Mu'tazila

The Mu ʿ tazila (Arabic المعتزلة, the settling ') was a theological movement of Islam, which flourished between the 9th and 11th centuries, was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy and especially in Kalam, a form of religious disputation with rational arguments, excelled. The name Mu ʿ tazila is ( " separate themselves, to settle " ) from the active participle of the Arabic verb i ʿ Tazala derived. Why it fell back in the name of the group to that concept is not clear.

The mu ʿ tazilite theology was maintained over the 11th century in addition Shiite circles, especially in the Zaydi further. In modern times, there were some Muslim theologians who have revived the ideas of the Mu ʿ tazila. In the Middle Ages the mu ʿ tazilite theology has also aired on Judaism, and in particular the Karaite theology.

Beginnings and origins of the name

As founder of the Mu ʿ tazila teaching the two basrischen scholar Wasil ibn Ata ʿ ʾ (d. 748 ) and ʿ Amr ibn ʿ Ubayd (d. 761 ), who were both students of al -Hasan al - Basri apply. Wasil developed the doctrine of the intermediate ( al - manzila baina l - manzilatain ) of Todsünders. While the Kharijites einstuften the Todsünder as unbelievers and the Murdschi ʾ ites considered him faithful who said Wasil that he finds it at the intermediate level of the transgressors. The term is derived from the Koran and fasiq appears there often as antonym of " faith " (cf. eg Sura 32:18 ). Usually translated the word as " wicked ". Brand new, the concept of intermediate stage was not, however, because even al - Hasan al- Basri had the Todsünder as hypocrites referred to ( " hypocrites " ) and thus also set to an intermediate stage between believers and unbelievers. A difference was however, is that the Hasan Todsünder zubilligte no possibility of repentance ( tauba ), while such a repentant reversal is possible with the transgressors. A poem by Safwan al - Ansari, al - Jahiz, the quoted, reports that Wasil missionaries to various parts of the Islamic empire ( Kufa, Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Khurasan, Armenia and Maghreb ) sent to spread his teachings.

About al - Basri is told later in Sunni circles that he had responded to the doctrine of the intermediate with the saying: i ʿ ʿ Tazala Anna Wasil ibn Ata ʿ ʾ ( " Wasil ibn Ata ʿ ʾ has separated from us"). According to this story, the name goes back to the secretion Wāsils of al- Hasan al- Basri. The Mu ʿ taziliten even told the name so that they would have settled in the doctrine of sin from the extreme positions of the Kharijites and Murdschi ʾ ites. In general, these explanations are today, however, considered in research for future inventions. Ignaz Goldziher suggested that the name Mu ʿ tazila explained by an ascetic attitude: they were " retreating penitents ". This thesis was later taken up by Sarah Stroumsa again.

Carlo Nallino tried to show that the Arabic term i ʿ tizāl ( " The self- weaning " ) featured a position of political neutrality between different camps since the early Islamic period and the Mu ʿ taziliten to this approach is rather linked would. Building on this, H. Nyberg developed the theory that it was the Mu ʿ taziliten that the Legitimition for their seizure of power provided the Abbasids, because it allowed them the time polarization between the Umayyads and Shia to portray themselves as a neutral mediator. Recent studies have shown, however, that have Mu ʿ taziliten several times not for the Abbasids, but took the Alid party. So this theory is obsolete. Thus, until now there is no generally accepted explanation for the name of Mu ʿ tazila. So far it is not even clear whether it has been used at the time of Wasil ibn ʿ ʿ Amr ibn Ata ʾ and ʿ Ubayd this name for them as contemporary evidence is lacking.

Early flowering time in the 9th century

The main representatives of the Mu ʿ tazila and its teachings

By the end of the 8th century, the Mu ʿ tazila was, if at all, only one of numerous religious movements in Islam. She received a more central role only in the early 9th century. Their main representative in Basra were to Mu ʿ ammar this time ibn ʿ Abbad (d. 830), Abū l - al - ʿ Hudhail Allaf (d. 841 ) and on - Nazzam (d. 835). In addition to this school of Basra developed around this time a second center of the Mu ʿ tazila in Baghdad. The most important representative of the school of Baghdad was Bishr ibn al -Mu ʿ tamir (d. 825 ).

Mu ʿ ammar ibn ʿ Abbad is primarily known for his ma ʿ NA theory. The ma ʿ ani - so the plural of ma ʿ Nā is Individuationsprinzipien for substances and the real foundation of the phenomena of accidents. Each ma ʿ Nā has its reason, what an infinite regress generated in a forward- lying ma ʿ well, but ends in a identified with God first cause, which thus is the true cause of the accidental appearance of the substances.

