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The Mu’tezilites, how did they influence the Abbasid political regime, and why did they adopt the rationalist ideology?

Introduction Islamic political movements might have impacted the theological thoughts, dimensions and ideologies of Islamic sects. After the death of Prophet Mohammed, Muslim people tried to find a government system and started to discuss with each other about the leadership of Muslims. Who will be the leader of Muslims and how they will choose him raised and caused a controversial issue among them. The discussion between the Muhājirun and the Ansār did not cause a big division among early Muslims. However, after the battles of the Camel and Siffīn, Muslims divided into several sects, the Shi’ah, the Khawārij and the Murji’ah. 1 Especially, the leadership position of the fourth caliph, ‘Ali, was questioned and turned into political and theological debates.2 The fragmentation of Muslims related to political events continued during the Umayyad and Abbasid era. Although political issues and events caused these separations among Muslims, these different groups produced their own theological doctrines and they shaped their thesis, ideology and arguments supported by the Quran, hadith and reason. In addition, from the earliest time, the rationalist movement became an outstanding dimension of Muslim theology. In spite of the fact that rationalism faced some scathing critique from its antagonist throughout Islamic history, it remained

the main basis of Muslim theological ideas

and concepts. One of the most essential and effective rationalist groups in the history of Islam based on reason was the Mu’tazilite. This sect has an important and central place in Islamic theology because it influenced the later Islamic theology directly or indirectly 3 and they were the first representatives of the science of Kalām4. In this essay, I will introduce the history of the Mu’tazilite and the five fundamental principles of the Mu’tazilite. Then I shall explain how they influenced the polity of Muslim and vice versa during the Abbasid regime, and the reasons why they adopted a rationalist stand in bringing solutions to intellectual, theological and philosophical complications and matters when they encountered them. 1

Ziauddin Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology in Islam,” Islamic Studies 11, no. 2 (1972): 93, accessed November 19, 2013, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20833060. 2 W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology: An Extended Survey (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1985), 2-4. 3 Tarif Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam: the Culture and Heritage of the Golden Age (Princeton: The Darwin Press, 1985), 82. 4 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 99.

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The History of Mu’tazilites during the Abbasid Regime The Mu’tazilite was the earliest rationalist school in Islamic theology. The fact that it emerged in 720 is said to be because of the connection with its doctrine of the status of the sinner the roots of which are in the Umayyad time, but it did not show a big influence until 800. 5 Dhanani points out that the beginning of the Mu’tazilite movement is connected with the separation of Wāsil ibn Atā (d. 748) and Amr ibn Ubayd (d.761) from the circle of al-Hasan alBasrī (d. 728) due to their disagreement on the position of a great sinner. The response to this question was that whether the sinful Muslim is a believer (mu’min) or an unbeliever (kāfir) was that the sinful Muslim should be into an intermediate status between mu’min and kāfir.6 Then alHassan said that Wāsil had withdrawn (I’tazala) from us.7 In general, this story has been accepted as the starting point of the formation of the Mu’tazilite. After Wāsil and Amr, there was no clear and certain information about the historical development of this sect, but almost fifty years later, throughout the Abbasid regime, Mu’tazilites again became active. 8 By the time of Hārūn al-Rashīd (d.786-809), Abū al- Hudayl al-‘Allāf (d. 841) and Bishr ibn Mu’tamir (d. 825-840) systemized and evolved this school at Basra and Baghdad respectively. Although there are minor differences between these two schools, their basic tenets show similarities. 9 Furthermore, the school of Baghdad was the center of the political events known as the inquisition (mihna). In 833, al-Ma’mun founded an interrogation institution in Baghdad to question the state judges’ (qadis) theological thoughts and conceptions, and the judges were obliged to accept the doctrine of Mu’tazilite that the Quran was created.10 The anacrisis of Ahmet ibn Hanbal and the traditionalist Muslim scholars caused a decline in the Mutezilite’s approaches and ideologies, and Muslims judging them critically. The inquisition was ended at the time of the caliph al-Mutawakkil around 850 11 because the Mu’tazilites were moved away from the law court.12 After these events, the prestige and political 5

Patricia Crone, God’s Rule Government and Islam: Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Thought (New York: Columbia University Press), 65. 6 Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “Mu’tazila,” accessed December 1, 2013, http://0referenceworks.brillonline.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/mutazila-COM_0822. 7 Alnoor Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām: Atoms, Space, and Void in Batrian Mu’tazilī Cosmology”, ed. H. Daiber and D. Pingree, vol. 14 of Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science (Leiden; New York; Kӧln: Brill, 1993), 7. 8 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 7. 9 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 99-100. 10 Richard C. Martin et al., Defenders of Reason in Islam: Mu’talism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol (Oxford: Oneworld, 1997), 28. 11 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 28. 12 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 8.

