ABSTRACT
RAPIDLY did Islam establish its world-empire. The new religion—transfigured, so to speak, by its amazing successes—overcame every opposition and stifled every form of independent spiritual or intellectual activity. And yet soon enough did these activities conspicuously manifest themselves. The very condition of things raised questions calling for the most diverse interpretations. The study of the Qur’an too evoked matters extremely contentious and controversial. Of such those that chiefly engaged the attention of the first generation of Muslims were: the conception of the Unity of God (Tawhid); the nature of sovereignty, and the dispute arising therefrom, whether sovereignty should go to the family of the Omayyads or the descendants of Ali (Mufazalah); the precise meaning of the terms used in the Qur’an—belief (Iman), unbelief (Kufr), and predestination (Qadr). These were the new ideas that were in the air. They were in a state of flux. They were neither precisely settled nor were they logically defined. To take up these unsettled questions was the first intellectual exercise of the Muslims—by no means a light or easy exercise.
