Title Al-Ghazzal Jurisprudence Mu'tazili | Role Theologian Ethnicity Arab Name Wasil Ata Region Mesopotamia | |
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Notable idea(s) Rationalism in Islamic theology, Founder of Mu'tazili school of thought, Free will of humans, Problem of evil in Islam, Indeterminism, Incompatibilism Metaphorical interpretation of the Qur'an Similar People Hasan of Basra, Avicenna, Al‑Kindi, Aristotle, Plotinus | ||
Main interest(s) Islamic theology | ||
Wasil ibn ata ra the mutazilla encounter the khawarij
Wasil ibn Ata (700–748) (Arabic: واصل بن عطاء) was an important Muslim theologian and jurist of his time, and by many accounts is considered to be the founder of the Mutazilite school of Islamic thought.
Born around the year 700 in the Arabian Peninsula, he initially studied under Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the grandson of the renowned Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Later he would travel to Basra in Iraq to study under Hasan al-Basri (one of the Tabi‘in). In Basra he began to develop the ideologies that would lead to the Mutazilite school. These stemmed from conflicts that many scholars had in resolving theology and politics. His main contribution to the Mutazilite school was in planting the seeds for the formation of its doctrine.
Wasil ibn Ata died in 748 in the Arabian Peninsula.
He married the sister of Amr ibn Ubayd.