At a glance
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
Overview
Historical books relate that Harun al-Rashid seized a heretic (zindiq) and ordered his neck struck. 2
The dialogue
The heretic asked him why he was being killed, and al-Rashid answered that he would relieve the servants of God from him. The heretic said that he had forged a thousand hadiths on the Messenger of God, not one letter of which he had uttered. Al-Rashid replied that Abu Ishaq al-Fazari and Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak sift them, bringing them out letter by letter. 2
The report is linked to the subject of the continuity of the chain and the protection of hadith from forgery. This is al-Suyuti's report, and the authenticity of its chain needs an additional source.
Connections
- Had participant
- Harun al-Rashid
- Related to
- Connectedness of the isnad and proven hearing
People and things also explored
Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· Isnad· The Aman of Samalu and its People's Transfer to Baghdad· Death of Harun al-Rashid at Tus· Umar's Expulsion of the Christians of Najran· The Building of Madinat al-Hadath· The Building of al-Rafiqa· The Garrisoning of Sur man Ra'a (Samarra)
Sources
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 467
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.467
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Harun al-Rashid's Exchange with a Zindiq on Hadith”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/zindiq-hadith-sifters/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.