Mughatil ibn Bakri

Who is Mughatil ibn Bakri?

Mughatil ibn Atieh Bakri was allegedly a Medieval authority of the Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad, and son in law of Nizam al-Mulk. He is known only by a treatise that he wrote, in which he recounts in detail a Sunni - Shia debate taking place in the court of Sultan Malik Shah I.

The text was written in Arabic under the title "مؤتمرعلماء بغداد" and has been translated into Persian under the title In search of Truth in Baghdad. It has also appeared under the title "راهي به سوي حقيقت" with ISBN 964-93287-8-5. The text's authenticity is under question, as well as its attribution to ibn Atieh Bakri in light of the fact that few copies of it were known and all from centuries after the death of Mughatil.

According to the text, the debate took place with the Shah and his vizier Nizam ul-Mulk as arbiters, while the Sunni and Shia sides each offered their case to the Sultan. The debate finally ends with the Shia side convincing the Sultan and his Vizier to voluntarily convert to the Shia faith. This, according to the author, aroused the rage of some extremists of the Sunni establishment, eventually resulting in the assassination of both the Vizier and the Sultan.