The Beginnings of the Muʿtazila Reconsidered

ISM

n, 1990

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MU'TAZILA RECONSIDERED' Sarah Stroumsa

On several occasions the zaydi scholar Ibn al-Murtada (d, 840 H) says, introducing the genealogy of the Mu'tazila, that "the tradition from which the Mu'tazilite school is derived is brighter than daylight".' For us, unfortunately, this daylight is somewhat eclipsed. Not only are early sources on (he Mu'tazila scarce and inadequate. but the information they yield is often tendentious and contradictory. As a result. the attempts of modern scholars to portray Mu'tazilite history are, at best, speculative reconstructions. The aim of the present study is to survey the available evidence relating to the early Mu'tazila for the purpose of sifting firm fact from mere conjecture. Our chief concern in the following pages will be to elucidate the name "Mu'tazila". to survey the emergence of the Mu'tazila as a movement, and to examine its links with Mu'13zilite Kalam.

This papcr was rirst prcscnted at the third conrcrcncc From JiJhll'yya to Islam, lind benerited rrom com men Is made by Ihc participants. III particular, I wish to thank Prof. E. Kohlberg ror his helprul suggeslions, and Dr, B. Abrahamov ror his critical remarks, I also wish to lhank ProL Frank Stewart ror his userul commcnts on an earlicr drart or this paper. "Wa-sanad al-mu'/arila fj-madhhabjhim awl/a!) min at-falaq", fabaqiil al-Mu',ozila, cd. S. Diwald-Wilzer (Wicsbaden. 1961), p. 1:1; Kitiib al-Munyo Wa'l-amal f; Shorb al-Ir1ilal Wa'I-nibal, ed, Mubammad Jawwad Mashkur (Ilcirul, 1919), p, 125:11. TM Arnold, A/-Mu'uuUa (Leip.dg. 19(2) (hcnceforward Munya, quoted according to Arnold's edilion). p. 5:14. The claim that (he isniid or the Mu'taiila is beller than any Olhcr is mcnttoned already by 'Abd al-Jaboor (d. 1025). The Qadi, however, rcgards Ihis son of proof as laqlid, and prden 10 eSlablish the case of Ihe Mu'laz.ila on superior decisivc proors W-odilla aI-qon"a), see Fa41 a/-t,jzol wa-fabaqiu a/-Mu',ozila, cd. Fu'ad S3yyid (Tun;" 1974), ~ 164:25-21.

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All the repons about the beginning of the Mu'tazila as we know it revolve around the persons of W~il b. 'Atii' and 'Amr b. ·Ub.lyd. It is. therefore, natural 10 start our research with these two key figures. Wasil b. 'Ala', also known as Abu l:Iudhayfa, was born in al-Madilla in the ye.lf 80 or 81 H, and died in 131 H? The precision

with which these dates are recorded is unusual for his generation.) Wa.sil, however, was an unusual individual, and the gossi~ of his time noted and recorded about him characteristics which do not usually occur in standard biographical works, while the more common details about his life remain unclear. For example, it is uncertain whether he

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other hand, is carefully noted. He was an odd-looking person,' with a remarkably long and twisted neck.' At limes he kept silent to the point of being considered dumb,' and when he did speak up, his pronunciation of the consonant ril was painfully ugly.' All in all, he made a unprepossessing first impression.1o A better acquaintance with him, however, altered this impression dramatically for the better. Our sources vividly convey the surprise, embarrassment and admiration 1l people felt on finding out what lay behind his dumsy, silent eltterioT: Despite his speech defect, he was an eloquent orator, second to none In his time,12 and his skill in avoiding the problematic rii' became legendaryP

was a client (maw/a) of the BanG Oabba, of the BanG Mal)ziim, or of the BanG Hiishim.4 He was nicknamed "the spinner' (a!-ghazziil), and

although the sources are unanimous in maintaining that he was not a spinner, they fail both to explain why he was given this designation and to specify his real profession.) I-lis physical appearance, on the

