The aspect of Muʿtazilah sect, if one can all them so, is a fascinating part of Islam.
One should also know about them.
I wish @cvifanatic could start a thread and educated all so that there is a better understanding amongst all.
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Since there are references to Muʿtazilah, here is what an Arab writer has to say.
ISLAMIC HISTORYTHE BATTLE FOR REASON
by Amir Ahmed Nasr*
The war between Islamic Rationalists and Traditionalists isn't just a thing of history. Looking back at the philosophical battles of the past could hold the key to a better, brighter Arab future.
How did Islamdom lose her virtue?
Versions of this question had echoed in my head for a while – growing unbearably louder each time a religious fanatic coopted the Qur'an to suit nonsensical purposes, violence, or oppression. How did this loss happen? And when?
The question persisted and, tired of bemoaning the current state of things with no answers of my own, I decided to research. Hours of delving into Islam's history handsomely paid off; I not only found many answers I was looking for. I also found, in that answer, a new set of heroes cooler than any action figures from my childhood. These new heroes of mine were called the Mu'tazila.
The Mu'tazila were an early group of Muslim religious philosophers and theologians who emerged during the formative years of Islam. At this time, they gained ascendency over another group of Muslim theologians called the Ash'ariyya, with whom the Mu'tazila engaged in a spirited war of ideas on numerous issues including the ontological nature of the Qur'an.
I could imagine the various battles as I read about them in black-and-white, and in my eyes, their verbal and ideological disputes resembled an epic exchange of blows and stunts.
Here's how it went. The Mu'tazila, sometimes referred to as the "Rationalists," held philosophy in high-esteem, emphasized free will, and believed that the interpretation of the Qur'an and the Hadith are subordinate to human reason. They also believed that all theological propositions must conform to the principles of rational thought, and if for instance a certain Qur'anic verse didn't, then it had to be interpreted allegorically. The Ash'ariyya on the other hand, who were known as the "Traditionalists," had less appreciation for philosophy, emphasized predestination, were more literalist in their interpretation of the Qur'an, and insisted that reason should be subordinate and subservient to revelation – a stance I personally find repulsive and appalling.
Thus, by virtue of their positions, the Mu'tazila and Ash'ariyya found themselves at each other's throat, each determined to have their views prevail over the other's. But it gets better, because Team Mu'tazila and Team Ash'ariyya each had their changing political backers and patrons as well. The whole affair was as complex and filled with intrigues as modern historical fiction!
In the 9th century, the Caliph leader of Baghdad, al-Ma'mun, declared the Mu'tazila's creed as the religion of the state and persecuted the Ash'ariyya. But a few years later, the political situation changed dramatically, and a new leader, al-Mutawakkil, took over. He reversed al-Ma'mun's policy, favoring the Ash'ariyya instead, and hunted the Mu'tazila with a vengeance.
The Ash'ariyya's belief in predestination, that everything happens as a result of "God's will," proved to be an advantage for the politically manipulative, who used the doctrine as a way of coercing the people to accept their rulers – whether just or unjust, kind or oppressive. After all, their rule was part of "God's will," and therefore beyond contestation. The Ash'ariyya prevailed mercilessly. Luckily for Muslims, the Mu'tazila's views had already spread to other parts of Islamdom where they flourished and contributed significantly to the rise of the Islamic Golden Age – an age of science, progress, and discovery, which affirmed independent reasoning and empiricism.
How did Islamdom lose her virtue? It wasn't because of moral decadence, nor because of the infidels. No, it was because of one main cause: the abandonment of reason. Our philosophical thinkers faded to the background as religious literalists rose to the fore.
Not so luckily, the Mu'tazila as a distinct movement came to an end and the Ash'ariyya became the orthodox theology dominant to this day. One person I came to despise for his role in defeating Mu'tazila-oriented ideas and spreading the shackling dogmatism of the Ash'ariyya is the revered Traditionalist Muslim theologian, al-Ghazali. Not surprisingly then, the one person I came to admire most was al-Ghazali's opponent, the Spanish-Arab Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd, defender of Aristotelian philosophy. Those in the West know him as Averroes and attribute Western Europe's modern secular thought with his inspirational writings.
All of my research left me high on historical revelations, but frustrated by the fall and devastation.
"If only the Mu'tazila had survived. If only they had won. If only al-Mutawakkil didn't screw things up. If only al-Ghazali and his ilk had been defeated. If only Ibn Rushd had prevailed! If only," I grieved in despair. But at least I'd found one of my crucial answers.
So, how did Islamdom really lose her virtue?
Simply, she forgot the importance of reason. It wasn't because of moral decadence nor because of the infidels. No, it was because of one main cause, and that was the abandonment of reason. Our philosophical thinkers faded to the background as religious literalists rose to the fore. The freedom of thought, expression, experimentation, and questioning fell under the rule of obdurate Traditionalists, who quashed the use of reason. It is because of this that Islam's virtue has disappeared.
We have to bring back reason. We have to re-establish philosophy so we can liberate the Muslim mind from the shackles of dogma, so we can re-establish a Muslim culture of science, so we can rise again. It's possible – but it requires work, strong leaders, stronger thinkers, and the support of a people unwilling to remain subservient to literalism and faith.
As for the Traditionalists of today, they love to brag about Islamdom's Golden Age of achievements. They love to gloat about her past glory and relative harmonious openness. They love to point out her former flourishing and her sciences and innovations. But those achievements were the work of persevering Rationalism – the very intellectual foundation that Traditionalists still attack today. If Islamdom is to ever rise again to its former stature, it must look to its past, to its real heroes, and turn once more to the reason and empiricism that made it great.
* This article is adapted from Amir Ahmad Nasr's forthcoming book "My Isl@m".
Free Arabs - Islamic History The Battle for Reason
