The Classification of the Hanafi Figures by the Muʿtazilī Biographers As A Case of Interdenominational Interactions

Abstract

Interactions between sects and its reflections constitute a new problem area in contemporary Islamic Sects History research. It is known that the interactions between sects occurs mostly through individuals. In this respect, in the determination of this relationship, tabaqat literatures which are biographical works, are among the main sources. Biographical works, which aim to identify and classify Mu'tazila people, have an important place in the Mu'tazilite writing tradition. In addition to the classification of the members, these works also provide important data about the examples of interactions between sects, especially the Hanafism-Mu'tazila interaction. In this study, it is aimed to examine the method followed by the Mu'tazilite tabaqat literature in classifying Hanafi-Mu'tazilite persons and how they positioned the interaction in question from this point of view. According to our research, three different methods have come to the fore in the classification of individuals in the Mu'tazilite tabaqat literatures: their specialties, the centuries they lived and the regions. For this reason, in this study, Hanafi persons were examined from three different angles in accordance with the writing style of the Mu'tazilite tabaqat literature’s. From this point of view, the information in the works in question was analyzed chronologically and comparatively. As a result, some chronological and descriptive determinations were made about the differentiations, horizontal and vertical expansions and interactions within the Mu'tazilite perspective in the classification of Hanafi persons. In this respect, it is thought that our study will contribute to the clarification of the problem of interaction between sects from a different perspective.