2 Ibn al-N3dim, AJ-Fi1vist (Beirut. ltd.), Takmifa, l 3 Cr. J. Van Ess. "Vne lecture a rebours de I'hiSlOirc du mu'tm~ilisrnc", Revue des Eludes Isfamiqrces 47 (979). p.4l 4 Ibn KhalJikiin, WafaylJt af-A'yon, cd. lI.lsnn 'Abbas (Beirut In.d.]). vol. VI, P. 73-4; al-Murlaoa, AmOli, p. 113:3; Ibn al-Murtad5, "'unya, p. 18:5. 5 AI-JalJi;r. af-Bayan .....a·/-Tabyin. cd. 'AbeI aI-Salam Harun (Cairo, 19(8). vol. I. pp. 32:21 - 34:1; Abu HiliilllJ-'Askari. Kitab a/-A.....a'il. cd. Muoammad lll-Misri and Walid Qassab (Damascus. 1975). vol. 11. pp. 137:9 - 138:1. Van Ess hali suggcsted that Wasil was indeed a spinner, but that the Mu'ta7jla attempted 10 cover Ihis up, since it was considered a base profession ("Locture", p. 42). lliis low esteem, however, was accorded to the weaver Cha'i1c). not 10 the spinner (shalzot). The lauer, indeed. was considered a praiseworthy occupalion for women, and there is no evidence that it was considered a shameful one for men. (R. Drunschvig, "Metiers viis en Islam". Studio Isl(Unica 16 (1962). pp. 41--60. and esp. p. 45). The verses referred to by Van Ess (ibid. p. 45) as a proof of Wasil's being "un marchand de draps". are, in fact, rhetorical qucstions the point of which is to emphasi7.e that Wasil could not have been a merchant. See aJ-'Askari. Awa·;l. p. 138:5, 13-11. It should be noted that a verse of Bashshiir b. Burd appears at lea.~ in one source wilh reference to the 'Aua/, not Ghazlal. One could conjecture that. through a scribal error. an additionnl diacrilical point turned an 'aua' (in the sense of 3 Mu't3zilite) inlO a ghazlaf, a spinner. In this case. the words of al-Mubarrad (a/-Kam;/, cd. W. Wright. Leipzig. 1864. vol. J, p.546): "IVa-kana nultazifiyyan wa-/am yakun ghauii/an" could be understood as corrocting Ihe

