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Practice these MCQs in the appQuick fact: Wasil ibn Ata was the founder of the Mu'tazila sect.
Wasil ibn Ata (700–748 CE) founded the Mu'tazila school of thought in Basra after separating from the study circle of Hasan al-Basri over the theological issue of whether a grave sinner is still a believer. The Mu'tazila emphasized rationalism and five core principles: Tawhid (Divine Unity), Adl (Divine Justice), al-Wa'd wa al-Wa'id (Promise and Threat), al-Manzilah bayn al-Manzilatayn (the intermediate position), and al-Amr bil Ma'ruf wa al-Nahi an al-Munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil). They are often called the "rationalists" of Islamic theology.
The Mu'tazila sect reached its peak during the early Abbasid Caliphate, particularly under Caliph al-Ma'mun who adopted it as the official doctrine and instituted the Mihna (inquisition) to enforce the Mu'tazili doctrine of the createdness of the Quran. Other early Islamic sects that emerged in the same period include the Khawarij (founded by those who seceded from Ali's army), the Murji'ah (who suspended judgment on sinners), and the Jabariyyah (who believed in absolute predestination).
