We have already cited statements by Abū Sulaymān al-Khattābī and others concerning freedom from any need for speculative theology and its practitioners, and explaining the path to knowledge in this matter.

Similar statements occur in the writings of the Muslim imams generally: they condemn the method introduced by the speculative theologians, such as the Muʿtazilah and others like them. Yet those who invented this method condemn the ordinary Muslims and scholars who do not follow it, calling them Hashwiyyah.

The earliest known use of the term Hashwiyyah as a slur occurs in statements by the Muʿtazilah and others like them. They report that ʿUmar ibn ʿUbayd said, “ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar was a Hashwī.” They call ordinary people “the rabble,” just as the Rāfidah and the philosophers call them “the masses”; and they call the doctrine of the Muslim community “the doctrine of the rabble.”

The early generations and the imams were not referring them back to revelation, while these theologians themselves supposed that revelation provided evidence solely through the reports of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They therefore argued, seeking to bind their opponents to the implications of their position: “It must follow that the Messenger’s mere report that the Maker Most High exists suffices to establish His existence.” This reflected their deficient understanding of revelation, for revelation includes an exposition of the rational proofs needed and useful in this matter.

This has been acknowledged by leading figures among the schools of speculative theology and philosophy who say, “This can be known only through reason”—indeed, even by those who maintain that the obligation to acquire knowledge and undertake rational inquiry is established by reason. We shall cite some of their statements on this, if Allah Most High wills.

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