reading in Ihis way. The bulk of manuscript evidence. however, renders this conjecture unlikely. H is perhaps worlh mentioning that the rOOl 'zl in Syriac relales also to spinning. O. Payne Smilh, A Compendiou.s Syr;ac Dictionary, Oxford, 1961, p. 4(9). If lhe lenn MU'IOlita was originally connected to spinning. then we could assume a connection between Wasil and Syriac-speaking Christianity. 1 was. however, unable to find any special rolc played by spinning in the life of Syriac Christians in general or of SyrillC monks in particular. 6 "Mut/(arjb aJ-khalq". see al-'Askllri, AwlJ';/. p. 001. 7 JiiOi h Bayan, I. p. 22;9 and AbU al-Faraj aHsfahiini, Kilab al-Aghiini (Cairo. 1929). vol. 111, p. 145:13-14 (quoting verses by Bashshiir b. Burd); al-'Askari. Awa'il, II. p. 130:6-1; al-Shllrif al-Murta(jii, Churar al-fawa'id wo-durar a/-qalo'id ('" Amam, cd MuI,lammad AbU al-Fadl Ibrahim (1954). I, p. 165:Jl 8 AI-'Askari. ibid. II. 134:4-5; 'Abd al-Jaboor, Fadl. p.2345-6; Ibn al-Murla. p. 353. note :\ rp. Gesantmdle Sdtriften II. p. U Goldziher eoncenlffitcd on expressiort'i such as ·riihib mU'lazitl' when ll'iC(1 as a synonym of -rahib munqa(t-. Other examples, nol. mentioned by Gold7.ihcr, arc Jud:lh ha-LeYi, al-kitiib al-Khnzari, cd. D.Z. D:lnelh and H. Den-Shammai <Jerusalem, 19TI>, p. 1m ("man jtoUJ!a wa-tazaModo"), p. 171:16, C"a/-iliziU wa'1 inqifii' itii 'Alfiih-); and also al-Malali, Tanbih, p. 28:16. where those who separated (l,ozalii) from al-l;la53n b. 'Ali after his abduction in faYOtJr or Mu'awiya explain their conduct by saying: we shall deY'Ole ourselves to study and worship. therefore they were called -Mu'ta7ila- (,rashraghilii btl-'i{m wa'Fibiida, fo-SUII1II1U bidhiiHka mu'lazilal 47 Gokbjhcr. VorlwUlgell, p. 95. It is remarkable thai many modem scholars were aware of the asceticism or the founders of the Mu'tarila, and yet saw no conoection between this 3SCtticiw and the name -Mu'tazila-. See, for instance. R Nyberg. Enqdoptdia of {slam. $.Y. "Mu'la7jta~ idem, ... Amr ibn 'Ubayd et ibn al-Rawendi, deux reprouYCs-, in R. Brunschvig and G.E. von Grunebaum, C{assicisme el dedin culturel dan.t fhisloirt de f1.f1am (Paris. 1977), pp. 125-130; Fu'iid S:lyyid in the introduction to his edition of Fadl aJ-jriziil. p. 12; Van &>, "Lecture-, pp. 45-46, S6, 62.

48 See, however, note 5. above, and note 128 below. On the PhrHisees, sec Encydop«dia JwJaico <Jerusalem. 1971}, vol 13, Sov.; on lhe Al'I3choretcs. see. for example, Hans Litunann. A llislory of ,h~ Early CJuuch (English trans.; London, 1960, vol IV, pp. 124-ln 49 See al-Shaykh al-Mund, Awiiil a/-maqaliU Ii al-madhilhib a/-mJd.hllulJl, cd. 'Abaslcali (Tabriz, 1371 '-0, p.6:1-:\ for whom the Slatemcnt that there was: 00 tti,ld prior to Wa~il ami 'Amr means that it was not a design'llion for any specific sect (wa-Iam yahll qabla dh1JJika yu'ralu aJ-l',jziil wa-llJ JdJlla 'lI!al/ltJlI 'ala foriq min a/-ttlu). See also Sayyid's introduction to Fadl, p. 26, and sec al-Balkhi, Maqaliit, p. 115:13-14. It should nevcrthel~ be noted th:u. as a rule, the epilhcl "a/-mu'tozdi- is reserved ror people who were idemified with lhe Mu'taz.ilite movement proper. AI-I.lasan aHla$fi. for example, is not called a mu'uuili. although al-Khawari7Jlli (MafOli~ oJ-'Ulimt, ed. G. Van Vlotcn, Leiden 1895, p.24). counts the basolliyya .• , al-munlasibiin ... al-ljasan al-Ba.sri as the first among the Mu'wila. The verb fuuaJa. on the other hand. is more freely used (see note .53 below). S. Pines has pointed to the s::ame ~ of diversification in the use of the term la/am, which, before it came to mean only -theology-, was also ll'iCd in a political contexl Sec "A Note on an Early Usc of fie Term MUlakoJ/int, in G. Haer. ed~ The 'Vlama' alld Problems 01 Religion ;11 11k: "Jus/im World OClusalcm. \971, in Hebrew), pp. 18-29,

il"

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available items of infonnation about the Mu'tazila, and to develop a

more coherent"account of its early history.