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influence of the Mu’tazilite was cloudy. Even though they were oppressed and lost their political control in the reign of Abbasid Caliph, they carried on their philosophical and theological doctrines and works. Marmura points out: “Three successive ‘Abbasid Caliphs who ruled from 817 to 847 gave it official support and strove to impose one of its dogmas on all Muslims. A reaction set in, however, and the Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861) reversed the policy of three predecessors; the Mu’tazilites were persecuted and lost their political power. Despite this, for over two centuries, they continued active and creative as theologians, though gradually losing their position as the leaders of kalām to the Ash’arites.”13

After falling into political disfavour, the Mu’tezilites switched their concerns from the political issues to scientific and philosophical problems. This time of the Mu’tazilites can be called the scholastic phase of the Mu’tazilism. 14 They focused on the physical studies, the cosmological questions, and the epistemological and ontological doctrines, and reacted to attacks from both the traditionalists and non-Muslim philosophers. For instance, al-Jāhiz (d.868-869), a disciple of the Mu’tazilite, wrote Fadilat al-Mu’tazilite (the excellence of the Mu’tazilite) which refines the fallen prestige of the Mu’tazilite 15 and Kitāb al-Hayāvān which reflects the cosmological views of al-Nazzām and his contemporaries. 16 Abū Ali al-Jubbā’ī (d.915) who was the leader of the Basiran and Abū al-in Qāsim al-Balkhī (d. 931) who was the chief of the Baghdadī were the second phase greater thinkers of the Mu’tazilism. 17 This second phase of the Mu’tazilism encouraged Muslim thinkers to defend Islamic theological doctrines by using their reason against non-Muslims, atheists and their Muslim opponents more than its first phase because the political pressure on them impacted and shaped politically their ideologies and doctrines in the first phase. On the other hand, in the second phase they put more pure and strong doctrines in theology, physic, kalām and philosophy than its first phase because they moved away the political policy of the Abbasid regime.

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Michhael E. Marmura, “God and His Creation: Two Medieval Islamic Views” ed. R. M. Savory, Introduction to Islamic Civilisation ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 47. 14 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 10. 15 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 29. 16 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 9. 17 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 10-11.

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The Five Fundamental Principles of the Mu’tazilism The Mu’tazilites formulated their principles under the heading of five main theses. 18 These five points represents their philosophical and theological methods. ‘Abd al-Jabbar’s Kitab alusul al khamsa summarizes their theological doctrine and gives these five elements of the Mu’tazilism. 19 These five are: 1- Tawhīd: Unity of God 2- al-‘Adl: Justice or Righteousness of God 3- al-Wa’d wa al-Waid: The Promise and the Warning 4- al-Manzila bayn al-Manzilatayn: The Intermediate Position Between Ῑmān and Kufr 5- al-Amr bi’l-Ma’ruf wa’l-Nahy ‘an al-Munkar: Advocating Good and Forbidding Evil These five elements present the certain characteristics of this sect by touching several Islamic theological subjects. 1- Unity of God The insight of the unity and oneness of God is the cardinal tenet of the Mu’tazilites. They deny any resemblance between God and His creatures, so His oneness makes him different from all creatures.

