Sayyid Murtaḍā's Iʾtizal; an Examination and a Critique

Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy hosainyousefzadeh@yahoo.com Some people like Khayyāṭ, ʾAshʾari, and Ibn Taymiyya have claimed that some Shiite scholars, such as Sayyid Murtaḍā, have been influenced by the theological (kalāmī) views of rationalist Muʾtazila. Some great scholars of Imamiyya such as Shaykh Mufīd have rejected this claim. In this paper, I will compare the views of two figures, the Shiite scholar, Sayyid Murtaḍā, and the Muʾtazila theologian, Qāḍī ʾAbd al- Jabbār, in order to show that Sayyid was not influenced by Muʾtazila in general and Qāḍī ʾAbd al-Jabbār in particular. Moreover, he has defended the original thoughts of Imamiyya, though he defended Imamiyya with the common theological methods of his own time. Sayyid Murtaḍā is alleged to have been a pupil of Qāḍī ʾAbd al-Jabbār, but considerable differences between these two figures can undermine this claim as well.