventy-one years old and his son thirty-three; al-Muqtadir ordered their heads drowned. Ibn al-Furat used to say that al-Muqtadir would kill him, and his words came true, for the caliph used to answer him with «yes» whenever he spoke to him on any matter 3

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Overview

In 312 AH the vizier Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Furat was arrested, and his son was sought. al-Tabari relates that the commanders of the troops incited the pages (ghilman) to demand their killing, and al-Muqtadir ordered them both killed; their heads were thrown into the Tigris. 1 2

Ibn al-Athir's account

According to Ibn al-Athir, al-Muhsin, the vizier's son, was hiding with his paternal aunt disguised as a woman, until a woman pointed him out. al-Muqtadir ordered Nazuk, the chief of police, to bring him. The account says that he was tortured to make him agree to the confiscation of his property, but he refused. Nazuk then killed them both, and the son was killed on Monday, the thirteenth of Rabi' al-Akhir. Ibn al-Furat was seventy-one years old, and his son was thirty-three. 3

Note

The detail needs an additional source, since the two accounts come from two historians.

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.11 p.104
  2. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.11 p.105
  3. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 112-114
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islam.museum contributors. “The arrest and killing of Ibn al-Furat and his son”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/arrest-and-killing-of-ibn-al-furat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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