Editing Mu'tazilism (section)

===The Five Principles===
According to a "leading Mu'tazilite authority" of the end of the ninth century (al-Khayyat),<ref name=Fakhry-46a>{{cite book| last=Fakhry |first=Majid |edition=second |title=A History of Islamic Philosophy |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |year=1983|page=46|quote=Thus according to a leading Mu'talite authority of the end of the ninth century, five basic tenets make up the strict Mu'tazilite creed: monotheism, justice and unity, the inevitability of the threats and promises of God, the intermediary position, the injunction of right and the prohibition of wrong.}}</ref> and "clearly enunciated for the first time by [[Abu al-Hudhayl al-'Allaf|Abu al-Hudhayl]]",<ref name="robinson2"/> five basic tenets make up the Mu'tazilite creed:
#monotheism,<ref name=khayyat-93/>
#justice and unity,<ref name=khayyat-93/>
#the inevitability of the threats and promises of God (or "the warning and the promise"),<ref name=khayyat-93/>
#the intermediary position (i.e. Muslims who die without repentance after committing a grave sin are neither ''mu'mineen'' (believers), nor ''kuffar'' (non-believers), but in an intermediate position known as ''fasiq''),<ref name=khayyat-93/>
#the injunction of right, and the prohibition of wrong.<ref name=khayyat-93>Al-Khayyat, A.H., ''Kitab al-Intisar'', Beirut, 1957, p.93</ref>

====1. Monotheism====
All Muslim schools of theology faced the dilemma of affirming [[Transcendence (religion)|divine transcendence]] and [[Conceptions of God|divine attributes]], without falling into [[anthropomorphism]] on the one hand or emptying scriptural references to those attributes of all concrete meaning.{{sfn|Jackson|2005}}

The doctrine of Tawhīd, in the words of the prominent Mu'tazili scholar Chief Justice [[Qadi Abd al-Jabbar]] (died 415 AH/1025 AD)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://irl.umsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=philosophy-faculty |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-03-25 |archive-date=2021-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817155204/https://irl.umsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=philosophy-faculty |url-status=live }}</ref> is: <blockquote> the knowledge that God, being unique, has attributes that no creature shares with him. This is explained by the fact that you know that the world has a creator who created it and that: he existed eternally in the past and he cannot perish while we exist after being non-existent and we can perish. And you know that he was and is eternally all-powerful and that impotence is not possible for him. And you know that he is [[omniscient]] of the past and present and that ignorance is not possible for him. And you know that he knows everything that was, everything that is, and how things that are not would be if they were. And you know that he is eternally in the past and future living, and that calamities and pain are not possible for him. And you know that he sees visible things, and perceives perceptibles, and that he does not have need of sense organs. And you know that he is eternally past and in future sufficient and it is not possible for him to be in need. And you know that he is not like physical bodies, and that it is not possible for him to get up or down, move about, change, be composite, have a form, limbs and body members. And you know that he is not like the accidents of motion, rest, color, food or smells. And you know that he is One throughout eternity and there is no second beside him, and that everything other than he is contingent, made, dependent, structured, and governed by someone/thing else. Thus, if you know all of that you know the oneness of God.{{sfn|Martin|1997|p=92}}</blockquote>

====2. Divine justice====
Facing the [[Problem of evil|problem of existence of evil]] in the world, the Mu'tazilis pointed at the free will of human beings, so that evil was defined as something that stems from the errors in human acts. God does nothing ultimately evil, and he demands not from any human to perform any evil act. If man's evil acts had been from the will of God, then punishment would have been meaningless, as man performed the will of God no matter what he did. Mu'tazilis did not deny the existence of suffering that goes beyond human abuse and misuse of their free will granted to them by God. In order to explain this type of "apparent" evil, Mu'tazilis relied on the Islamic doctrine of ''taklif'': "God does not order/give the soul of any of his creation, that which is beyond its capacity." [Qur'an 2:286]. In conclusion, it comprised life is an ultimate "fair test" of coherent and rational choices, having a supremely just accountability in one's current state, as well as the hereafter.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Madelung |first=Wilferd |date=1992 |title=Studies in Medieval Muslim Thought and History |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003221883 |journal=New Editions from 2016 on by Routledge, Oxon and New York |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |doi=10.4324/9781003221883|isbn=978-1-003-22188-3 }}</ref>