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Khalidi says: “God is above time and place,

above all change and is in no wise corporeal.” The term Tawhīd means the rejection of all kind of dualism and anthropomorphism. 21 Probably this tenet led them to interpret the attributes of God and the Quranic verses indicating similarity between God and His creatures. Ahmed implies that some controversial issues emerged due to this doctrine, but the most significant discussion arising from this doctrine is the creation of the Quran. 22 The Mu’tazilites deny the uncreatedness of the Quran because for them only God is eternal. The Quran is limited because it is composed of letters and sentences. Therefore, if anything is not eternal, it must be created. 23 In addition, they do not discriminate between the natures of people in this world and their nature in the hereafter. Thus, for them the vision of God in this world and the hereafter is impossible because human eyes, which need light, proper distance and location, can only see materials but God is a non18

Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 83. Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 86. 20 Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 84. 21 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 100. 22 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 100. 23 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 101. 19

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material. God’s existence can solely be understood by the mind, but no senses perceive him. 24 Subsequently, according to the Mu’tazilites, the Quranic verses that define God as corporeal are to be commented 2- Justice or Righteousness of God Encountering the problem of existence of evil in the world, the Mu’tazilites developed this doctrine. For them, God is indeed equitable and fair to his creatures, so His wisdom and justice does not demand evil. 25 Goldhziher emphasizes that with this doctrine they limit God’s omnipotence because this tenet puts an obligation on God to create only just and goodness and they placed a free man against a relatively unfree God.26 To prove their comprehension of God’s righteousness, they defend the principle of human free will, and they refuse any injustice attributed to God. 27 Khalidi considers: “[m]an’s freedom is, therefore, a logical consequence of the justice of God, for without this freedom man cannot be held responsible for his actions, and the whole scheme of the universe would become arbitrary and irrational.”

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With this doctrine, they emphasize

that people have free will, and evil things stem from the errors of human acts. If man’s acts had been from God, the punishment and the reward for human acts would have been meaningless. Consequently, the reward and the punishment are based on individuals’ choices and actions. 3- The Promise and the Warning This thesis is directly dependent upon the justice of God, because the irreversible Divine promise and warnings must be truth. The Mu’tazilites, therefore, deny the concept of the probability of intercession of the prophet in the hereafter on account of its contradiction with the Divine justice. 29 God will not intercede and help Muslims who commit grave sins and God put them in the Hell because they chose to commit grave sins forbidden by God.30 According to the Mu’tazilites, God promises those who obey His

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Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 84. Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 102. 26 Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, trans.Andras Hamori and Ruth Hamori (New Jersey: Princeton University Press), 90-91. 27 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 71. 28 Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 85. 29 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 81. 30 Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 85. 25

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commands with the rewards, and threatens those who commit grave sins with the punishments.31 4- The Intermediate Position between Ῑmān and Kufr This principle is about the situation of Muslims who commit a grave sin. According to the Mu’tazilites, justifying sinner is an unnecessary issue because the faith is a changing quality. A person committing grave sins could be a Muslim although his sins make him tentatively an unbeliever. Thus, grave sins except polytheism delay the faith, but do not cancel it.32 The Mu’tezilites claim that Muslim grave sinners are in intermediate position between two. This means that even if they commit grave sins, they still have faith. Hence, their place is between the disbelievers and Muslims who do not commit grave sins. 5- Advocating Good and Forbidding Evil This tenet of the Mu’tazilites gives their views about virtuous community and the public responsibilities of the individual believers. 33 According to them, commanding the good and prohibiting the evil is necessity for the Muslim society due to almost all Muslim’s consensus on it.34 This duty is for not only the class of secretaries but also all Muslims in the community. Watt states “they held that it was the duty of all Muslims to maintain justice in the public sphere and to oppose injustice in whatever way was open to them, whether by word, action or force of arms.” 35

The Effects of Mu’tazilites on the Body Politic of Muslims during the Abbasid Regime In Islam, polity and religion had never separated from each other, so political endeavours of early Muslims and their theological ideologies formed and elaborated simultaneously, and political issues were supported by religious ideas. 36 Nybergs (cited in Gimaret, 2013) argues that the doctrine of the intermediate position of the great sinner Muslim was the theoretical discourse of the Abbasid political programme before their appearance. 37 Therefore, the political influence 31

Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 102. Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 83. 33 Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 83. 34 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason,82. 35 W. Montgomery Watt, A Short History of Islam (Oxford: Oneworld Publication, 1996), 113. 32

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Farid Esack, the Qur’an: A User’s Guide (Oxford: Oneworld Publication, 2015), 106. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “Mu’tazila,”.

