- Arabic:
- “Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart”
- English:
- Mutazilites
- Also called:
- Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd
- Related Topics:
- miḥnah
Muʿtazilah
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What is the Muʿtazilah in Islam?
The Muʿtazilah emerged in early Islamic history during a dispute over ʿAlī’s leadership. Those who didn't condemn or support ʿAlī or his opponents took a neutral stance and were called the Muʿtazilah.
By the 10th century, the term specifically referred to an Islamic school of speculative theology that used Hellenistic philosophy to derive its dogmatic points. The Muʿtazilah emphasized God's absolute unity, concluding the Qurʾān was created and not eternal. They also stressed God's justice, stating that humans have free will and are responsible for their actions. Consequently, God must reward good and punish evil.
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When and where did the Muʿtazilah movement begin?
The Muʿtazilah movement, an Islamic school of speculative theology, began in Basra and Baghdad during the 8th to 10th centuries. The name Muʿtazilah first appeared in early Islamic history in a dispute over ʿAlī’s leadership after the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān (656). Those who would neither condemn nor sanction ʿAlī or his opponents took a neutral position and were called the Muʿtazilah.
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What main ideas or beliefs made the Muʿtazilah different from other groups in Islam?
The Muʿtazilah school of Islamic theology emerged in the 8th–10th century CE, advocating reason and logic, influenced by Hellenistic philosophy.
Key differing beliefs:
* God's Unity: They emphasized God's absolute oneness, stating the Qurʾān was created, not eternal, to maintain God's indivisibility.
* God's Justice: They highlighted God's justice, asserting humans have free will and are responsible for their actions, contrasting the orthodox view of divine determinism.
* Promise and Threat: They believed God must reward good and punish evil due to divine justice, a logical necessity.The Muʿtazilah's rational approach clashed with traditionalists, leading to persecution of opponents when they gained state influence. Their views were later rejected by Sunni Muslims but embraced by the Shiʿah.
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How did the Muʿtazilah view the relationship between reason and faith?
The Muʿtazilah, emerging in the 8th century, were early Islamic theologians who gave prominence to reason in theological discourse. They believed that human reason, independent of revelation, could distinguish between good and evil, and that revelation only confirms what reason dictates.
For the Muʿtazilah, God must act in accordance with reason and justice. They viewed God as pure essence, rejecting the concept of eternal attributes to uphold God's absolute unity. They interpreted seemingly deterministic verses of the Qurʾān as metaphors. Revelation, while not redundant, should align with rational ethics, aiding humans in choosing the right path and communicating religious obligations.
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What issue did the Muʿtazilah debate about the nature of the Qur'an?
The Muʿtazilah debated the nature of the Qurʾan, questioning if it was created or co-eternal with God. They asserted that the Qurʾan was created in time, not eternal, to uphold God's absolute unity (tawḥīd). This stance challenged the orthodox view of the Qurʾan as the literal word of God.
Under the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn, the Muʿtazilah's doctrine of the created Qurʾan was declared the state dogma in 827. A tribunal (miḥnah) was established in 833 to prosecute those who dissented, notably the theologian Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. However, around 849, the caliphate under al-Mutawakkil abandoned the Muʿtazilah position.
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How has the legacy of the Muʿtazilah influenced Islamic thought today?
The Muʿtazilah, emerging in the 8th century, were early Islamic neutralists who developed into a school of speculative theology, employing Hellenistic philosophy to define their dogmas. They emphasized God's absolute unity, leading them to conclude that the Qurʾān was created, not eternal.
Their rational approach significantly influenced Islamic thought, though initially met with resistance. Despite being disavowed by Sunni Muslims, their premises were embraced by the Shiʿah. The Muʿtazilah also championed the concept of free will against the orthodox view of determinism, asserting human responsibility for actions.
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Muʿtazilah, in Islam, political or religious neutralists; by the 10th century ce the term had come to refer specifically to an Islamic school of speculative theology (kalām) that flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century).
The name first appears in early Islamic history in the dispute over ʿAlī’s leadership of the Muslim community (ummah) after the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān (656). Those who would neither condemn nor sanction ʿAlī or his opponents but took a middle position were termed the Muʿtazilah.
The theological school is traced back to Wāṣil ibn ʿAṭāʾ (699–749), a student of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, who, by stating that a grave sinner ( fāsiq) could be classed neither as believer nor unbeliever but was in an intermediate position (al-manzilah bayna manzilatayn), withdrew (iʿtazala, hence the name Muʿtazilah) from his teacher’s circle. (The same story is told of ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd [died 762].) Variously maligned as free thinkers and heretics, the Muʿtazilah, in the 8th century, were the first Muslims to use the categories and methods of Hellenistic philosophy to derive their three major and distinctive dogmatic points.
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First, they stressed the absolute unity or oneness (tawḥīd) of God. From this it was logically concluded that the Qurʾān could not be technically considered the word of God (the orthodox view), as God has no separable parts, so the Qurʾān had to be created and was not coeternal with God. Under the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn, this doctrine of the created Qurʾān was proclaimed (827) as the state dogma, and in 833 a miḥnah, or tribunal, was instituted to try those who disputed the doctrine (notably the theologian Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal); the Muʿtazilī position was finally abandoned by the caliphate under al-Mutawakkil about 849. The Muʿtazilah further stressed the justice (ʿadl) of God as their second principle. While the orthodox taught a certain determinism in which all actions, whether good or bad, are ultimately willed by God, the Muʿtazilah posited that God desires only the best for man, but through free will man chooses between good and evil and thus becomes ultimately responsible for his actions. So in the third doctrine, the promise and the threat (al-waʿd wa al-waʿīd), or paradise and hell, God’s justice becomes a matter of logical necessity: God must reward the good (as promised) and must punish the evil (as threatened).
Among the most important Muʿtazilī theologians were Abū al-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf (died c. 841) and al-Naẓẓām (died 846) in Basra and Bishr ibn al-Muʿtamir (died 825) in Baghdad. It was al-Ashʿarī (died 935 or 936), a student of the Muʿtazilī al-Jubbāʾī, who broke the force of the movement by refuting its teachings with the same Hellenistic, rational methods first introduced by the Muʿtazilah. Muʿtazilī beliefs were disavowed by the Sunni Muslims, but the Shiʿah accepted their premises.