Humans are required to have belief, ''[[Iman (concept)|iman]]'', secure faith and conviction in and about God, and do good works, ''amal saleh'', to have ''iman'' reflected in their moral choices, deeds, and relationship with God, fellow humans, and all of the creation in this world. If everyone is healthy and wealthy, then there will be no meaning for the obligations imposed on humans to, for example, be generous, help the needy, and have compassion for the deprived and trivialized. The inequalities in human fortunes and the calamities that befell them are, thus, an integral part of the test of life. Everyone is being tested. The powerful, the rich, and the healthy are required to use all their powers and privileges to help those who suffer and to alleviate their suffering. In the [[Qiyamah]] (Judgment Day), they will be questioned about their response to Divine blessings and bounties they enjoyed in their lives. The less fortunate are required to patiently persevere and are promised a compensation for their suffering that, as the [[Qur'an]] puts it in 39:10, and as translated by [[Muhammad Asad]], is "beyond all reckoning".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-09-26|title=Message Of Quran By Muhammad Asad 039 – WikiMir|url=http://www.wikimir.com/message-of-quran-by-muhammad-asad-039|access-date=2021-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926172903/http://www.wikimir.com/message-of-quran-by-muhammad-asad-039|archive-date=2010-09-26}}</ref>

The test of life is specifically for adults in full possession of their mental faculties. Children may suffer, and are observed to suffer, given the nature of life but they are believed to be completely free from sin and liability. Divine justice is affirmed through the theory of compensation. All sufferers will be compensated. This includes non-believers and, more importantly, children, who are destined to go to [[Paradise]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Akyol |first=Mustafa |date=October 27, 2022 |title=An Early Islamic Debate on Faith and Reason Is Worth Examining |url=https://www.cato.org/commentary/early-islamic-debate-faith-reason-worth-examining |access-date=December 15, 2024 |website=www.cato.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aytekin |first=Arif |date=2022-06-30 |title=The Question Regarding the Children of Nonbelievers in Islam |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/atebe/issue/71028/1081309 |journal=ATEBE |language=en |issue=7 |pages=129–147 |issn=2757-5616}}</ref>

The doctrine of '[[Adl]] in the words of ʿAbd al-Jabbar:{{sfn|Martin|1997|page=58}} It is the knowledge that God is removed from all that is morally wrong (''qabih'') and that all his acts are morally good (''[[hasana]]''). This is explained by the fact that you know that all human acts of injustice (''[[zulm]]''), transgression (''jawr''), and the like cannot be of his creation (''min khalqihi''). Whoever attributes that to him has ascribed to him injustice and insolence (''safah'') and thus strays from the doctrine of justice. And you know that God does not impose faith upon the unbeliever without giving him the power (''al-qudra'') for it, nor does he impose upon a human what he is unable to do, but he only gives to the unbeliever to choose unbelief on his own part, not on the part of God. And you know that God does not will, desire or want disobedience. Rather, he loathes and despises it and only wills obedience, which he wants and chooses and loves. And you know that he does not punish the children of polytheists (''al-[[mushrik]]in'') in Hellfire because of their fathers' sin, for he has said: "Each soul earns but its own due" (Qur'an 6:164); and he does not punish anyone for someone else's sin because that would be morally wrong (''qabih''), and God is far removed from such. And you know that he does not transgress his rule ([[hukm]]) and that he only causes sickness and illness in order to turn them to advantage. Whoever says otherwise has allowed that God is iniquitous and has imputed insolence to him. And you know that, for their sakes, he does the best for all of his creatures, upon whom he imposes moral and religious obligations (''yukallifuhum''), and that He has indicated to them what he has imposed upon them and clarified the path of truth so that we could pursue it, and he has clarified the path of falsehood (''tariq l-batil'') so that we could avoid it. So, whoever perishes does so only after all this has been made clear. And you know that every benefit we have is from God; as he has said: "And you have no good thing that is not from Allah" (Qur'an 16:53); it either comes to us from him or from elsewhere. Thus, when you know all of this you become knowledgeable about justice from God.{{sfn|Martin|1997|page=93}}

