Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad

The position of the Mu‘tazilites among their contemporaries
 
The 
fuqaha’
and 
hadith
scholars attacked the Mu‘tazilites and so they were caught between strong 
opponents on either side: the 
zindiqs 
and those like them on one side, and the 
fuqaha’
and 
hadith
scholars on 
the other. One can see in the arguments and discussions of the 
fuqaha’
that they pilloried the Mu‘tazilites at 
every opportunity. One hears ash-Shafi‘i, Ibn Hanbal and others criticising the science of 
kalam
and those 
who took knowledge through the method of the 
mutakallimun
. Why did the 
fuqaha’
dislike the Mu‘tazilites 
when both groups were trying to support the 
deen
and did not spare any efforts in its defence? It seems that 
there were a number of factors which combined to produce such enmity. 
The suspicions of the 
fuqaha’
 and 
hadith
 scholars
 
The 
fuqaha’
and 
hadith
scholars were strong opponents of the Mu‘tazilites and suspected them of 
deviation. Ash-Shaybani gave a 
fatwa
that anyone who prayed behind a Mu‘tazilite had to repeat the prayer. 
Imam Abu Yusuf considered them 
zindiqs
. Imam Malik would not accept the testimony of any of them. They 
were suspected of corruption and committing 
haram
acts. In fact, the Mu‘tazilite school embraced all sorts of 
individuals. 

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Disputes of the Mu‘tazilites and the science of 
kalam
 
Kalam
was used by the Mu‘tazilites when debating with their opponents, whether Rafidites, Magians, 
dualists, people of other sects, specialists in 
fiqh
and 
hadith
, and others. The whole Islamic community took 
part in these arguments and debates for about three generations, during which assemblies of rulers, ministers 
and scholars flourished and opinions were exchanged. Internecine fights between the schools and sects caused 
reverberations that affected Islamic thought as a whole. Islamic thinking became embellished with Persian, 
Greek or Hindu ideas. Each faction was distinct in their argument in specific ways, while often they did not 
differ in their general position in the 
deen
. 
The methods of deduction employed by the Mu‘tazilites were different from those of others among the 
Islamic Community and their deductive premises also differed. There were several distinct characteristics in 
the way they debated. 
• The Mu‘tazilites avoided imitation and were averse to following others without investigation, 
examination, comparison, proofs and proper criteria. Their respect was for opinions and not names, for the 
truth and not the speaker. Hence they did not imitate one another. The rule which they followed was that 
every responsible person is answerable for the principles of the 
deen
to which his 
ijtihad
has led him. 
Perhaps that is why they split into so many groups. 
• They relied on the intellect to establish their articles of faith, finding support for their positions in the 
Qur’an. They did not have much knowledge of 
hadiths
because they did not use them for doctrine or 
evidence. 
• They took from classical scientific sources which were translated in their time. They borrowed from 
some of those sciences and used them to support their arguments in clashes with opponents in the field of 
kalam
. They were joined by many Muslims educated in the foreign education and philosophical systems 
which were nurturing the Arab intellect in that time, which is why there were many distinguished writers 
and philosophers among them. 
• They excelled in language, eloquence and clarity of exposition. Their men included eloquent orators and 
debaters who were skilled in debate, knew its rules and were experienced in its methods and how to defeat 
opponents. Their leading figure, Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, was a notable orator. 

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