• • • It should first of all be noted that at the time of 'Amr's Mu'tazila,

other meaningo;; of the verb i'tazala are also auested. It can mean any of several kinds of withdrawa~ and it l1l3y refer to various historical incidents. Refusal to pay the zaklu to Abii Bakr,JO neutrality at the Battlc of the Camel, or at Sirrin, refusal to be involved in political activity altogether, or, on the contrary, active political dissent - all

these arc referred 10 as flizill. J1 The temptation to find a way to connect this fliza/ with the Mu'tazililc movement is great. Already al-Mas'udi (d. 956) identifies the supporters of Yazid h al-Walid (d. 126 II) with the Mu'tazila of his own days. attributing to them_ in a flagrant anachronism, the full-nedged "five Mu'ta.z.ilite principlcs".n Another attempt to reconcile the different pieces of evidence is made by al-Nawbokhti, who suggests that the Mu'tazila we know descends from "the first Mu'tazila", the followers of S.'d b. Abi Waqqas and of 'Usama b. layd, who had adopted a neutral paiition in the civil war.))

50 See al-Nawbakhti. Firaq ai-Shill, ed. Mubammad Sadiq (aI-Najar. 1959). p. 25:2-4, nnd compare al-Nashi ai-Akbar, UsiJ aI-niiJa/. in H. Van Ess. F,u/U! mu'tazj(jtisw lliirtsiographit (Bcirul, 1971), Po 14:14-16. 51 AI-Niishi', Usu/. p. 16:15, 17 (Ihe ttiziil of aM al-~adi,h) and p. 18:4. 8 (the tliziil of Ihe perplexed), bOlh relate 10 the civil war, although the first stems from pious reluclance 10 be involved in real politics. UsiJ, p. 19:13 applies the term tfiWllo the acl of lhe Khawa,ij, 3S does also Abu MUli al-Nasafi, who speaks of the Mmu'laziliyya min a{-lja,uriyyaM : see M. Bcrnand, "u litiib aI-rodd 'ala l-bido' d' Abu Ml4t Ma~ oJ-Na.rofi", Annalts IslamologiqutJ 16 (980), p. 77. This last source can not serve as a proof of the potilioo-religiOtlS origins of the Mu'tazila (rompare Bcmand, p. 48), but only as evidence of the flexible use of the verb. 52 Muruj, VI. pp. 20. 31. On lhe attitude of the Mu'ta7jla 10 Yazid see Muriij. VI, p. 32:5-6 and the somewhat oh9cure fXlS"3ge in 'AtxI al-Jaboor, Fad/~ p. 250.8-9; aJ-Balkhi. MaqDJOi. p. 117:7-11. 53 Firaq, p. 2S16. AI-Nashi, UsUJ, pp. 16:15 - 11'.1 also uses the tenn Mt'awlii' about this group, bul he docs not ~Ie them with lhe MU'I4l7jla.

2.75

The author of the Ki,lJb a/-usfJ attributed to Nashr ai-Akbar (d. 293 H) lakes a similar course, but for him il is people like Abu Mlisii al-Ash'ari and al-A~naf b. Qays al-Tamimi who "were given the name Mu'tazila in those days", because they were unable to decide which of Ihe twO parties was right AI-Nashl remarks in this context that Wisil and 'Amr hold the same view, and that they are the leadelS of the Mu'tazila, but he stops short of explicitly connecting the Mu'tazi]a of Wasil with that of AbU Miis3." At the same time. Muslim authors are aware that during the first few Islamic decades the name Mu'tazila applied to many different groups, and they endeavour 10 distinguish between a qualified Mu'tuzila and the Mu'tazila rou: court. This is noticeable in al-Nawbakhti's "first Mu'tazila", which another Shi'ite source calls "those who sepanned from both JXlflies" (aJ-rrut'tazi/a 'an aJ-tariqaYlli)." AI-Nawbakhti also mentions, alongside "the first Mu'tazila", the i'tiziil of al-A~naf b. Qays al-Tamimi, who, according to him, withdrew "not in the sense of adhering to the doctrine of i'lizlJl (JlJ 'alii al-tadayyun bi'/-""izii./) but in the sense of seeking safety from killing and from the loss of property (in war), and he said to his people: Keep away (fwzi/id from d~nsion, (for) it is beller for yoU'?6 The evidence therefore shows that before the appearance of the Mu'tazilite movement the verb i'lazala had not yet acquired a single technical meaning. The ascetics, the zuhhiid and nusslJk of the time, were referred 10 as "Ihe MU'lazila",S1 but Ihe verb was also employed for olher forms of withdrawal. It should also be nOled that later writers, including Mu'tazilites, could no longer determine where the

54 UsiJ,

~

11;4-10.

