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

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

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

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 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