Abū l - Hudhail first developed Mu ʿ tazilit a teaching about the attributes of God. He emphasized strikingly strong the omnipotence of God. The proof of God is obtained for him from the contingency of the world. He also expressed the view that, the Koran created as God's speech ( machlūq ) is. Only God is eternal and uncreated beginning of its conception. In return, he stressed the inimitability of the Qur'an. In the field of physics Abū l - Hudhail was heavily influenced by atomism. Abū l - Hudhail has written numerous documents, including Ibn al - Nadim in his Fihrist returns a list. None of these writings, however, has been preserved independently. Most were polemical character. Among the Mu ʿ taziliten he has most frequently quarreled with on - Nazzam. Six of writings were directed against him.

A striking feature of on - Nazzam was particularly its anti- atomic movement theory. After this movement must ( TAFRA ) put into effect, because it is not possible between an infinite divisibility of space that the moving body touches every single point in the "jump". Reaching significance had in his system of teaching the concept of the Spirit ( ruh ). He introduced himself to the spirit, building on the Platonic pneuma concept as a subtle body, like a gas mixes with the body and penetrates him until the fingertips, but again triggers the death of this compound and continued to exist independently. Student of to - Nazzam, among them Ahmad ibn Chābit led away these thoughts and subsequently developed a theory of the transmigration of spirits ( tanāsuḫ ).

With the name of Bishr ibn al -Mu ʿ tamir combines especially the doctrine of tawallud, the " production " or " tripping" of events chains by the action of man. Using this concept taught Bishr that anything whatever can be seen from the plot of a man who was also his action. In this way man is made in addition to God for a second author of the change. Another central idea in his doctrine was the idea of ​​the divine pardon ( Lutf ). God has unlimited freedom to manage people as believers on the path of salvation or revealing as infidels the disaster. If he leads them on the path of faith, he does so solely of a pardon, not for other reasons.

The Mihna

In the time of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun ( 813-833 ), al - Mu'tasim bi- ' llāh ( 833-842 ) and al - Wathiq bi- ' llāh ( 842-847 ) enjoyed the Mu ʿ tazila highest princely patronage. Several famous Mu ʿ taziliten were appointed at this time to the Abbasid court, including Abū l - Hudhail and on - Nazzam. Against the supported from the farm mu ʿ tazilite theology turned out very soon the Sunni clergy, whose main argument was the invariable adherence to tradition and its constant imitation.

The rationalistic method, which had introduced the Kalam scholars, considered some Sunni chief representative as heresy. Among the best known of these representatives are Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855). 833 an inquisition (Arabic Mihna ) was introduced against them. As a touchstone taught by Abū l - Hudhail createdness of the Qur'an was used, this was in fact disputed by the traditional scholars. They assumed that the Qur'an is the uncreated speech of God. Those who did not agree to this doctrine were punished, including Ahmad b Hanbal. Taziliten For the Mu ʿ Inquisition was this process, however, be counterproductive. They were now on as accomplices of the tyrannical regime that was responsible for the Mihna.

Subsequent development

At the turn of the 10th century was the leadership of the Mu ʿ Abū ʿ Alī al taziliten in - ʾ ī Dschubbā. One of his students was Abū al -Hasan al - Ash ʿ arī. He turned away from the Mu ʿ tazila from, was converted to the Sunni doctrine and presented his rational reasoning in the service of their defense. Conversely, he criticized in his " Epistle to the inhabitants of the frontier fortress " ( Risala ila ahl at- TAGR ) the mu ʿ tazilite theology.

The Mu ʿ tazila however, received new herrscherliche promotion at the courts of the Persian Buyids in the second half of the 10th century. Important Mu ʿ taziliten this time were Sāhib Ibn ʿ Abbad, the vizier of the Buyids princes of Rayy, the hand theological books in which he explained the mu ʿ tazilite doctrine, and ʿ Abd al - Jabbar, who was appointed 970 for Oberkadi of Rayy. Characteristic of the mu ʿ Ibn ʿ Abbāds tazilite teaching and ʿ Abd al - Dschabbārs was fighting Prädestinianismus and the definition of Mu ʿ tazila on five basic principles (Arabic: al - Usul al - Hamsa). These were:

With the assumption of power by the Sunni Seljuks ended the herrscherliche support for the Mu ʿ tazila in Iraq in the mid-11th century. However, there were still some scholars who very sympathetic to the Mu ʿ tazila harbored such as Ibn ʿ Aqil Hanbalit. After the suppression of the Mu ʿ taziliten in Iraq experienced the Mu ʿ tazila a final flowering in Choresmien with the work of al - Zamachscharis (d. 1144 ). However, the mu ʿ tazilite theology at the Yemeni Zaydi and Twelver Shi'a was further operated. The Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328 ) wrote his work Minhāǧ as- sunna, which was directed against his contemporaries Shiite al - ʿ Allama al - Hilli, even in refutation of the mu ʿ tazilitischen theses.

Assessment in Modern

Ahmad Amin about the long -term historical development as follows: ". 's Rejection of the Mu ʿ tazila was the greatest misfortune that struck the Muslims you have thus a crime against himself committed " to the Muslim scholars of modernism, which have tried to resuscitate concepts of Mu ʿ tazila belong Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid in Egypt and Harun Nasution in Indonesia.

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