55 AI-Shaykh al-Mul1lj, KitQb al-Jan" (aI-Najar, 1368 II), ~ 5:7-8. 1 am indchtcd 10 Prof. E. Kohlbcrg for referring me to this source. 56 Fir'!!!. p. 26:4. The same prudenl ttiziJI is auributed by al-Dinawari 10 'Amr b. al-'A$ (aJ-AJOOr, Fa41, p. 242:15. "Qa" IwddQb", J'~i" ibid. p Uill

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wide rimmed sandals made of two slrips.I'U Their lower lip was shaven,l26 and their moustache closely CUI.I21 It was .1101 Wasil who had

fashioned Ihis uniform: there are indications that at least SOffie of these peculiarities were commonly recognized as Ihe signs of asceticism and piety.11I We are told that the du'iit's mission kept them away from their families, a trail which. though not necessarily implying continence. is cenainly meant to bring to mind lhe ascetic 'uzla.'2' Safwan also praises the du'llt for their nightly vigils, and says lhal their foreheads were marked by constant prostration. We recognize here. the old Mu'13zila, 'Amc's people.no But the organizer, the one who launched the movement, was Wasil. The du'llr were his exclusive concern; he was Ihe one who gave them their instructiol'lSt and they showed him total and unswerving obedience.111

125 "Li-na'lihi qiOOJiini Ii ,udn raJ,ib aJ-khawasir", ibid~ p. 26H. The two strips of the sandal were considered SU./1na, see a/-J(Jnu' aJ-Sal)iJ; ... ltI-BukhiJri, cd. M. Rudolph Krehl-Th.W. Juynboll (Leiden, 1!Xl6), vol IV, pp. 88-89; Wen'iinck, ConcorddnL;e, s:v. "n't ". 126 .. Anfaqa fntl.flilma", J5t,i1. ibid~ P. 26:14. 127 "IMii sMrib", ibjd~ p. 26:11 128 AI-Tirmidhi (Nawadi, a/-u~iil fi ma'rifal ahadi,h al-rasw lal-Madinal p. 9:19) enumerates a few characterislics of Quistian monks, for whom real seclusion ('uzla, 1.18 or tliWl, 1.l6) was tOO demanding, and who substituled for it false, superficial worldly zuM (11, 22-23). Among these characteristics are Ihe lurban (al-';mma al-ma'(ula, cpo n. 123 above), lhe Irimmed garmem ("tashmj, al-thiylJb", ep. Il 124 above), and lhe Irimmed mOUSlaehe ("half al-shl1rib", ep. n. 127 above). Whatever other implicalions this passage may have, il is clear from il that these exlemal peculiarilies were recognizable in Ihe ninlh cenlury as signs of zuhd, and may have been associated with ChriSlian asceticism. For Ihe reference 10 this importalll text 1 am indebted to Dr. S. Sviri. It may be wOrlh noting lilal Ihe Mu'lazilite saw no harm in their resemblance 10 monks (al-Khayyat, InJislu, pp. 69.11,18 -702), 129 AI-'Askarj, Awa'U, p. t38:lo. 130 See al-Jabi1. Baylvt, p. 26:11-12, and note 34 above. 131 AHal:li1. jbid~ p. 25:7; 'Alxl al-Jabb5.r, Fat/I; jbid~ p. 237:14-16 (where 'Ullun5n ai-Tawil is qUOted as saying: "As long as Wasil lived. until he died. ....'C did not consider ourselves as having any dominion over ourselves. For he would S:ly 10 one of us. "Sct OUl 10 a certain coumry", aoo it was impa;sible 10 refuse him"

