Wasil ibn Ata - Definition

Wasil ibn Ata (700 - 748) was a Muslim theologian, and by some accounts is considered the founder of the Mutazilite school of Islamic thought.

Born around the year 700 in the Arabian Peninsula, he initially studied under Jafar as-Sadiq. Later he would travel to Basra in Iraq to study under Hasan al-Basri. In Basra he began to develop the ideologies that would lead to the Mutazilite school. These stemmed from conflicts that many scholars had in resolving theology and politics. His main contribution to the Mutazilite school was in planting the seeds for the formation of its doctrine.

Wasil ibn Ata died in 748 in the Arabian Peninsula.