The Mu‘tazilah are an Islamic sect that emerged in the late Umayyad period and flourished in the Abbasid period. They relied on pure reason in understanding creed due to being influenced by some imported philosophies, which led to their deviation from the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah.
They have been called various names, such as: the Mu‘tazilah, the Qadariyyah, the ‘Adliyyah, the People of Justice and Tawhid, the Muqtasidah, and the Wa‘idiyyah (al-Mawsu‘ah al-Muyassarah fi al-Adyan wa al-Madhahib wa al-Ahzab al-Mu‘asirah, Dr. Mani‘ ibn Hammad al-Juhani, d. 1423 AH, Dar al-Nadwah, vol. 2, p. 69; al-Madkhal li Dirasat al-Shari‘ah al-Islamiyyah, p. 73).
Their emergence
The reality is that the rise of the Mu‘tazilah was the product of a historical development of ideas and beliefs born from pure rational examination of religious texts. This came about due to influence from Greek and Indian philosophy, as well as Jewish and Christian beliefs. Before the Mu‘tazilah emerged as a distinct intellectual sect under Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, there was already theological debate based on argumentative statements that became the early foundations of Mu‘tazili thought.
Some reports trace their denial of the attributes of Allah to Jewish philosophical origins, as al-Ja‘d ibn Dirham took his ideas from Aban ibn Sam‘an, who took them from Talut, who took them from his uncle Labid ibn al-A‘sam, the Jew (Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu‘ al-Fatawa 5/20).
It is also said that the debates of Jahm ibn Safwan with the Samaniyyah (Samaniyyah: a group of Indian philosophers who deny all knowledge except sensory knowledge; see Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu‘ al-Fatawa 5/22) led him to doubt his religion and to innovate the denial of Allah’s attributes. Likewise, the thought of John of Damascus was also a source of Mu‘tazili ideas, as he held the concept of the “best” (al-aslah), denied the eternal attributes, and affirmed human free will. (Ibn Taymiyyah quoting Ibn Abd al-Barr in Majmu‘ al-Fatawa 3/264: “The people of the Sunnah are agreed on affirming all the attributes mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah, believing in them and taking them upon their reality, not figuratively. They do not specify or define the exact nature of any of them. As for the innovators — the Jahmiyyah, all of the Mu‘tazilah, and the Khawarij — they all deny them and do not take any of them upon their reality. They claim that whoever affirms them is a mushabbih, and they are — according to those who affirm them — negating the worshipped Lord. The truth regarding them is what was said by those who spoke in accordance with what the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, state, and they are the Imams of the Jama‘ah.”).
Their rise
The Mu‘tazilah became prominent as a sect under Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, a student of al-Hasan al-Basri. A man once entered upon al-Hasan al-Basri and said: “O Imam of the religion, in our time a group has appeared who declare the doers of major sins to be disbelievers, considering the major sin to be disbelief that expels from Islam.
These are the Wa‘idiyyah from among the Khawarij. Another group defers judgement on the doers of major sins, holding that the major sin does not harm one’s faith, and that deeds are not a pillar of faith. They say that a sin does not harm with faith just as obedience does not benefit with disbelief. These are the Murji’ah of the Ummah. How do you judge this matter for us in creed?”
Al-Hasan paused to think before answering, but Wasil ibn ‘Ata’ spoke first: “I do not say that the doer of a major sin is a believer without qualification, nor that he is an absolute disbeliever. Rather, he is in a position between the two, neither a believer nor a disbeliever.”
He then stood and moved to one of the columns of the masjid, explaining his answer to a group of al-Hasan’s students. Al-Hasan said: “Wasil has separated from us,” so he and his followers were called Mu‘tazilah for separating from the view of the entire Ummah (al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/61–62; al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, al-Baghdadi, p. 105).
The scholars from among the Tabi‘in at that time, along with the majority of the Ummah, held that the doer of a major sin from the Ummah of Islam is a believer due to his knowledge of the Messengers and the Books revealed by Allah, and his recognition that what came from Allah is true. However, he is a sinner due to his major sin, and his sinfulness does not remove from him the name of faith or Islam. This was the view of the early generations of the Ummah from the Companions and the prominent Tabi‘in (al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, p. 108).
