The Concept of sunna in Mu‘tazilite Thought

Abstract

General Features of Mu ʿ tazilite Thought and Epistemology W ā il b. ʿ A ā (d.131AH/748CE), an associate of al-asan al-Ba r ī (d.110AH/728CE), is traditionally considered, along with ʿ Amr b. ʿ Ubayd (d.144AH/761CE), the originator of Mu ʿ tazilism. This account of the beginnings of early Mu ʿ tazilism differs from that of Watt (d.2006) who argued that the main founders of the ʿMuʿtazilite school of thought were four individuals: Muʿammar (d.215AH/830CE), Ibrah ī m Al-Na ā m (d.221AH/836CE), and Abū l-Hudhayl (d.226AH/841CE) in Bara, and Bishr al-Muʿtamir (d.210AH/825CE) in Baghdad. 1 The accounts of the beginnings of the Mu ʿ tazilite School differ and there are numerous versions of it as given by Al-Shahrast ā n ī (d.548AH/1153CE) in his al-Mil ā l wa al-Nih ā l. Sometimes Amr b. ʿ Ubayd is mentioned in place of W ā il and the circle from which he withdrew was not of al-asan but Qat ā da (d.117AH/735CE) and, for these reasons, Watt rejects this incident which marks the beginnings of this school. The incident is as follows: A discussion started between W ā il and al-asan al-Basr ī regarding an individual who commits a major sin whether he remains a believer or not. Al-asan addressed this by saying that committing a sin does not affect the individual and he remains in the fold of a believer. However, A. Duderija (ed.), The Sunna and its Status in Islamic Law