Ibn Abil-Had

The Mu’tazili Ibn Abil-Had+d is one of the prominent Islamic figures of the 6th and 7th century, and one of the intellectual leaders of Mu’taili thought in recent periods. However, with his exposition to Imam Ali’s Nahj al-Balgha – with its historical, analytical, and theological approach – he gained a status among Muslim thinkers, especially the Shiites; this is true to the extent that any study on the history of early Islam, especially what is related to the political happenings after the Prophet, would be imperfect without considering the information provided by Ibn Abil-Had+d. Thus, a large number of writers, in the course of history, have written on him and his exposition on Nahj al-Balgha. Since any man is influenced by peripheral factors in his thought and views, Ibn Abil-Had+d was no exception and was influenced by various factors – family, political, social, economic, as well as doctrinal and cultural. In the present article, therefore, his life and thoughts have been studied in brief so that we may present a better knowledge on his personality and his motivations in composing an exposition on Nahj al-Balgha. To do so, it is necessary to have a look at his thinking backgrounds.