And these people—offshoots of the polytheists—and their followers among those who had altered the religion of the Sabaeans, and then those who had altered the religions of the Jews and Christians, had become increasingly prominent in the early second century and the early third century, during the rule of Abū al-'Abbās, known as “al-Ma'mūn.” This was due to the translation into Arabic of the books of the pagan Sabaean Romans who preceded the Christians, and of their counterparts in Persia and India. The sciences of the Sabaean astrologers and others like them also became widespread.

It has already been explained that the adherents of the innovated speculative theology within Islam are offshoots of the Sabaeans, as expressed in the saying:

“The Mu'tazilah are the effeminates of the philosophers.”

This doctrine thus spread among scholars and theologians, as well as among military and political leaders. It gained enough adherents among caliphs, governors, ministers, judges and jurists to enable them to persecute believing men and women and Muslim men and women who followed what had been sent down to them from their Lord, neither altering it nor introducing innovations. This was due to the shortcomings and negligence of most of them in understanding the true nature of what the Messenger brought and following it. Had such understanding and adherence been widespread among them, those who introduced innovations contrary to the religion of Islam would not have been able to gain power over them.

Section

Then came a group of theologians from among those who affirmed the divine attributes. They defended the position that Allah possesses knowledge, power, sight and life, using rational arguments consistent with the prophetic texts. They distinguished between attributes inhering in substances, which they classified as accidents, and attributes inhering in the Lord, which they did not call accidents. For an accident is that which neither endures nor remains, or that which inheres in something occupying space, or