Neo-Mu'tazilites

Neo-Mu'tazilites (Arabic: المعتزلة الجدد), also called Neo-Mu'tazila, are modern Muslims, often reformers and revivalists. They are inspired by the ideas of the classical Mu'tazila school of theology, which was very successful during the early Abbasid Caliphate.[1][2] Neo-Mu'tazilism is part of the "renaissance" (Nahda) of the Arab world and modern Islamic reformism. This movement opposes Islamic conservatism, fatalism, and taqlid (blindly following earlier generations).[3]

Men of the Aligarh movement. Founded in British India by Syed Ahmad Khan, the movement revived the rational theology of the Neo-Mu'tazilites.[4]

Neo-Mu'tazilites work within a flexible intellectual system based on classical Mu'tazila thought. Modern thinkers use this system to connect Islamic rationalism with modern worldviews. They bring together human reason (aql) and divine revelation. To do this, they often use literary analysis of texts, classical criticism of hadith, or traditional kalam metaphysics.[5][6]

Through these methods, they connect different types of thought, including non-sectarian Islam, naturalism, Islamic feminism, Shi'ism, Sufism, Islamism, and Muslim Hebraism. As important figures in Islamic modernism, Neo-Mu'tazilites also agree with the Wahhabi critique of traditions that are not strictly based on the Qur'an.[7]

Term

The term Neo-Mu'tazilite is often used for modern Muslims inspired by Mu'tazilite texts rediscovered in Yemen during the 20th century CE, although it also describes earlier reformers who championed Mu'tazila rationalism.[8]

Beliefs

Neo-Mu'tazilites promote Islamic reformism and revivalism.[9]

Like their classical predecessors, Neo-Mu'tazilites emphasize the use of reason ('aql) in interpreting Islamic scripture. Their understanding of Islamic scripture has included widening the use of ijtihad (independent reasoning). They also downplay the authoritative value of hadith and the idea of ijma (consensus).[10][11][12][13] They also uphold the core historical Mu'tazilite tenet that the Qur'an is God's "created" word and not uncreated or co-eternal with God, in contrast to Sunni theology.[14][15][16][17]

Neo-Mu'tazilites use modern science to prove the Qur'an's miraculous nature, while also emphasizing its literary uniqueness and adopting a literary approach to its interpretation. They pay much attention to functionalism, emphasizing the practical and applied issues of Islam in the personal, social, and political spheres of life.[18]

In matters of faith and ethics, Neo-Mu'tazilites emphasise the possibility of freedom in the face of divine omnipotence and rational notions of good and evil.[19]

Modern thinkers linked to Neo-Mu'tazilism have differed from Salafis on how they view the history following the end of the period of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib). Salafis tend to focus on a total decline in religious purity after this early era. However, Neo-Mu'tazila thinkers argue that Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) actually advanced further in Baghdad than it did in the Arabian Peninsula. They state that in the border regions of Islam in Iraq, various different nations (aqwam) entered the community (al-milla) and established a more developed civilization than the civilization of Medina. This "civilizational environment" of Iraq is highlighted for fostering a wide range of views and facilitating the use of aql (reason) and qiyas (analogy) in the interpretation of scripture.[20]

Some Muslim feminists, described as "Progressive Neo-Mu'tazili feminists", use Mu'tazilite ideas to pose new questions in the contemporary fields of gender and religious studies.[21]

Historical development

Statue of Muhammad Abduh in Damanhour, Egypt

The Aligarh movement, founded in British India by Syed Ahmad Khan, revived the rational theology of the Neo-Mu'tazilites.[22] Syed's reformist program included a rationalist, Neo-Mu'tazilite understanding of Islamic scripture, questioning much of the corpus of hadith as either apocryphal or relevant only to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's day and age, rejecting the validity of ijma, broadening the horizon of ijtihad, and interpreting Biblical scripture from a sympathetic Muslim point of view (see Muslim Hebraism).[12][23] Syed also combined theological naturalism with Neo-Mu'tazilism.[24]