====3. The Promise and the Threat [''al-wa'd wa l-wa'id'']====
This comprised questions of the Last day, or in Arabic, the [[Qiyamah]] ([[Judgment Day|Day of Judgment]]). According to 'Abd al-Jabbar,{{sfn|Martin|1997|page=65-6}} The doctrine of irreversible Divine promises and warnings, is fashioned out the Islamic philosophy of human existence. Humans, (or ''insan'' in Arabic) are created with an innate need in their essence to submit themselves to something. Also, it is seen as an innate need of all humans to pursue an inner peace and contentment within the struggles of an imperfect world. Knowledge of God, truth, and choices, in relation to one's innate need of submission is seen in Islam as the promise and recompense of God (''al-thawab'') to those who follow. His warning is looked at as a conscious decision by a human submitting themselves, and choosing a varying principle which he had given a clear warning to. He will not go back on his word, nor can he act contrary to his promise and warning, nor lie in what he reports, in contrast to what the Postponers ([[Murjites]]) hold.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" />

====4. The Intermediate Position [''Al-Manzilah bayn al-manzilatayn'']====
That is, Muslims who commit grave sins and die without repentance are not considered as mu’minīn (believers), nor are they considered kafirs (non-believers), but in an intermediate position between the two, (''fasiq''). The reason behind this is that a mu’min is, by definition, a person who has faith and conviction in and about God, and who has their faith reflected in their deeds and moral choices. Any shortcoming on any of these two fronts makes one, by definition, not a mu’min. On the other hand, one does not become a ''kafir'' (i.e. rejecter; non-believer), for this entails, inter alia, denying the Creator—something not necessarily done by a committer of a grave sin. The fate of those who commit grave sins and die without repentance is Hell. Hell is not considered a monolithic state of affairs but as encompassing many degrees to accommodate the wide spectrum of human deeds and choices, and the lack of comprehension associated to The Ultimate Judge (one of the other names in Islam of God.) Consequently, those in the intermediate position, though in Hell, would have a lesser punishment because of their belief and other good deeds. Mu'tazilites adopted this position as a middle ground between [[Kharijites]] and [[Murjites]]. In the words of ʿAbd al-Jabbar, the doctrine of the intermediate position is{{sfn|Martin|1997|page=82, 106}} the knowledge that whoever murders, or commits [[zina]], or commits serious sins is a grave sinner (''fasiq'') and not a believer, nor is his case the same that of believers with respect to praise and attributing greatness, since he is to be cursed and disregarded. Nonetheless, he is not an unbeliever who cannot be buried in our Muslim cemetery, or be prayed for, or marry a Muslim. Rather, he has an intermediate position, in contrast to the Seceders ([[Kharijites]]) who say that he is an unbeliever, or the [[Murjites]] who say that he is a believer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mutahhari |first=Murtadha |date=2013-03-12 |title=Mu'tazilah {{!}} An Introduction to Ilm al-Kalam |url=https://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol3-no2/introduction-ilm-al-kalam-murtadha-mutahhari/mutazilah |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=al-Islam.org |language=en}}</ref>

====5. The enjoining of right and prohibiting of wrong====
These two tenets, like the "intermediate position", follow logically (according to scholar Majid Fakhry) from the basic Mu'tazilite concepts of divine unity, justice and free will, of which they are the logical conclusion.<ref name=Fakhry-46a/> Even though they are accepted [[Enjoining good and forbidding wrong|by most Muslims]], Mu'tazilites give them a specific interpretation in the sense that, even though God enjoins what is right and prohibits what is wrong, the use of reason allows a Muslim in most cases to identify for himself what is right and what is wrong, even without the help of revelation. Only for some acts is the revelation necessary to determine whether a certain act is right or wrong.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila - Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/ash-ariyya-and-mu-tazila/v-1# |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240803001911/https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/ash-ariyya-and-mu-tazila/v-1 |archive-date=2024-08-03 |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=www.rep.routledge.com |language=en}}</ref>