Mufid's Treatment of the Narrative Heritage of Imamis

The treatment of Mufid with the narrative heritage of Imamis and the extent to which he exploits this heritage with regards to theological issues is varying. An examination and comparison of his theological views with the narrative heritage of Imamis demonstrates that while exploiting this valuable heritage, Mufid also had a critical and selective attitude towards the use of some narrations in theological issues. His critical approach can be seen in issues such as innate knowledge, the world of Zar and the creation of the souls. In such issues Mufid distanced himself away from the well-known views in the narrations and sometimes completely denied them. His selective approach can be seen in such issues as will, determinism (jabr) and volitionalism (tafviz), Istita’ah, fatalism (qadae), and bada.