Other early Neo-Mu'tazilites include Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh. They used traditional, logical arguments to defend Islam against Western intellectual attacks.[25]

The later stage of the movement coincided with the 20th-century rediscovery of original Mu'tazila manuscripts in regions like Yemen and India. With access to these primary sources, the later Neo-Mu'tazilite movement shifted its foundational thinking toward modern science and experimental reason. This modern school combines religious faith with scientific awareness and has grown significantly within Egypt's academic and scientific communities.[26][27][28][29]

Dating primarily to the 12th and 13th centuries CE, these recovered texts shed new light on a historical Yemeni tradition that was deeply committed to Basran Mu'tazilism, though some documents originated from the Baghdad school. During this period, these Mu'tazilite schools in Yemen were opposed by orthodox Shia Zaydi scholars, who tried to bring back what they saw as an authentic version of Zaydism by completely rejecting Mu'tazilite influence. Despite this historical conflict, many Mu'tazilite books survived to become the backbone of modern Neo-Mu'tazilite thought.[28][29]

Among the discovered Mu'tazilite texts were the works of Abu al-Qasim al-Balkhi, including Ketāb qabūl al-aḵbār wa maʿrefat al-reǰāl. In this book, he presents a thorough and sometimes sarcastic criticism of many early authorities on hadith. Another important text was Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar's Usool al-Khamsa (The Five Principles). These five core Mu'tazilite doctrines consist of: Divine Unity (Al-Tawhid), Divine Justice (Al-Adl), The Promise and the Threat (Al-Wa'd wa al-Wa'id), The Intermediate Position (Al-Manzila bayn al-manzilatayn), and Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil (Al-Amr bi al-ma'ruf wa al-nahy an al-munkar).[30][31] According to al-Jabbar, one of the important and extensive discussions of the Mu'tazilites about the Qur'an is their belief in its createdness.[32]

Around the world

In the modern period, Neo-Mu'tazilism has developed in various regions, such as in the Maghreb, Turkey, Iran, France, India, and Indonesia.[12][33][34][35][36][37]

Egypt

In Egypt, with its experimental and scientific interpretation, as well as the necessity of combining religious faith with intellectual awareness, Neo-Mu'tazilism has grown significantly among scientific and academic societies.[38] Neo-Mu'tazilites like the Egyptian judge Muhammad Sa'id al-Ashmawi say that God's wisdom in the Qur'an must fit with human reason. It must also fit with the practical needs of modern national life. They believe reading the Qur'an means finding symbolic meanings. To do this, people must study the language, history, and context, just like they do with other literature.[39]

France

The "Association for the Renaissance of Mu'tazilite Islam" (French: Association pour la renaissance de l’Islam mutazilite, ARIM) was founded in France in February 2017 by Eva Janadin and Faker Korchane. The organisation opposes excessive rationalism that leads to positivism, sectarianism, and clerical authority, as well as taqlid of the Salaf's interpretations.[36]

India and Pakistan

Neo-Mu'tazilites form the main composites of the Indo-Pakistan Muslim society today, alongside Barelvis, Deobandis, and Ahl-i Hadith.[40]

Iran

Modern Shia thinkers in Iran who also identify as Neo-Mu'tazilites believe in the pre-eminent role assigned to reason and the affirmation that the Qur'an is the word of the Islamic prophet Muhammad under divine inspiration rather than the immediate word of God. Politically, they oppose Ruhollah Khomeini's Velayat-e faqih, the system where jurists have absolute power, because they believe it is not supported by Sharia. To bring political pluralism to Shi'ism, they argue that the clergy should not hold special power over society, and they criticize Iranian Shia schools for favouring hadith over the Qur'an. Additionally, they defend the freedom of women to wear or remove the veil (hijab).[41]

Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's legal rhetoric and Islamic legal reformation mirror the Neo-Mu'tazila approach by rejecting taqlid and advocating for ijtihad. This allows for the questioning of Wahhabi tradition and adapts Islamic jurisprudence to modernity.[42]

