Wikipedia's first sentence called it “significant both as the end of the abbasid caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy”. Today it says “period of religious persecution instituted by the abbasid caliph al-ma'mun in 833 in which sunni scholars were”.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun Map of the Mihna and events associated with it The Mihna ( Arabic : محنة خلق القرآن , romanized : miḥna khalq al-qurʾān , lit. ' ordeal of Quranic createdness ' ) was a period of religious persecution instituted by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 in which Sunni scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conformed to Mu'tazilite doctrine. The policy lasted for eighteen years (833–851) as it continued through the reigns of al-Ma'mun's immediate successors, al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq , and four years of al-Mutawakkil who reversed it in 851. Religion and Politics Under the Early ?Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite .
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The opening as it stood in 2010
The Mihna (محنة, miḥnah ) is an episode that took place in classical Islamic history starting in 218 A.H./833 A.D. and lasting for about fifteen years.
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The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
( Learn how and when to remove this message ) The Miḥnah ( , English: "trial" or "testing") refers to the inquisition first instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 218 AH /833 AD in which religious scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conceded the doctrine of the created nature of the Qur'an .The policy lasted for fifteen years (833–848 CE) as it continued through the reigns of al-Ma'mun's immediate successors, al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq , and two years of al-Mutawakkil who reversed it in 234 AH/848 (or possibly 851) AD.The abolition of Mihna is significant both as the end of the Abbasid Caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy, and as one of the few instances of specifically religious persecution in Medieval Islam.Religion and Politics Under the Early ?Abbasids: The Emrgence of the Proto-Sunni Elite .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 653823443.
The opening as it stood in 2020
( Learn how and when to remove this message ) The Mihna ( , Miḥnat Ḵẖalaq al-Qurʾān "ordeal [regarding] the createdness of the Qur'an ") refers to the period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 Common Era in which religious scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conformed to Muʿtazila doctrine. The policy lasted for fifteen years (833–848 CE) as it continued through the reigns of al-Ma'mun's immediate successors, al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq , and two years of al-Mutawakkil who reversed it in 848 (or possibly 851) . The abolition of Mihna is significant both as the end of the Abbasid Caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy , and as one of the few instances of specifically religious persecution in Medieval Islam. Religion and Politics Under the Early ?Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962505628.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun The Mihna ( , Miḥnat khalaq al-Qurʾān "ordeal [regarding] the createdness of the Qur'an ") refers to the period of religious persecution instituted by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE in which religious scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conformed to Muʿtazila doctrine. The policy lasted for eighteen years (833–851 CE) as it continued through the reigns of al-Ma'mun's immediate successors, al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq , and four years of al-Mutawakkil who reversed it in 851. The abolition of Mihna is significant both as the end of the Abbasid Caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy , and as one of the few instances of religious persecution among fellow Muslims in Medieval Islam. Religion and Politics Under the Early ?Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178933314.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “significant both as the end of the abbasid caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy”. Today it says “period of religious persecution instituted by the abbasid caliph al-ma'mun in 833 in which sunni scholars were”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
significant both as the end of the abbasid caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy
Now
period of religious persecution instituted by the abbasid caliph al-ma'mun in 833 in which sunni scholars were
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