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of Mu’tazilites can be observed at the beginning of the Abbasid dynasty. Due to the fact that there was the balance of forces between supporters of the reign of the Abbasid from different regions, the political impact of the Mu’tazilites could not be clear at the beginning of the Abbasid time. Watt emphasizes, “[i]n its beginnings the Abbasid caliphate created an effective organ of government by gaining the support of the both Persian nobility and the leaders of the Arabs who live in Iraq and further east.” 38 However, between about 780 and 850 the Mu’tazilite sect was

powerful within the reign of the Abbasid because their political approach revealed

itself, with some people who were close the regime. 39 That the political influence of Abū alHudayl al- Allāf, an-Nazzam and Bishr ibn Mu’tamir had a significance place in the time of Hārūn al-Rashīd and al- Ma’mun, 40 and Ahmad ibn Abī Du’ād (d. 854), one of student of Bishr ibn Mu’tamir, was appointed as a qādī

by the caliph Mu’tasim (833-842)41 illustrates the

political effect of the Mu’tezilite on the reign of the Abbasid. Ibn Abī Du’ād also headed up the inquisition between 833 and 848, so he was responsible for the imprisonment of the traditionalist Ahmad ibn Hanbal. 42 In the establishment of the Abbasid regime, the Persian peerage (Bamakids), the leaders of Arabs, and some of conventionalists under the Umayyad regime were influential proponents of

this new dynasty. Watt also describes two significant blocks: Barmakids, which were the

dominant influence on the Abbasid regime up to 803 as the “autocratic bloc”, and Arabs, or opposing groups, whose influence on the political area increased after the fall of Barmakids as the “constitutionalist bloc”43.The balance of power between these two groups fell in disorder at the time of al-Ma’mun and the power of the autocratic bloc rose. At the end his caliphate, alMa’mun, using the inquisition (mihna), tried to achieve counterbalance between the divergent groups.44 Imposing the doctrine that the Quran was created involves some political ideology. Endress support this idea by saying:

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W. Montgomery Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah,” The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1/2 (April, 1963): 42, accessed November 19, 2013,http://www.jstor.org/stable/25202593. 39 Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah,” 42. 40 Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah,” 42. 41 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 8. 42 Dhanani, “The Physical Theory of Kalām”, 8. 43 Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah” 43-44. 44 Gerhard Endress, Islam an Historical Introduction, trans. Carole Hillenbrand (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998), 47.

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“This doctrine also has political implications: it weakened the position of the traditionalists who recognised the texts of the Koranic revelation and the practice of early Islam as the sole basis of government order and political behaviour; and it formed

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bridge with the Shī’a, who was the Imām as the authorised of God’s will. Such positions promised to ease tensions and thus appeared politically useful.” 45

This doctrine of the Mu’tezilites caused some social problems in the Muslim society, as well. Even if al-Ma’mun aimed to establish the balance between the autocratic and the constitutionalist with his policy, the result was the rise of the autocratic bloc. However, this condition was ended by al-Mutawakkil, and the constitutionalist bloc came into existence in the reign of Abbasid again. 46 Another political influence of the Mu’tazilites on the reign of the Abbasid was their imamate doctrine. Watt emphasizes that Abū al- Hudayl al- Allāf, who held the two parties (‘Ali and Talhah) at the battle of the Camel, and Bishr ibn Mu’tamir, who advocated ‘Ali, had some political influence on the regime. In this time it was suitable to discuss their political views referring the events that had occurred a century and a half of earlier and these debates shaped the conception of the caliph or the doctrine of the imamate of the sects.47 Watt notes that Abū alHudayl al- Allāf was trying to conciliate different groups within the caliphate by repugning the divinely-guided imam and advocating the doctrine of the createdness of the Quran. 48 Bishr ibn Mu’tamir was showing the same struggle to enable reconciliation but with the different argument that ‘Ali was right and the imam might be a divinely guided. 49 Watt claims: “His view might be formulated by saying that, while the scriptures and the imam were both important, nether could be the basis of the community to the exclusion of the other. Such a view promised to reduce tensions and doubtless for this reason was the basis of policy by al- Ma’mun.”50

Therefore, the arguments about the caliphate were not only to answer theological issues but also to solve political problems at this time. These debates were an endeavour to find answer to the

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Endress, Islam an Historical, 47. Watt, “The Political Attitudes,” 44. 47 Watt, “The Political Attitudes,” 47-48. 48 Watt, “The Political Attitudes,” 49. 49 Watt, “The Political Attitudes,” 49. 50 Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah,” 49-50. 46