Their spread
The Mu‘tazili movement spread across the Islamic lands and attracted prominent figures such as Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd, Abu al-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf, and Ibrahim al-Nazzam. These figures had far-reaching influence in various fields of intellectual life. Their theory of knowledge was based on reason, as they allowed reason unrestricted freedom to examine every matter, without any limitation. They gave reason the right to inquire into the heavens, the earth, the essence of Allah, the human being, and both the most subtle and most vast matters (Duhā al-Islam, Ahmad Amin, 3/86 — The author Ahmad Amin is one of the modernist rationalists of our era, who elevated reason to the extent of rejecting authentic hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and defended the Mu‘tazilah against Ahl al-Sunnah. See what his son Jalal says about him in his memoirs, p. 303–304).
Their divisions
The Mu‘tazilah split into multiple factions, each named after its leader. Among the most notable are:
- Al-Wasiliyyah: followers of Wasil ibn ‘Ata’ al-Makhzumi, their freedman (d. 131 AH).
- Al-Nazzamiyyah: followers of Ibrahim ibn Sayyar al-Nazzam (d. 185 AH).
- Al-Jahiziyyah: followers of al-Jahiz, Abu ‘Uthman ‘Amr ibn Bahr ibn Mahbub ibn Fazarah al-Laythi al-Kinani al-Basri (d. 255 AH).
The most prominent reasons their ideas expanded beyond the five principles
Like other sects, the Mu‘tazilah began with limited and confined beliefs, focused on their five principles mentioned by al-Khayyat. However, their deep engagement and expansion in researching and explaining them led to the development of many secondary issues stemming from these principles and from other sources. The most prominent reasons for this include:
- They did not adhere to The Qur’an and The Sunnah and relied instead on reason, to the extent that they gave it precedence over revelation. This had a profound effect on causing disputes and sharp disagreements among them.
- They opened themselves to reading and studying Greek philosophy, taking ideas from it and mixing them with the correct Islamic creed that comes from revelation. Their philosophical source was corrupt, and their failure to adhere to the Book and Sunnah caused them to differ in opinions, to increase in fruitless argumentation, and to divide into numerous factions, which some counted at over twenty. Each faction had its own leaders, views, and specific doctrines.
This is not surprising. The Sunnah unites, while innovation divides. The people of truth are called “Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah” because they adhere to the Sunnah and are united upon it. The people of falsehood are called “the people of innovation and division” because they split and disagree.
We ask Allah for steadfastness upon Islam, the Sunnah, and the Jama‘ah until we meet Him, and until we drink from the basin of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a drink after which we will never thirst again, on the day when he will say to the people of innovation, “Away with you, away with you.”
Imam al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH) said: “His words ‘they changed after you’ — if it were disbelief, he would have said ‘they disbelieved after you.’ The closest meaning is changing the Sunnah, and this applies to the people of innovation.
Those who said it refers to hypocrisy are not far from the intended meaning, because the hypocrites only took the Sharia as a cover, not as worship. They placed it in other than its proper place, which is the essence of innovation.
This also applies to anyone who adopts the Sunnah and acts upon it as a trick to gain worldly benefit, not as worship for Allah, for that is changing it and removing it from its proper Sharia position” (al-I‘tisam 1/96).
An-Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said in his commentary on this hadith: “The scholars differed regarding the meaning of this. One opinion is… and a third opinion is that it refers to the people of sins and major wrongdoings who died upon tawhid, and to the people of innovation who did not leave Islam due to their innovation” (Sharh al-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim 3/136–137).
Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said: “Our scholars, may Allah have mercy on them all, said: Everyone who apostasised from the religion of Allah, or introduced into it what Allah does not approve of and did not permit, is among those driven away from the basin and kept far from it.
The most severely driven away are those who opposed the Jama‘ah of the Muslims and left their path, such as the Khawarij in all their factions, the Rafidah in their various forms of misguidance, and the Mu‘tazilah in their different desires.
All of these are changers of the religion, as are the tyrannical oppressors who commit excessive injustice, obliterate the truth, kill its people, and humiliate them; those who openly commit major sins; those who make light of disobedience; and all groups of deviation, desires, and innovation” (al-Tadhkirah fi Ahwal al-Mawta wa al-Dar al-Akhirah, p. 352).
Their Leader Wasil Ibn Ata
Wasil ibn Ata was among the most prominent of those influenced by opposing the way of the Salaf, due to doubts entering upon him and his being affected by them, which led him to establish one of the most notable Islamic groups that contributed to shaping the history of Islamic creed over hundreds of years.
