Rationalizing Language and Religious Discourse

This study explores the significant contributions of Al-Mu’tazilah school, one of the earliest Sunni rationalist theological schools in Islam, to the development of Arabic linguistic studies. The school played a crucial role in framing language as a subject of rational analysis, integrating logic with grammatical rules and offering precise and rigorous linguistic interpretations. The study examines the historical, sociopolitical, and cultural context of the emergence of the Al-Mu’tazilah school in the tenth century. This study is based on a library study approach, utilizing the primary sources on Arabic syntax mainly the works of Al-Mu’tazilah scholars, in particular Al-Khaṣāʼis (Principles of Grammar) and Ibn Jinnī’s (c. 932–1002) Sirr Ṣināʿat al-Iʿrāb (The Secret of the Art of Parsing). The study focuses on the school’s notable contributions to the advancement of Arabic linguistics, such as the application of analogy, the investigation into the origins and evolution of speech, and an assessment of the impact of Greek culture on the intellectual and linguistic foundations of Al-Mu’tazilah school.