أصحاب العدل والتوحيد
Those who describe themselves through the principles of justice and oneness.
Muʿtazilite theology organizes major claims under divine justice and divine oneness. Under justice, a well-known disagreement concerns the necessity or obligation of reward and punishment. Under oneness, a major controversy concerns the affirmation of eternal divine attributes as articulated by Sunni theologians.
A Sunni response rejects the suggestion that creatures impose an external law of obligation upon Allah: His acts are understood in relation to His own perfect justice, wisdom and sovereignty. Likewise, affirming eternal divine attributes does not amount to recognizing multiple gods. The attributes are not separate independent deities.
These controversies include both conceptual and substantive disputes. A sound comparison first defines what each school means by “justice,” “oneness,” “obligation” and “attribute,” and then evaluates the respective arguments.