Mutazilite

[ moo-tah-zuh-lahyt ]

noun

, Islam.

1. a member of a medieval theological sect Mutazila that maintained that nothing but eternity could be asserted regarding Allah, that the eternal nature of the Quran was questionable, and that humans have free will.

Mutazilite

/ muːˈtɑːzɪˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a member of an 8th-century liberal Muslim sect, later merged into the Shiahs

Other Words From

• Mu·tazi·lism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mutazilite¹

First recorded in 1720–30; from Arabic muʿtazil(aj) + -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mutazilite¹

from Arabic mu`tazilah body of seceders + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

He is not a mere sceptic on the one hand, nor a bigoted theologian on the other, and his verdict on the Mutazilite heretics of his day is especially mild.

From Project Gutenberg

But108 at last Al Asha'ari, himself formerly a Mutazilite, renounced his heresies, and sought to defend orthodoxy and confute the heretics on philosophical grounds.

From Project Gutenberg

Al-Jubbai was silent, though very angry with his pupil, who was now convinced that the Mutazilite dogma of man's free-will was false, and that God elects some for mercy and some for punishment without any motive whatever.

From Project Gutenberg

There is, first, the ancient Sif�tian doctrine that the attributes are eternal and of the essence of God: secondly, the Mutazilite theory that they are not eternal; and, thirdly, the Ash'ar�an dogma that they are eternal, but distinct from His essence.

From Project Gutenberg

The Im�m As-Sh�fa'� held a public disputation in Baghd�d with Hafs, a Mutazilite preacher, on this very point.

From Project Gutenberg