Mutazilite

American  

[moo-tah-zuh-lahyt] / muˈtɑ zəˌlaɪt /

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.

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Mutazilite British  

/ muːˈtɑːzɪˌlaɪt /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• Mutazilism noun

Etymology

Origin of Mutazilite

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

Example Sentences

The prisoner obtained permission to put a few questions to Ahmad Ibn Abu D�,�d, a Mutazilite and the President of the Court of Inquisition.

From The Faith of Islam by Sell, Edward

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 Mystics and Saints of Islam by Field, Claud

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 Mystics and Saints of Islam by Field, Claud

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

From The Faith of Islam by Sell, Edward