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The Ransoming of Muslim Captives from the Byzantines in the Year Thirty-One

استفكاك الأسرى المسلمين من الروم سنة إحدى وثلاثين

c. 846 CE · 231 AH

In 231 al-Wathiq ransomed 1,600 Muslim captives from the Byzantines; Ibn Abi Du'ad ruled that any captive who affirmed the Quran created be freed and given two dinars, and whoever refused be left in captivity 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Anatolia · Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

830840850860 c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate

Overview

Al-Suyuti says that in 231 AH the caliph al-Wathiq ransomed one thousand six hundred Muslim captives from the Byzantines. 1

The condition of the ransom

Al-Suyuti relates that Ibn Abi Duad said: whoever among the captives says the Qur'an is created will be released and given two dinars, and whoever refuses will be left in captivity. 1

A second source is needed to confirm the event and its details, since the museum has only this passage of the book.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
al-Wathiq· Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad

People and things also explored

Killing of Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i· Al-Wathiq installs Ashinas al-Turki over the sultanate· Death of al-Wathiq· Sallam the Interpreter's mission to the barrier of Gog and Magog· Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Azdi· Abu Muhallim· Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i· al-Mu'tasim Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 530
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Ransoming of Muslim Captives from the Byzantines in the Year Thirty-One”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/wathiq-captive-ransom-231/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Killing of Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i

In 231 al-Wathiq killed Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i, a hadith man devoted to commanding right. Brought shackled from Baghdad to Samarra, he refused createdness, transmitted the vision hadith — 'you lie?' — 'you lie!' — and the Mu'tazili jurists ruled his blood lawful. Al-Wathiq struck his neck himself upon the nat'a, his head was crucified at Baghdad and his body at Sur man Ra'a for six years until al-Mutawakkil buried him; a note in its ear named him and his charge, and the appointed watchman swore he saw the head turn to the qibla and recite Ya-Sin.