 Another passage from Epistle 31 (III, 153, 11–156, 9) might urge to suppose that the authors' target was the caliph al-Ma’mûn, in spite of his pro-‘Alid policy (and political support of Mu‘tazilism). The Ikhwân report on a ruler, who encouraged politico-religious controversies among the ‘ulamâ’ (learned) of different persuasions, claiming for himself the right to interpret the Law on the basis of the Mu‘tazili doctrine of the created Qur’ân. Juxtaposed to him is ahl bayt al-nubuwwa (the immediate family of the Prophet: Muhammad, his daughter Fâtima, his cousin and son-in-law ‘Alî and their sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn) as the guarantors of the true tradition concerning prophetic succession. The Ikhwân could then still be identified with the supporters of the strict ‘Alid conception of the imamate, according to which the science of caliphate belongs to the family of the Prophet only.