Wasil ibn Ata

Wasil ibn Ata^[a] (699–748), also known as al-Ghazzal,^[3] was a Muslim theologian and jurist. He is considered to be the founder of the Mu'tazilite school of Aqidah and Kalam.^[4]

Wasil ibn Ata
Personal life
Born	c. 699 Medina, Arabia[1]
Died	c. 748
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Region	Arabian Peninsula
Main interest(s)	Islamic theology
Notable idea(s)	Rationalism in Islamic theology, Founder of Muʿtazila, Free will of humans, Indeterminism, Incompatibilism, Anti-anthropomorphism
Occupation	Muslim philosopher
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Mu'tazila
Muslim leader
Influenced by Hasan al-Basri, Ja'far al-Sadiq, Ma'bad al-Juhani,[2] Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, Ghailan ad-Dimashqi
Influenced Amr ibn Ubayd, Othman ibn Khaled al-Tawil, Abu al-Hudhayl al-'Allaf, Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad

Biography

Born in 699 in the Arabian Peninsula, he initially studied under Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the grandson of Ali. Later, Wasil would travel to Basra in Iraq to study under Hasan of Basra (one of the tabi'in). In Basra, he began to develop the ideologies that would lead to the Muʿtazilite school. He married Amr ibn Ubayd's sister.^[5]

Wasil's thoughts and solutions stem from the conflicts experienced by many scholars in resolving theological and political problems. His main contribution to the Muʿtazilite school was planting the seeds for the formation of its doctrine. He died in 748 in the Arabian Peninsula.^[4]

See also

• Islamic scholars
• ʿʿUlamaʿʿ

Notes

1. Arabic: واصل بن عطاء, romanized: Wāṣil ibn ʿAtāʾ