ABSTRACT
The Mu'tazilites are called the followers of divine justice and unity. They are also known as the Qadarīya and 'Adlīya. They themselves, however, hold that the word Qadarīya is ambiguous, and say that it should be used of those who believe that the qadar (determination) with respect to good and evil is from God. They thereby wished to avoid the ignominy commonly attached to the name because of a tradition that 'the Qadarīya were the Magians of this community'. In this they were unanimously opposed by the Sifātīya on the ground that Jabrīya and Qadarīya are contradictory terms: how, they asked, can one contradictory term be applied to another? The Sifātīya further appealed to the saying of the Prophet that the Qadarīya are the adversaries of God in the matter of determination. According to them, one who believes in submitting himself to God and entrusting himself to him, while at the same time attributing all events to a determined fate and unalterable decree, cannot conceivably dispute about qadar. making a division between good and evil, attributing good to the action of God and evil to that of man.
