Al-Muwaffaq's three wishes: Abu Dawud settles at Basra, c. 272/885

خلال الموفّق الثلاث: استيطان أبي داود البصرة ٢٧٠هـ تقريباً

c. 884 CE · c. 272 AH

Al-Khattabi reported from Abu Bakr ibn Jabir, Abu Dawud's servant: I was with Abu Dawud at Baghdad when, after the sunset prayer, the amir Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq came in. Abu Dawud asked what brought the amir at such an hour, and he answered: three wishes — move to Basra and make it your home so that seekers of knowledge travel to you and it flourishes through you, for it lies ruined and deserted after the ordeal of the Zanj; transmit the Sunan to my sons; and hold them a separate session, for the sons of caliphs do not sit with the common folk. Abu Dawud answered: as for that, there is no way — people are equal in knowledge. So the princes attended, sitting behind a curtain drawn over a sleeve, hearing with the rest ¹. He accordingly settled at Basra ².

Depth

At a glance

Era: Abbasid Fragmentation
Region: Levant & Iraq
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In time

Abbasid Fragmentation

In space

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

Overview

After the sunset prayer at Baghdad the amir Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq came to Abu Dawud and said: three wishes — move to Basra and make it your home so that seekers of knowledge travel to you and it flourishes through you, for it lies ruined and deserted after the ordeal of the Zanj; transmit the Sunan to my sons; and hold them a separate session ¹.

People are equal in knowledge

Abu Dawud answered: as for that, there is no way — people are equal in knowledge. So al-Muwaffaq's sons attended, sitting behind a curtain drawn over a sleeve, hearing with the common folk ³, and Abu Dawud made Basra his home ².

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: Abu Dawud al-Sijistani· Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq
Occurred at: Baghdad· Basra

People and things also explored

Abu Dawud's first journey: Baghdad, Basra and Mecca, 220/835· Abu Ahmad Imprisons His Son Abu al-Abbas al-Mu'tadid· The Sunan composed and shown to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, before 241/855· Death of Abu Dawud al-Sijistani at Basra, 16 Shawwal 275/Feb 889· The division of the realm between al-Mufawwid and al-Muwaffaq· Siege of Baghdad in the strife of al-Musta'in and al-Mu'tazz· The Zanj Enter Basra and Lay It Waste· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari

Sources

Tarikh al-Islam wa-Wafayat al-Mashahir wa-l-A'lam — al-Dhahabi , pp. 361-362
Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 133
Tarikh al-Islam wa-Wafayat al-Mashahir wa-l-A'lam — al-Dhahabi , p. 362

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Muwaffaq's three wishes: Abu Dawud settles at Basra, c. 272/885”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/abu-dawud-muwaffaq-basra-272/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Abu Dawud's first journey: Baghdad, Basra and Mecca, 220/835

In his own words, reported by Abu Ubayd al-Ajurri: he prayed over 'Affan at Baghdad in 220; he entered Basra as they were saying Uthman ibn al-Haytham the mu'adhdhin had died the day before — he had died in Rajab 220 — hearing Abu 'Amr al-Darir in a single session and following 'Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath home without hearing him; and at Mecca, in the pilgrimage days of 220, he heard al-Qa'nabi, Sulayman ibn Harb and others.