the early Muslims for denying the divine attributes; this was what distinguished them from the other sects in the eyes of the early Muslims. The Mu'tazilah, however, were distinguished by their doctrine of an intermediate position between the two positions, introduced by 'Amr ibn 'Ubayd. He and his companions would sit apart from the community, so Qatādah and others would say:

“Those are the Mu'tazilah.”

This was after al-Hasan’s death. The innovation of the Qadariyyah had arisen earlier, after Mu'āwiyah’s death. This is why Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbās, and others spoke against them. Ibn 'Abbās died before Ibn al-Zubayr, while Ibn 'Umar died shortly after him. Soon afterwards, al-Hajjāj assumed the governorship of Iraq, in the seventies AH. People continued debating divine decree in the Hijaz, Syria, and Iraq. Most of this took place in Syria, Iraq, and Basra, and least in the Hijaz.

When the Mu'tazilah emerged and advocated the intermediate position between the two positions, they maintained that the threatened punishment would inevitably be carried out, that those who affirmed Allah’s oneness would remain in Hell forever, and that no one who entered the Fire would leave it. They coupled this with their doctrine concerning divine decree, as this completed their position.

At that time, people had not yet introduced any denial of the divine attributes. Then al-Ja'd ibn Dirham appeared, the first of them to do so. Khālid ibn 'Abd Allāh al-Qasrī slaughtered him as a sacrifice, saying:

“O people, offer your sacrifices! May Allah accept your sacrifices. I am sacrificing al-Ja'd ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allah did not take Abraham as a close friend and did not speak directly to Moses. Exalted is Allah, far above what al-Ja'd says!”

Then he descended and slaughtered him. This took place in Iraq.