His biography
He is Abu Hudhayfa Wasil ibn Ata, the Muʿtazili from Basra, an eloquent man of letters, an orator, a fluent poet, a theologian, a verbose speaker, and big-mouthed. He was silent by nature, very long-necked, and known as al-Ghazal because he used to walk around the yarn market to give charity to the women who sold yarn. He was a freed slave of Banu Dubba, and it was said: a freed slave of Banu Makhzum.
He was one of the eloquent imams who spoke on the sciences of kalam and other matters. He had a lisp with the letter ra, pronouncing it as ghayn, so despite his mastery of language and his breadth of vocabulary, he would avoid using any word containing the letter ra in his speech. When he received letters containing the letter ra, he would replace the words containing it with others, even in verses from the Quran. Of what was said about him:
- “He makes the burr into qamḥ in his expressions” — In Arabic, burr (بُرّ) means wheat, and qamḥ (قمح) also means wheat. The poet is saying that Wasil would deliberately replace the word burr with qamḥ when speaking.
- “And avoids the ra, even scheming for poetry” — Wasil had trouble pronouncing the Arabic letter ر (ra), so he would change his wording to avoid it, even when composing poetry.
- “And when unable to use maṭar in speech / He turned to al-ghayth, fearing the maṭar” — Maṭar (مطر) means rain, but it contains a ra, so he would instead use al-ghayth (الغيث), which also means rain, to avoid pronouncing ra.
(See his biography in: Wafayat al-Aʿyan wa Anbaʾ Abnaʾ al-Zaman 7/6, no. 768, 1900 CE print; al-Lawamiʿ al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah wa Sawatiʿ al-Asrar al-Athariyyah li-Sharh al-Durra al-Muḍiyyah fi ʿAqd al-Firqa al-Marḍiyyah 12/1; Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubalaʾ 5/464, no. 210; Mizan al-Iʿtidal 4/329, no. 9325; al-Wafi bil-Wafayat 27/245; al-Aʿlam 8/107–109; Muʿjam al-Muʾallifin 13/159; Tawḍih al-Mushtabih 8/203–204, 1st ed. 1993 CE, Muʾassasat al-Risalah – Beirut; Lisan al-Mizan 6/214–215, no. 752).
One poet said to a man:
أجعلت وصلي الراء لم تنطق به وقطعتني حتى كأنك واصل
Did you make my connection with you the ra you do not pronounce
And cut me off until it is as if you were Wasil
(See Khutbah in which he avoided the ra in Nawadir al-Makhtutat by ʿAbd al-Salam Muhammad Harun, 2/134–135, 1393 AH – 1973 CE, Maktabat Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi – Egypt).
He was born in the year 80 AH in the city of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and died in 131 AH. He heard from al-Hasan al-Basri and others, and he sat with Abu Hashim ibn al-Hanafiyyah (He is ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib, Abu Hashim, one of the leaders of the Alawites in the Marwanid era, and among those who laid the foundations for the Abbasid state. The Rafidah claim that the imamate was transferred to him after his father ʿAbd Allah. He died in 99 AH. See: Mizan al-Iʿtidal 2/483, no. 4533).
Ibn Wasil was a corrupt man.
He authored many works, including:
- Asnaf al-Murjiʾah (The Categories of the Murjiʾah),
- At-Tawbah (Repentance)
- Maʿani al-Qurʾan (The Meanings of the Qur’an)
- Al-Manzilah bayn al-Manzilatayn (The Position Between Two Positions)
- Tabaqat Ahl al-ʿIlm wa al-Jahl (The Classes of the People of Knowledge and Ignorance)
- Al-Sabil ila Maʿrifat al-Haqq (The Path to Knowing the Truth)
- Al-Khuṭab fi al-Tawhid wa al-ʿAdl (The Sermons on Monotheism and Justice),
- Kitab ma Jara baynah wa bayna ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd (The Book of What Occurred Between Him and ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd), and others.
Wasil’s Move From The Sunnah & The Cause Of The Change
Wasil ibn Ata is considered the first to write in kalam, argumentation, and dispute with Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamaʿah. He was the leader of the Muʿtazilah and the first to be called Muʿtazili. He left the gathering of al-Hasan al-Basri and was named accordingly after having sat with him. This was when disagreement arose regarding the ruling on the perpetrator of a major sin.