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questions: who will be the caliph, what qualifications should he have, and what is the place of divine sources in this process? Al- Assam (d. 816 or 817), al-Nazzām (d. between 835 and 845), Hishām al-Fuwatī (d. 840) and ‘Abbād ibn Sulaymān (d. 870 ?) 51 were effective individuals in the next stage of the political views of the Mu’tazilites. They developed an optional imamate doctrine that an imam ought to be chosen by all members of the community. Watt indicates that this doctrine aimed to legitimate the caliphate of Abbasid family leaning on the consensus of Muslims and inflamed the autocratic bloc. 52 Furthermore, with the little exception of al-Nazzām, all of them accepted that the imamate was not decreed by the law, and the efficacy of the imamate was lost.53 Crone also emphasizes that even though they opposed the idea of kingship, they legitimated it instead of rejecting it when its leadership was right.54 The Mu’tazilites formed some doctrines to hold a place in the political area. Chrone says “… the Mu’tazilite anarchists wanted their political participation back at the cost of sacrificing the imamate.”55 Consequently, with the appearance of the Abbasid regime, the Mu’tazilities started to take the administrative accountabilities in the body politic of the Abbasid dynasty. Although they generally adopted a conciliatory political attitude, they could not find any solution to the tensions of the Abbasid regime and they faded in the course of time.

The reasons of Adopting Rationalist Ideology In the early Islamic society, especially during the time of the Prophet Mohammed, discussions about theological doctrines are not mentioned at all. The Quran and the explanations of the Prophet were enough to prove their doctrines and the oneness of the God. 56 With expansion of Islam, some dogmatic thoughts, ideas and arguments began to develop in the Muslim society, so before the time of al-Ma’mun and his translation institution, Muslims noticed the significance of the logical methods to advocate Islam and its doctrines against the criticisms from others.57 However, the scholastic theology of Islam (Ilm al-Kalām) was introduced to Islam

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Crone, God’s Rule Government and Islam, 66. Watt, “The Political Attitudes of the Mu’tazilah,” 51. 53 Crone, God’s Rule Government and Islam, 66. 54 Crone, God’s Rule Government and Islam, 67. 55 Crone, God’s Rule Government and Islam, 69. 56 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,” 93. 57 Ahmed, “A Survey of the Development of Theology,”99. 52

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by the Mu’tazilites

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and they approached theological issues applying their reason more than

other Islamic sects. There might be several reasons why the Mu’tazilites adopted the use of reasoning in early theological and philosophical debates. Firstly, the Quran itself contains theological, moral, ethical and psychological verses. For example, some verses indicate that individuals are responsible for their actions, while others refer to God’s will for the accountability of human actions. These kinds of verses in the Quran sparked some questions amongst the Muslim scholars such as how they should be interpreted and what their meanings are. Madelung and Scmidke emphasize: “The Mu’tazila held that the basic truths of theology, such as the existence of God and the nature of His attributes and justice, are entirely subject to rational proof without the benefit of scriptural revelation. Only after these basic truths have been established can the veracity of scripture be proved by reason, and the primacy of reason must also be maintained in the interpretation of scripture.” 59 Thus, the Mu’tazilites endeavoured to deal with the Quranic theology by using reason when encountering the polemical debates about these kinds of verses. Martin et al. emphasize that speculative reason was preferential to faith for the rationalists because it was an appliance to bring individuals to Islamic faith. 60 Secondly, with the expansion of Islam, Muslims met the different people from different religions, such as Christians, Jews and polytheists. This confrontation of Islamic teachings with other religions brought forth difficult religious questions, and Muslims and non-Muslims discussed theological doctrines. 61 The Mu’tazilites had to answer to defend Islam against attacks by these religions, so they focused on the rational basis to advocate Islam and its theological dogmas. Endress points out that dialectical genuine and rational approach was needed to argue with the Hellenised Christians and to defend the monotheistic dimension of Islam against the dualism of the Iranian religions, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, so the Mu’tazilites tended to

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Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology, 85-86. Wilferd Madlung and Sabine Schmidtke, “Rational Theology in Interfaith Communication: Abu l-Husayn alBasrī’s Mu’tazilī Theology among the Karaites in the Fātimid Age,” ed. Guy Stroumsa and David Shulman, vol. 5 of Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture, ( The Netherland: VSP, 2006), vii. 60 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 14. 61 Martin et al., Defenders of Reason, 8. 59

