The Sources of Knowledge According Qazi Abd ul-Jabbar al-Mutazili

Qazi Abd ul-Jabbar is a famous figure in the Mutazilite Kalam which has considerable opinions on "epistemology". In Abdu l-Jabbar's theological system, the discussed issues in the knowledge and epistemology and generally the theological discussions are of deductive and logical sequence so that the pervious propositions are the bases for the next ones and the next propositions are the consequences and results of the previous. The epistemological and theological thoughts of Qazi are rooted in a chain of knowledge sources such as apparent senses, reason, essential knowledge, revelation and imitation, among which reason as the faculty of thinking according to him is an independent source and a very important instrument for knowledge so that he regards contemplation and thinking, that is the way of reason, as the only way to gain the knowledge of God. From Qazi's point of view, knowledge of the perceived affairs, which is the result of the sense perception, is a prologue for the essential knowledge and the essential knowledge itself by reason argumentation is a prologue for the acquired knowledge.