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According to Abu Hilal aI-'Askari (d. af'er 400 H) Wii;il was the first to be called nl/llQzi/LI31 It is very difficult to accept thIS statement literally: as we have seen, the assumption that around Was~l's time there were other people called mlllazila is more consonant With the available evidence. But certainly one could claim that W5..$il W3S the fimt mU'lazi!i in the sense that Wasil turned the mfllazila into a movemenl Before Wasil "the Mu'tazila" was a term applied, without much precision, to various kinds of ascetics. 11 is only after Wasil had appeared on the scene (and probably not irnm~.iatc1y thereafter), t~1t the name Mu'laZila came to designate onc specthc movement, holdmg specific doctrines. Yet we should not think that Wasil's only contribution to the Mu'tazila was his practical talent. He was the one who gave the pious, ascetic Mu'tazila an intellectual twist. 'Amr too was interested in theological questions. such as free will or God's unity,m But it is to Wiisil that all the records JX>int as the initiator of kalamic discourse. This is perhaps not the right place to offer a comprehensive analysis of Wasil's k.alam. We should at least note, however, that in this maller, the cryptic reports to hand corroborate one another, and appear to be authentic. They hardly ever attempt to attribute to him such later developments as "the five principles". Wasil developed .his own terminology, which appears in vario~ unrelated texts, and testifies 10 W:isil's systematic thought. By way of an example of this systematic thought we can mention the concept of the criteria of knowledge (aw;lIlJ aJ-'ilm), AI-Ja~i?- mentions four such criteria as Wasil's test for the truth'?4 According to 'Abd al-Jabtxi.r Wasil prcx:1uccd the concept

'Uthmiin knew this from his own experience (Fa4/. P. 241:1-13), 132 Awa'i/, p. 129;13, and compare Mizan, II. p. 295133 Mas'ooi, Mluuj, VI. p. 212; VI. pp. 234-236, 134 Quoted by al-'Askari, Awii'if, p.129:6-7. Wasil's trulh docs not rcl:lle to lhe correctness or otherwise of legal rutings, as suggested by Madelung (Du Imam, p. 15) following S. Pines, Beitrage zur islamischen AJom~nldtre (Berlin, 1936), p. 126, n. 3, although Wasil's erudition included also fiqh, see 'Abd al-Jabb5r, FaLjl, p. 236:16. Nor is he l3lking about the authenlicilY or otherwise of hadi,h, as suggcsled by Van Ess ("L'autoritc de la tradition prophClique dans la theologic mu'tazilile", La notion d'aufhorilt au Moyen Age: Islam, Byzance. OccidenJ (Paris., 1980), p. 213}, Rather, Wasil is above all cooccmed

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of the criteria for knowledge in a dispute between Jahm b. Safwan and the BUddhis~ On this occasion Wiisil ~ned thai onc way (wajll) (0 know God IS by means of the proof by deduction (da/m.m Wasil's pre~~pation with epistemology is confimloo by the list of his works, which mcludes Ihe title "a book concerning Ihe way 10 the knowledge of Truth".J36 It is probably in Ihis book Ihal he developed his concept of "criteria", Another example is Wasil's inrerest in logical treatment of exegetical problems. We hear that he wrote a book on "ma'ani at-Qur'iJn",m and indeed, according to another report. Wiisil was the first to establish such exegetical rules as the distinction between general llI and ~~fic VCJSeS. And, of course, his idea of the intemlcdiary slale, a bnlliant kalamic solUlion 10 a delicate problem, should also be mentio~ed in this context: both his book on the manzila bayna al-mQl~zllaIaYfl and his kitab a/-lawba probably dealt wilh it~)' Wasil's theoreucal, theological interest. in this question appears to be undeniable. These concepts and topics characterizing Wasil's thinking are often mentioned in passing in our sources. The first two examples cann~t b~ regarded as conscious inventions, since they are only m~rglnal In the context in which they appear, no special atlention being drawn to them. All three are examples of lopics peripheral to later kalamic, Mu'tazilite thought, and they consequently cannot be suspected of being projections of later problems. We must therefore assume that what we are told of Wasil's preoccuJXuion with theological matters is authentic. Van Ess has suggested that "the inclination rowards systematic

