(1) In manuscript S: “ya‘taqid” (he believes). (2) The space between the brackets is left blank in all manuscripts; the present insertion likely restores the coherence of the text. (3) al-Shāfiʿī: his biography appears above, p. 134. (4) Abū Ḥanīfa: his biography appears above, p. 155. (5) al-Muʿtazila: one of the most prominent Islamic sects, also called Ahl al-ʿAdl wa-al-Tawḥīd (People of Justice and Monotheism) and nicknamed Qadariyya and ʿAdliyya. The origin of their name, al-Muʿtazila (“those who withdraw”), is disputed, but the most famous account relates that al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī was once asked about someone who had committed a major sin—Wāṣil b. ʿAṭāʾ was present. Al-Ḥasan hesitated, and before he could answer Wāṣil declared: “I do not say that one who commits a major sin is either believer or unbeliever; rather, he occupies an intermediate position between the two.” He then withdrew to one of the mosque’s pillars to repeat this statement to a group of al-Ḥasan’s followers. Thereupon al-Ḥasan exclaimed, “Wāṣil has withdrawn from us (iʿtazala ʿanna)!” and hence he and his followers were called al-Muʿtazila. The Muʿtazila comprised multiple branches, united by five fundamental principles (al-uṣūl al-khamsa): • tawḥīd (monotheism) • ʿadl (divine justice) • al-waʿd wa-al-waʿīd (the promise and the threat) • al-mansila bayna al-manzilatayn (the intermediate position between two statuses) • al-amr bi’l-maʿrūf wa’l-nahy ʿan al-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil) These principles form the foundation of their doctrine; they ally with those who uphold them and oppose those who reject them. The movement originated in Basra and later spread to Baghdad, giving rise to two main branches—the Basran and the Baghdadi—which differ on many issues. For further study of the Muʿtazila, their subdivisions, agreed-upon principles, and points of divergence, see: • Ṭabaqāt al-Muʿtazila, “Chapter on the Muʿtazila,” in Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn by Abū al-Qāsim al-Balkhī, pp. 59–115 • Ṭabaqāt al-Muʿtazila, “Faḍl al-Iʿtizāl,” and Ṭabaqāt al-Muʿtazila by Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, pp. 125–199 • Sharḥ al-Uṣūl al-Khamsa and al-Mughni fī Abwāb al-ʿAdl wa-al-Tawḥīd by Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār • Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn by al-Ashʿarī