Rationalist theological school
that emphasized God's oneness (tawhid) and justice (`adl). The school
died out after the fifth century, surviving mainly among Zaydi Shi`ites. It
is now considered heretical by most Sunni Muslims. Their distinctive views
are typically summarized in five points (of which the first two came to
be the most important):
God's oneness, in the strong sense that he does not have attributes such
as knowledge that are distinct from him yet coeternal with him. Hence
the Qur'an is not God's eternal attribute of speech, but one of his created
acts.
God's justice - implying that humans have free will and the power to
act.
Grave sinners are neither believers nor unbelievers, but simply grave sinners.
Unrepentant grave sinners will be in hell forever, as promised in the Qur'an.
It is a Muslim's duty to enjoin good and forbid evil - and thus
sometimes to oppose wicked Muslim rulers.
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expressed herein should not be taken as a position of or endorsement by the
University of Oklahoma.