The fitna at the New Bridge and the suspension of Friday prayer

فتنة القنطرة الجديدة وتعطل الجمعة

c. October 960 CE · Sha'ban 349 AH

Baghdad

On Thursday 3 Sha'ban 349 a Sunni–Shi'i fitna at the New Bridge suspended Friday prayer in every congregational mosque on both sides — except Baratha, where prayer was held; a band of Banu Hashim blamed for the fitna was jailed in the vizier's house and released next day 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

950960970 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

Baghdad

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Sides

Overview

On Thursday the third of Sha'ban 349 a Sunni–Shi'a fitna broke out at the New Bridge; next day's Friday prayer was suspended in every congregational mosque on both banks except Baratha, where prayer was held. A group of the Banu Hashim were seized and detained at the vizier's house as the fitna's cause, and released next day 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Baghdad

People and things also explored

The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad· Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· The 'Adudi Bimaristan· al-Bimaristan al-Muqtadiri· Bimaristan al-Sayyida· Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)· The Jami' al-Qati'a of Baghdad· The mosque of Qati'at Umm Ja'far

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , p. 687
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The fitna at the New Bridge and the suspension of Friday prayer”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/qantara-fitna-349/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Time

Eras, timelines, this day in history, any year in the Islamic world.
Related

The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad

The Nizamiyya of Baghdad, first and most famous of the madrasas founded by the vizier Nizam al-Mulk al-Tusi: building began in 457 and sisters rose at Nishapur, Isfahan, Herat, Basra, Mosul and Amid; the Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni then Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi taught in it, and it mothered the Sunni institutional model that the later madrasas of Baghdad followed — the caliphs prayed there and Nizam al-Mulk himself visited to inspect its library.