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theology, which... marked the physiognomy of the school, was not due to Wasil, and certainly not to 'Amr, but to 0ir;ir".140 According to this interpretation, Oicir b. 'Alllf (ca. 190 1-1) went out of favour in the movement, so that his teaching was attribuled to Wasil. In the same line, an anecdote according to which Abu al-Hudhayl had received from Wiisil's widow two ooxes of books containing her lale husband's manuscripts, would be for Van Ess a transparent attempt to bolster Abu al-liudhayl's authority by inventing for him an acceptable master.14 \ On closer examination, however, the wording of this last anecdote is not exactly flattering to AbU al-Hudhayl: he is depicted not as the faithful student of the great master, but rather as someone who had no knowledge of his own.I42. It should also be mentioned thai according to another repon by the same widow, W:i.$i1 was a prolific writer,l43 so that the report of two boxes full of his writings is quite plausible. FunhemlOre, Wiisil's theological activity is altcstoo in a way which speaks for its authenticity. We thus have every reason to believe that Wisil was indeed the originator of the Mu'tazilite Kalam. Equally genuine was WaSil's interest in other religions. His theOlogical system was shaped by the challenge of meeting with adversaries,'44 and his emissaries were encouraged to seek dio;;putations and instructed on how 10 argue in them.14S They were C':l.lIing to "the Truth",146 or "to God's religion",14' not only to convert infidels, bUI alo;o

140 Van Ess. "Lecture", p. 66. W. Monlgomery Walt (Islamic Philosophy and 1'Ileology, Edinburgh, 1979, p. 60) also argued that "there is nothing to suggest

ill 136

137 138 139

wilh lrue as opposed 10 f;Jlse religion, see below, notes 146-141 and lhe corresponding text, and see S. Stroumsa, 'The Signs of Prophecy: The E~lergence and Early Development of a Theme in Arabic Theological Llleralure", Harvard Theological Review, 18 (1985) J)p. 101-114. 'Abd aHabbiir. Faljl, p. 240:18; Ibn al-Murt.a(j5., fabaqlu, p. 34. "K. a/-,rabil ila rna'rifal al-J,.aqtf, Ibn al-Nadim, Fihri,r/, lakmila I; Ibn Khallikal\ Wafaylu, I. p. 11; Ibn al-Murt.a!ja. MUIl)lQ, p. 21.:5-10. Ibn al-Nadim. loc. cit. AI-'Askari, A~'iJ, p. 1299-ll Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat, lV, p. 1l; Dhahabi, Milan. III, pp. 267 ff. On the relevance of the tawba to the intermedil:lry statc see, for cXilmple, Mas'Udi Muruj, VI. p. 22. '

141

142

~hal ~iisil or 'Arm had any interest in Greek philosophical conceptions", ImplYlllg that they wcre f10t really interested in theology. In ,mother conlext, nnd without referring spccificnlly to the beginning of theological discourse, Walt suggested Ihal Dishr b. al-Mu'tnmir invclllcd his relationship to Wasil in order 10 cleanse hinlSClf from the nccao;;alion of being n Jahmite (il"IC Political AlLilodcs", f1. 53), Van E.~ ~Leclure". p. 39. "F~-'a,ra an yakiin jull kafamihi min dha/ika", 'Abd al-Jnbb5.r, Fo{j{, p. ~41.18-19; Ibn al-Murlad5., Taboqiil, p. 35; Munya. p.2llJ-15. Ahd al-1:lboor, Fatlf. pp. 165:11-12, 234:14. See 'Abd al-Jabb5r. FfJi/l, f1. 235..6 -1 and notes 25-26 above. AI-Ilalkhi, /lfaqiJiOl. P. 67-JH3; oJ-IIUr aI-'in, p. n

143 144 145 146 AI-Balkhi,loc. cu. 147 iJ-mi.r aI-'in, p. n'6.

