Mu'tazilī

Mu'tazili theology arose in eighth-century Basra, where Wasil ibn Ata was remembered for leaving the circle of Hasan al-Basri after a dispute. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun instituted an inquisition in 833 to enforce the doctrine of the created Quran; al-Mutawakkil ended it in 851.

Mu'tazili writings and teachings survived among Zaydi scholars in Yemen. There al-Shawkani, appointed chief judge in 1795, challenged Zaydi theological doctrines and advocated a return to scriptural sources.