Yemen

In Yemen, Neo-Mu'tazilites use history to change how Shia Zaydis understand the role of the Imam, who acts as the traditional political and religious leader. A major part of their argument is that foundational early figures like Zayd ibn Ali and Al-Qasim al-Rassi did not view the Hashemite Imamate as an absolute pillar (asl) of Zaydi jurisprudence. Instead, they claim a later leader named Ali al-Hadi introduced this strict family requirement as a temporary measure to protect society against a historical background of Qarmatian anarchy, bloodshed, and chaos.[43]

Notable individuals

Notable Neo-Mu'tazilites:

  • Syed Ahmad Khan (d. 1898 CE). He combined theological naturalism with Neo-Mu'tazilism.[12][44]
  • Ahmad Amin (d. 1954 CE), a chief proponent of Neo-Mu'tazilism in Egypt.[45] He described the main principles of Mu'tazilism and was critical of hadith. He was known for his rationalist approach to the Qur'an and Sunnah, and he proposed Mu'tazilism in his famous trilogy: Fajr al-Islam (The Dawn of Islam), Duha al-Islam (The Morning of Islam), and Zuhr al-Islam (The Noon of Islam).[46]
  • Harun Nasution (d. 1998 CE), an Indonesian scholar who sought to reconcile philosophical Sufism with Neo-Mu'tazilism.[47]
  • Amin Nayif Diyab (d. 2006 CE), a Jordanian scholar whose interpretation of the Mu'tazila occupied a special position in the context of a caliphate-oriented Islamism.[48][49]
  • Abdolkarim Soroush, an Iranian Shia philosopher who identifies as a Neo-Mu'tazilite, although he has also been influenced by Ash'arism and Rumi alongside Mu'tazilism. While he shares some views with the Mu'tazilites, he disagrees with them on certain points, arguing that they relied too heavily on pure philosophy. Instead, he favors an empirical approach based on experience and science, which is more aligned with the Ash'arites.[50][51]
  • Dr. Taj Hargey, a British imam who founded the Open Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa. He identifies as a freethinker and promotes a "new Mu'tazilism". He supports a liberal form of Islam and rejects hadith.[52][53]