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use rational interpretation of the text to hold Islamic doctrines against the arguments of unbelievers and the heresies of sectarians. 62 For another reason why the Mu’tazilites adopted the rationality was the meeting with the Greek philosophy. They began to study the Greek philosophy and its dialectical methods especially in the time of the caliph al-Ma’mun because he established an institute, Bayt al-Hikma (the House of Knowledge) to translate the Greek books and to educate people. 63 Their interest in Aristotelian logic and the Greek philosophy was the base for the scholastic theology of Islam, so they put too much stress on reason and founded Ilm al-Kalām because some issues in Islam could not be supported by the Greek dialectical methods and Aristotelian methods. Goldziher claims that when educated Muslims were impacted by the Aristotelian philosophy, they tried to establish a bridge between the tradition of religion and the newly obtained truths of philosophy. 64 However, it was impossible to reconcile the Islamic doctrines with the principles of Aristotle, so a new system was needed among rational thinkers and then they established Ilm al-Kalām to bring speculative proofs to theological problems. 65 Lastly, the political complexities in early Islamic community triggered some polemical matters about political ideologies and attitudes. When Muslim scholars tried to find solutions for these political issues, some of them used the divine text without interpreting, whereas others chose to comment on the text. This might have been the origin of evolution of the Islamic theology. Khalidi implies that the political problems in the early period of Islam had not only an ethical dimension but also socio-economic factors, and political movements always used the Quranic text to legitimate their political discourse. 66 Furthermore, the Abbasid family, who promised for social equality and justice, came into administration and in this time the Mu’tazilites tried to provide the reconciliation between social and political groups applying rational thinking system because the issues were related to both theology and administration. 67 For example, whether the caliph was prescribed by the law and whether legislative power should belong to the scholarly class or the high official of the bureaucracy were the new problems of the Abbasid dynasty. 68 These questions were answered based on reason because they did not want to 62

Endress, Islam an Historical 44-45. Watt, A Short History, 112. 64 Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology, 85. 65 Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology, 85. 66 Khalidi, Classical Arab and Islam, 80. 67 Endress, Islam an Historical, 46. 68 Endress, Islam an Historical, 46-47. 63

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accept what the political authorities claimed as being absolute truth and to give religious power to the state.

Conclusion In Islamic history, the Mu’tazilism played an important role in advocating Islam and Islamic doctrines. This sect emerged at the end of Umayyad dynasty and reached its culminating point in the Abbasid period. At the beginning of the Abbasid regime, they took responsibilities in the Abbasid administrative body. In this time, their principles became the ideology of the Abbasid political policy and they endeavoured to reconcile between political and social groups or sects. However, their reconciliation efforts did not bring any solution to tensions between sects. Discussions about the nature of the Quran caused political polemics among Muslims. Even though the doctrine of the creation of the Quran emerged as a principle associated with the unity of God, it was used for political aims and triggered the inquisition (mihna). After the inquisition (mihna), the Mu’tazilites lost their political power and importance, and they started to represent a rationalist trend in the Muslim world. They prepared the ground for the appearance of philosophy in Islam because the confrontation of the Greek philosophy and the translation of ancient and late Hellenistic heritage enabled them to create the scholastic theology of Islam (Ilm al-Kalām). Their struggle to explore the relationship between the revelation, the rational truths and the ethical values impelled them to develop Islamic theological doctrines using reason. The Mu’tazilites placed a significant importance on reason when formulating their theological arguments. The theological and ethical verses in the Quran, the meeting of different cultures and religious arguments, their interest in the Greek philosophy and the political conflicts in the Muslim society stimulated them to use reason and to adopt rationality in Islamic theology. The Muu’tazilites formulated the five fundamental tenets which reflect the whole structure of their theology. The Mu’tazilites made a great effort to enhance scientific and philosophical studies. In the history of Islam their ideas on theology and their rational approach to the interpretation of the Quran displayed an extensive affect on the Islamic society. This movement also brought new ideas into Islamic views and became an inspiration to Muslim thinkers for the use of reason. The Mu’tazilites were the active Muslim intellectuals in the history of Islam, but the attitude of caliphs that hold only one theological view destroyed both them and the other sects in Islamic society. 12

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