The Khawarij said he is a disbeliever, while Ahl al-Sunnah said they are believers even if they commit major sins. Wasil ibn Ata departed from both groups and said: The sinner from this ummah is neither a believer nor a disbeliever, but in a position between two positions.
Al-Hasan expelled him from his gathering, so Wasil left him. Al-Hasan said: Wasil has separated from us. ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd sat with him, so he and his followers were called Muʿtazilah for their separation.
The reason the man asked al-Hasan al-Basri was that in the time of the Prophet ﷺ there was no delving into these issues, nor in the early period of Islam; this only occurred in the later part of the era of the younger Companions (See: al-Aʿlam 8/109; Muʿjam al-Muʾallifin 13/159; al-Lawamiʿ al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah 12/1; Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubalaʾ 5/464; Aʿyan al-ʿAsr wa Aʿwan al-Naṣr 1/40, 1st ed. 1418 AH – 1998 CE, Dar al-Fikr al-Muʿasir – Beirut; al-Wafi bil-Wafayat 27/245; Tawḍih al-Mushtabih 8/203–204; Lisan al-Mizan 6/214–215; al-Majmuʿ fi Tarjamat al-Shaykh Hamad ibn Muhammad al-Ansari 2/513).
It is clear that the cause of Wasil ibn Ata’s deviation from the madhhab of Ahl al-Sunnah was the doubt that entered his heart, which corrupted him, leading him to oppose the texts of the Quran and Sunnah with his intellect.
What worsened matters was that Wasil established his own madhhab apart from Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamaʿah, contrary to what the Salaf of the ummah were upon. He spread the madhhab of Iʿtizal, sending his companions ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Harith to the Maghrib, Hafs ibn Salim to Khurasan, al-Qasim to Yemen, Ayyub to al-Jazirah, al-Hasan ibn Dhakwan to Kufah, and ʿUthman al-Tawil to Armenia (See: al-Aʿlam 8/109; Muʿjam al-Muʾallifin 13/159).
Among his calls were: the claim that the Quran is created, withholding judgment on the justice of those involved in the Battle of the Camel, saying that one of the two parties was sinful without specifying which, and saying:
If ʿAli, ʿAʾishah, and Talhah testified before me regarding a bundle of greens, I would not judge by their testimony; the doctrine of al-manzilah bayn al-manzilatayn regarding the sinner from the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ; and taking the view of Maʿbad al-Juhani in qadar, except that he said Allah knows things before they occur, but human actions are neither by His will nor His creation. He was among those who denied the attributes of Allah Most High.
These innovations that Wasil ibn Ata put forth became the foundations upon which the Muʿtazili creed in belief was built. To these were later added other innovations, which the Muʿtazilah codified in what they called their Five Principles. Major tribulations arose from them against Ahl al-Sunnah, as they forced people by power to believe that the Quran was created and not revealed (See: Haqiqat al-Bidʿah wa Ahkamuha 1/117–118; Maʿarij al-Qabul bi-Sharh Sullam al-Wusul 3/913, 1st ed. 1410 AH – 1990 CE, Dar Ibn al-Qayyim – Dammam).
From this it becomes clear the impact that doubt had on Wasil ibn Ata, until he established the Muʿtazili madhhab.
Al-Taḥawwulāt al-Madhhabiyyah al-ʿAqāʾidiyyah ʿinda al-Salaf wa al-Muʿtazilah wa al-Ashāʿirah (The Doctrinal Shift From the Salaf, To The Muʿtazilah, and the Ashʿaris) By ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Pg 223-226
Definition of the Mu‘tazilah & Their Methodology
The Mu‘tazilah are an Islamic sect that emerged in the late Umayyad period and flourished in the Abbasid period. They relied on pure reason in understanding the Islamic creed due to being influenced by some imported philosophies, which led them to deviate from the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah. They were given different names, including: the Mu‘tazilah, the Qadariyyah, the ‘Adliyyah, the People of Justice and Tawhid, the Muqtasidah, and the Wa‘idiyyah (al-Mawsu‘ah al-Muyassarah fi al-Adyan wa al-Madhahib wa al-Ahzab al-Mu‘asirah 1/64). Their emergence was during the time of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (d. 86 AH) (Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ 4/246–249, biography no. 89), and Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (d. 125 AH) (Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ 5/351–353, biography no. 162)
When Wasil ibn ‘Ata’ (the actual founder of the Mu‘tazilah, whose mention will come in the first section of the third chapter, if Allah wills) separated himself in the gathering of al-Hasan al-Basri, having been one of his students, over the ruling of the one who commits a major sin. They later split into twenty factions (al-Farq bayn al-Firaq wa Bayan al-Firqat al-Najiyah, p. 18).