.

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to establish belief in Islam on a sound theoreliClI fooling.

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293

We have only vague information about the ways in which Ihe

Mu'laZilite da'wQ functioned. Nevenhele&li it seems clear that it was lhe kernel (rom which Mu'tazilite Kalam grew. It appears. Ihen, Ihat what drew Wasil and 'Arne togelher was Ihe desire 10 stan a movement of religious and intellectual renov31iorl The movement had a strong pietistic colouring, introduced by 'Ann

and his group of early MU'lazililCS, who also brought with them the nam~ Mu'tazil~ Th~ movement also had a strong inlerest in theology, and Il sent em1SS3r1es to propagalc its theological ideas by means of religious disputation.

• • • If Ihe picture presented above is accurate. Ihen some current views on early religious development in Islam must be modified. l. The nOlion, already common among the Muslim heresiographers, that the various religious movements of matllre Islam were already distinct and sepanlle in the early Islamic period, appears to be fa1se.1• 1 Theology and asceticism, Kalam and Sufism, all emerged from Ihe same milieu.'·' The terms used to describe this milieu, 2llhhad, flussak, mu'tazila, and even qadariyya, were vague and were lo~sely applied to a varielY of allitudcs.lSo Only later, as specific alUtudes became clearly definGd and differentiated, did the various

terms become proper names of specific groups and religious movemenlS. , . 2 The political interpretations of the rise of .the Mu ~la are indeed very appealing. They fit the preval.ent basl~ assumption of modern research (as well as of many Muslim h~r~~i1ographers). ~hat every religious development in Islam had ortglnally ~ P~lltt~ me3.ning.'~1 A political interpretation of Ihe rise of the Mu taz1 a 3. makes it easier to account for the Mu'tazilite fervour of the 'Abbaslds during the miJIIIlL ,. . But a political understanding of the rise of the M~ taDla fads to account for the Mu't3zila itself. It provides no explanation for the transition from a supposedly politically centered movement to Mu'tazilite Kalam There is moreover no one political platfor",l on which all early Mu'tazilites were united. In faet. one could almost ~e in the early Mu'tazila a miniature replica of JX>litical disagreement In Islam. We are therefore bound to reject the JX>litical approach to the problem of the Mu'tazila. As the name of the movement indicates. it grew on ascetic, not on political ground. The Mu'tazilite movement Slarted indeed with Wasil and 'Aror. and it W1S a movement of Kalam

148 That Muslim Iradilional hercsiography lends to view the heresies as dislioct from Ihe beginning needs hardly 10 be demonSlralcd. As for modcrn scholarship, sec, for example, P. Crone :md M. Cook, lIagaristrl (CambrKlgc, 1980), p. 95. which, while admiuing th:u "there is no intrinsic inromp:uibilily between Sufism and Iheology", presenlS Ihe Iwo as emerging from differem backgrounds. 149 This was already noccd by S. Pines" who suggested thai Mu'l3zilite Kalam and 3 dominant Sufi Iradilion stem from the same school. Ih:l.l 0( Uasan al-Bavi. See TM Cambridge lIislOry 01 Is/am.. Vol IL P. 788. 00 The most conspicuous cX3mpie of the usc of terms in a vague way is the usc of Ihc term qadariyya: $Cc. for cxample. 'Ab
As is implied. for cx:\mrle. b)'

n.

Lewis,. ~Politics and War" in J. Schacht and

C£ Boswonh. cds.. TM Legacy of Islam {seccnd edition. Oxfocd. 1979). p. 158.

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