The Mind God Gave You: Wasil ibn Ata and the Birth of Islamic Reason

April 5
24 mins

Episode Description

In eighth century Basra, a young scholar named Wasil ibn Ata stood up in his teacher's circle, offered an answer no one else had given, and walked to the other side of the room. That quiet act of intellectual honesty planted the seed of the Mu'tazila --- a school of thought that would shape the Islamic Golden Age and insist, across centuries, that the rational mind is not the enemy of faith but its finest instrument.

Read the transcript

Share and read comments.

See all episodes