Official Schools of Kalam

Mu'tazilites

Ash'arites

'People of Unity and Justice'
(ahl al-tawhid wa al-'adl)

Wasil bin Ata's withdrawal from al-Hasan al-Basri circle, due to dissatisfaction on the issue of grave sinners.

His answer : manzilah bayna al-manzilatayn (believer nor unbeliever), aka at the time; infidel, hypocrite (munafiq)

Doctrines

The principle of Unity

Justice of God

Al-wa'du wa al-wa'id
(The Promise and The Threat)

Manzilah bayna al-manzilatayn
(Intermediate state)

Amr bi al-ma'ruf wa nahy 'an al-munkar
(Command the Good and Forbid the Evil)

Fall of Mu'tazilite

Excessive reasoning and obsessed with it

Involved in politics, patronized by several Abbasid's rulers, and imposing views to be country's stand

Bred the feeling enmity, especially from the traditionalists

They were labelled zindiq due to being against argumentative and disputational characteristics of discourses in 'ilm-kalam

Contributions

Counter zandaqa and declared it to be false doctrines

Defended Islam form multiplicity of God

Defended Islam against Manichaeans

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (founder) withdrew from Mu'tazilite circle; due to 3 dreams of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) in Ramadan

Famous narration of the withdrawal; Story of three brothers :

  1. One Pious
  2. One Wicked
  3. One Dead

Emphasized on the active role of God in man's life; opposing Mu'tazilite's stand

Life is not about absolute objectivity; things happen out of people's control, thus a major mandate given to God but man has power of choice

Important figures

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

al-Baqillani

al-Juwayni

al-Ghazali

al-Shahrastani

Doctrines

  1. God has distinct and eternal attributes
  1. It was God's speech, an eternal attribute, and therefore uncreated
  1. The vision of God in the world to come is a reality, but incomprehensible to us
  1. Pertaining to anthropomorphic verses, such as God's hand and face, is to mean 'grace','essence' and so on
  1. God's omnipotence also encompasses the acts of men by creating power for men to do each act

Nothing corporeal was meant; they were real attributes whose precise nature was unknown; i.e God sitting on throne

  1. Al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn was altered were a Muslim guilty of a serious sin, he remains a believer but is liable to punishment