If you’re a fan of period series and looking for something different and related to Islamic culture made by Arabs and not xenophobic, stereotyping Western media - then I’d recommend you to watch The Imam series on YouTube that comes with English subtitles.
Produced by Qatari TV and directed by Syrian director Abdulbari abu Al Khair, it streamed on different Arabic channels on Ramadhan 2017.
This TV series talks about the life story of one of the four most important Imams in the Islamic Sunni faith, Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780-855 AD). Ibn Hanbal was the eponym of the Hanbali School of Islamic jurisprudence (the interpretation of religious laws), a scholar and a theologian.
He lived during the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad and witnessed the rule of five caliphs: Harun Al Rashid, his sons Al Mamun and Al Mutasim and later Al Mutasim’s sons Al Wathiq and Al Mutawakil.
During the rule of Al Mamun, a theological crisis occurred known as the Mihna that questioned whether the Quran was created or revealed. This was promoted by the Al Mutazila – a sect created by Wasil ibn Ata (700-748 AD) who was influenced by ancient Greek philosophy. The Al Mutazila were empowered by Caliph Al Mamun and started persecuting religious figures who went against their doctrine. Ibn Hanbal was pressurised to adopt the believes of the Al Mutazila regarding the creation of Quran, which he strongly refuted as it was the word of God.
Consequently, during the rule of Caliph Al Mutasim he spent almost two years in prison - being whipped till he lost conscious - even though he was an old man at the time. When Al Mutasim’s son Al Wathiq was enthroned, ibn Hanbal was ordered to leave Baghdad to stop his opposing ideas and influence but he never did.
Instead, he went into hiding that even the Al Mutazila spies couldn’t find his whereabouts.
Fortunately, the situation improved when Al Mutawakil came to power as he ousted immediately the Al Mutazila from authoritative positions, restoring back Sunni beliefs instead of the Al Mutazila’s principles that were forced upon different mosques and religious circles.
Al Mutawakil insisted on compensating ibn Hanbal with gifts and money for all the misfortunes he went through during the times of his predecessors. However, Ibn Hanbal refused and considered these amends an ordeal from God worse than being imprisoned and tortured by Caliph Al Mutasim.
The Imam series was filmed between Lebanon and Turkey and took more than two years in production. It had more than 70 actors from seven different Arab countries and was executed in classic Arabic language.
The main character of ibn Hanbal was played by Syrian actor Mehyar Khadour, who perfected the role of the aged theologian with all his seriousness and asceticism. His mother - played by Giana Eid - was a great influence on his character and the reason why he pursued his religious studies.
Ibn Hanbal’s seek for knowledge, his private and social life were cleverly used to understand his personality and relate to it. All other actors were convincing in their respective roles.
The costumes and sets representing the Abbasid period were impressive as well as the fictional side stories that highlighted how people lived in that era. Main historical events during the rule of each caliph were demonstrated with great details such as the war against the Romans at the time of Harun Al Rashid together with the rise of Al Mutazila: how their main leaders reached positions of power and ended being ousted and prosecuted.
The series’ English subtitles was generally good. However, a profanity was used once to translate the word ‘stupid’ in Arabic (which I found funny given the religious nature of the series!). The Imam is very engaging and highly recommended to all.
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