The deposition of al-Rashid billah by a jurists' attestation

خلع الراشد بالله بالمحضر الفقهي

c. 1136 CE · 16 Dhu al-Qa'da 530 AH

On sultan Mas'ud's return, al-Rashid went out to Mosul; the judges, notables and scholars wrote an instrument of testimony — injustice, seizure of wealth, bloodshed, wine — and asked the jurists whether such a one's imamate holds and whether the sultan of the day may depose him. They fatwa'd the deposition lawful; Ibn al-Karkhi, judge of the city, ruled it, and his uncle Muhammad ibn al-Mustazhir was hailed al-Muqtafi on 16 Dhu'l-Qa'da 530. Ibn al-Jawzi cites al-Suli: people say every sixth caliph is deposed ¹.

Overview

After the return of the sultan Mas'ud to Baghdad, the caliph al-Rashid went out to Mosul. The judges, notables and scholars gathered and wrote a record with the testimony of a group on the injustice attributed to al-Rashid: seizing money, shedding blood and drinking wine. ¹

The fatwa and the allegiance

They consulted the jurists: is the imamate of one who did this valid, and may the sultan of the time depose him if his wickedness is proven? They ruled that he could be deposed, and the city's judge Ibn al-Karkhi gave the judgement. Then they gave their allegiance to his uncle Muhammad ibn al-Mustazhir, who was titled al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah, on 16 Dhu al-Qa'da 530 AH. ¹

Al-Suyuti quotes Ibn al-Jawzi that al-Suli mentioned the saying of the people that every "sixth" is deposed, and Ibn al-Jawzi comments that he found this strange. ¹

Note

The Gregorian date is derived from the Hijri date. The record of testimony is as al-Suyuti gives it, and passing judgement on it needs an additional source.

The deposition of the caliph al-Rashid and the bay'a to al-Muqtafi, 530

In 530 conflict broke out between Sultan Mas'ud and caliph al-Rashid bi'llah; armies were mustered, the caliph left for Mosul, and Mas'ud entered Baghdad, seized the palace, and produced al-Mustarshid's letter — whoever leaves Baghdad to fight the Sultan has deposed himself — so the jurists who were asked ruled for deposition, and he was deposed on Monday 16 Dhu al-Qa'da by the hakim's ruling and the fuqaha's fatwa, while his uncle al-Muqtafi was summoned and given the caliphate's bay'a.

The deposition of al-Rashid billah by a jurists' attestation

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Overview

The fatwa and the allegiance

Note

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The deposition of the caliph al-Rashid and the bay'a to al-Muqtafi, 530