Summary of the core beliefs of the Mu‘tazilah
The madhhab of the Mu‘tazilah is built upon five principles which they agreed upon and regarded as the unifying creed that gathers them and the defining boundary that prevents confusion with others, even if they differed on many subsidiary issues (al-Usul al-Khamsah ‘inda al-Mu‘tazilah wa Mawqif al-Salafiyyin minha, Salih Zayn al-‘Abidin al-Shaybi, Master’s thesis, p. 28, 1397 AH – 1977 CE, College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Makkah al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia).
Abu al-Husayn Abd al-Rahim al-Khayyat al-Mu‘tazili (d. 300 AH approx.) said: “None deserves the name ‘Mu‘tazili’ until he adopts the statement of the five principles:
- Tawhid,
- Justice,
- Promise and threat,
- The position between the two positions
- Commanding the good and forbidding the evil.
When these traits are complete in a person, then he is a Mu‘tazili”
(al-Intisar wa al-Radd ‘ala Ibn al-Rawandi al-Mulhid, Abu al-Husayn Abd al-Rahim al-Khayyat, p. 126–127, second edition 1413 AH – 1993 CE, Maktabat al-Dar al-‘Arabiyyah lil-Kitab, Cairo – Egypt; Awraq Sharqiyyah, Beirut – Lebanon).
By tawhid, they mean negating the attributes of Allah.
By justice, they mean denying qadar.
By promise and threat, they mean that Allah does not forgive the one who commits a major sin, rather he is eternally in the Fire.
By the position between the two positions, they mean that the one who commits a major sin is not called a believer nor a disbeliever in this world, but is in a position between the two.
By commanding the good and forbidding the evil, they mean revolting against rulers if they become oppressive or unjust
(al-Iman bayna al-Salaf wa al-Mutakallimin, Ahmad ibn Atiyyah ibn Ali al-Ghamidi, p. 119, first edition 1432 AH – 2010 CE, Maktabat al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam, Madinah – Saudi Arabia).
Upon these principles, many deviations arose among the Mu‘tazilah. They deny that the believers will see their Lord on the Day of Resurrection. They declare that Allah is obliged to give reward and punishment and to do what is beneficial and best. They give precedence to reason over revelation. They say that the Quran is created.
The essence of their belief remains today, represented in every sect that makes reason the judge in matters of creed (see al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/43–44; Manhaj ‘Ulama’ al-Hadith wa al-Sunnah fi Usul al-Din, p. 91–109; Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah fi al-Siyasah wa al-‘Aqa’id wa Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Fiqhiyyah, Muhammad Abu Zahrah, p. 120–124, Dar al-Fikr al-‘Arabi, Cairo – Egypt).
The Methodology Of The Mu‘tazilah In Creed
The Mu‘tazilah set down for themselves principles in line with their deviation from the Sharia. The most important of these is the veneration of reason and giving it precedence over the Sharia. Reason is, in their view, the primary source of creed. Whenever revelation contradicts reason in their view, it must be abandoned or interpreted.
Qadi Abd al-Jabbar al-Mu‘tazili (d. 415 AH) said: “Know that the evidences are four: the proof of reason, the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus. Knowledge of Allah is attained only through the proof of reason.”
Then he said: “The discussion on the fact that knowledge of Allah is attained only through the proof of reason is because everything else is dependent on knowing Allah by His tawhid and justice. If we were to use any of them as evidence for Allah, in this state, we would be using something dependent upon it as evidence for its own origin, and this is not permissible” (Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah, p. 88).
Al-Taḥawwulāt al-Madhhabiyyah al-ʿAqāʾidiyyah ʿinda al-Salaf wa al-Muʿtazilah wa al-Ashāʿirah (The Doctrinal Shift From the Salaf, To The Muʿtazilah, and the Ashʿaris) By ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Pg 44-47