See also

References

  1. ↑ عارفی نیا, حسین; سلطانی, مصطفی; محمدی, مسلم (2023). "Article". مطالعات تقریبی مذاهب اسلامی (فروغ وحدت). 18 (59). doi:10.22034/mtmi.2023.166776.
  2. ↑ "Journal of Namibian Studies".
  3. ↑ Neuwirth, Angelika; Pflitsch, Andreas (1998). Crisis and Memory in Islamic Societies: Proceedings of the Third Summer Academy of the Working Group Modernity and Islam Held at the Orient Institute of the German Oriental Society in Beirut. Ergon Verlag in Kommission. ISBN 978-3-515-07510-7.
  4. ↑ Fazlur Rahman (1982). Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. University of Chicago Press.
  5. ↑ AuthorLast, AuthorFirst. "Title of the Article" (PDF). Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Article 79376" (PDF). University of Tehran.
  7. ↑ Carr, Brian; Mahalingam, Indira, eds. (2001). Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy. Routledge. p. 858. ISBN 978-0-415-24038-3.
  8. ↑ Demichelis, Marco (2010). "New-Muʿtazilite Theology in the Contemporary Age: The Relationship Between Reason, History and Tradition". Oriente Moderno. 90 (2): 411–426. doi:10.1163/22138617-09002008. JSTOR 23253468.
  9. ↑ عارفی نیا, حسین; سلطانی, مصطفی; محمدی, مسلم (2023). "Article 166776". مطالعات تقریبی مذاهب اسلامی (فروغ وحدت). 18 (59). doi:10.22034/mtmi.2023.166776.
  10. ↑ Moussa, Mohammed (2015-06-29). "The Neo-Modernity of Soroush – Mohammed Moussa". Critical Muslim. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  11. ↑ "Religion and Human Rights". Religions. 13 (3). MDPI: 234. 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Sayyid Ahmad Khan". mrmo.org.
  13. ↑ Khosrokhavar, Farhad; Mottaghi, Mohsen (2 May 2023). "The new Shi'i thinkers | Cairn.info". Études (5): 83–94. doi:10.3917/etu.4304.0083.
  14. ↑ "Neo-Muʿtazilite". Abdolkarim Soroush. July 2008.
  15. ↑ Abdullah Saeed. The Qur'an: an introduction. 2008, page 203
  16. ↑ Kadri, Sadakat (2012). Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim World. macmillan. p. 77. ISBN 9780099523277. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  17. ↑ Rahman, Fazlur (2022). "Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition". Religions. 13 (3): 234.
  18. ↑ "Article 79376" (PDF). University of Tehran.
  19. ↑ Research in African Literatures. African and Afro-American Studies and Research Center, University of Texas [at Austin]. 1992.
  20. ↑ Berridge, W. J. (2017). Hasan al-Turabi: Islamist Politics and Democracy in Sudan. Cambridge University Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-107-16161-0. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Saikia, Yasmin; Haines, Chad, eds. (2015). Women and Peace in the Islamic World: Gender, Agency and Influence. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-78673-984-1. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  22. ↑ Fazlur Rahman (1982). Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. University of Chicago Press.
  23. ↑ "How the Quran Affirms the Gospels and Ends the 'Lost Book' Delusion". 30 January 2026.
  24. ↑ Paracha, Nadeem Farooq (April 3, 2026). "The 'Nechri Heretic': Reclaiming The Legacy Of Syed Ahmad Khan". The Friday Times. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  25. ↑ Arefiniya, Hossein; Soltani, Mostafa; Mohammadi, Moslem (July 2023). "A look at the religious ideas of Neo-Mu'tazilah in Egypt". Motaleat-e-Taghribi Mazaheb-e-Eslami (Proximity Studies of Islamic Denominations) (in Persian). 18 (59): 169–180. doi:10.22034/mtmi.2023.166776. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  26. ↑ https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/sabine.pdf [1] (/goto?url=CAEScgHrOzAVMQuRSblm9fXSnTqigTSu4QAVNO_0ougIc2DnJUPDJ28ezEYGDZoo2BxjenIF5gU4MbIAQTRNuFdSW_JOxXR3jpxQRSlbHT13YhGBbTlq8mcRrryTFUv8f0E6pm5emJVMTeCD000U3xR792zwCw)
  27. ↑ Arefiniya, Hossein; Soltani, Mostafa; Mohammadi, Moslem (July 2023). "A look at the religious ideas of Neo-Mu'tazilah in Egypt". Motaleat-e-Taghribi Mazaheb-e-Eslami (Proximity Studies of Islamic Denominations) (in Persian). 18 (59): 169–180. doi:10.22034/mtmi.2023.166776. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  28. 1 2 Soroush, Abdolkarim (July 2008). "The Neo-Mutazilite". DrSoroush.com. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  29. 1 2 "Preserving Yemen's Cultural Heritage: Yemen Manuscript Digitization Project". Fair Observer. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  30. ↑ van Ess, Josef (15 December 1983). "Abu'l-Qāsem Kaʿbī". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. I. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. pp. 359–362. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  31. ↑ Abū al-Qāsim al-Balḫī; al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār; al-Ḥakīm al-Ǧušamī (2017). Sayyid, Ayman Fuʾād; Sayyid, Fuʾād (eds.). Faḍl al-iʿtizāl wa-ṭabaqāt al-muʿtazila. Bibliotheca Islamica. Vol. 55. Beirut: Orient-Institut Beirut. ISBN 978-3-87997-705-5. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  32. ↑ Bihishtī, Nargis (2021). "The Similarities and Differences Between Mu'tazila and Neo-Mu'tazila Literary Approaches to the Qur'ān" (PDF). Journal of Contemporary Islamic Studies. 3 (1). University of Tehran: 85–97. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  33. ↑ Byrd, Anthony Robert (27 November 2007). A Euro-American 'Ulama? Mu 'tazilism, (Post)Modernity, and Minority Islam. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  34. ↑ Van Ess, Joseph (2005). Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillian Reference USA. p. 6322.
  35. ↑ Khosrokhavar, Farhad; Mottaghi, Mohsen (May 2023). "The new Shi'i thinkers". Études. 2023 (5): 83–94. doi:10.3917/etu.4304.0083. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  36. 1 2 "Mutazilisme". mutazilisme.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  37. ↑ Harun Nasution, "The Mu'tazila and Rational Philosophy' translated in Defenders of Reason in Islam by Martin et al., pp.191-92.
  38. ↑ Arefiniya, Hossein; Soltani, Mostafa; Mohammadi, Moslem (2023). "A look at the religious ideas of Neo-Mu'tazilah in Egypt". Motaleat-e-Taghribi Mazaheb-e-Eslami (Proximity Studies of Islamic Denominations). 18 (59): 169–180. doi:10.22034/mtmi.2023.166776. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
  39. ↑ Erlmann, Veit, ed. (2020). Hearing Cultures: Essays on Sound, Listening and Modernity. Wenner-Gren International Symposium Series. Routledge. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-000-21104-7. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  40. ↑ Muztar, A. D. (1979). Shah Wali Allah: A Saint-scholar of Muslim India. National Commission on Historical and Cultural Research.
  41. ↑ Khosrokhavar, Farhad; Mottaghi, Mohsen (May 2023). "The new Shi'i thinkers". Études. 2023 (5): 83–94. doi:10.3917/etu.4304.0083. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  42. ↑ Cook, Joana; Maher, Shiraz, eds. (2023). The Rule is for None but Allah: Islamist Approaches to Governance. Hurst Publishers. p. PT466. ISBN 978-1-78738-898-7. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  43. ↑ Muztar, A. D. (1989). "Introduction". Arab Law Quarterly. 4 (1). Brill: 3–25.
  44. ↑ Paracha, Nadeem Farooq (April 3, 2026). "The 'Nechri Heretic': Reclaiming The Legacy Of Syed Ahmad Khan". The Friday Times. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  45. ↑ Islamic Studies. Islamic Research Institute. 1976.
  46. ↑ Peta, Ines (9 March 2022). "Aḥmad Amīn's Rationalist Approach to the Qur'ān and Sunnah". Religions. 13 (3): 234. doi:10.3390/rel13030234.
  47. ↑ Ismail, Achmad (June 17, 2024). "The Philosophical Sufism of Harun Nasution: A Phenomenological-Historical Investigation of the Influence of Neo-Mu'tazilism (Part I)". Islamic Renaissance Front. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  48. ↑ Eichner, Heidrun (2007-12-15). "Rezension von: Thomas Hildebrandt: Neo-Mu'tazilismus? Intention und Kontext im modernen arabischen Umgang mit dem rationalistischen Erbe des Islam". Sehepunkte (in German). 7 (12). Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  49. ↑ Hildebrandt, Thomas (2007-04-06). Neo-Mu'tazilismus?: Intention und Kontext im modernen arabischen Umgang mit dem rationalistischen Erbe des Islam. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies (in German). Vol. 71. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15099-7. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  50. ↑ Khosrokhavar, Farhad; Mottaghi, Mohsen (May 2023). "The new Shi'i thinkers". Études. 2023 (5): 83–94. doi:10.3917/etu.4304.0083. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  51. ↑ Soroush, Abdolkarim (July 2008). "The Neo-Mutazilite". DrSoroush.com. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  52. ↑ Evensen, S. T. (2018). The Altruistic Gene - Revisited: About Actions, Events and Impacts. Xlibris US. p. PT204. ISBN 978-1-9845-6656-0. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  53. ↑ Park, Emma (20 November 2023). "Britain's liberal imam: Interview with Taj Hargey". The Freethinker. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
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