Therefore...

Therefore, the Ahl al- Sunnah not only did not have any system of kalam challenging the Mu'tazilah , but also they were opposed to kalam itself. About the late 3rd/9th century and the early 4th/l0th, a new phenomenon took place. That was the appearance of a distinguished thinker who had received instruction in Mu'tazilite teachings under Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar, and had mastered them. He rejected Mu'tazilite tenets and inclined towards the doctrines of the Ahl al- Sunnah .

Since, on the one hand, he was not a man devoid of genius, and on the other was equipped with the tools used by the Mu'tazilah , he established all the doctrines of the Ahl al- Sunnah on a rational basis, and gave them the form of a relatively closely-knit intellectual system. That distinguished person was Abu al-Hasan al-'Ash'ari (d. circa 330/941-42).

Al-'Ash'ari - as against the view of his predecessors among Ahl al- Hadith , like Abmad ibn Hanbal - considered debate and argument, and use of the tools of logic in the matter of the doctrines of the faith as permissible, citing evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah to support his claim.

He wrote a treatise entitled "Risalah fi istihsan al-khawd fi*'ilm al-kalam* " ("A Treatise on Appropriateness of Inquiry in 'Ilm al-Kalam).[^14] It was at this point that the Ahl al- Hadith were divided into two groups: the Asha'irah , or the followers of Abu al-Hasan al-'Ash'ari, who considered kalam as permissible; and the Hanbalis, or the followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who considered it unlawful.

In our lectures on logic we have already mentioned that Ibn Taymiyyah, a Hanbali, wrote a book on unlawfulness of logic and kalam.[^15] There was another reason why the Mu'tazilah became detestable in the eyes of the people. It was the period of calamity or " mihnah ," and the Mu'tazilah under the patronage of the caliph al-Ma'mun, wanted to coerce the people into accepting their belief in the createdness of the Qur'an.

This regimentation brought in its wake bloodshed, imprisonment, torture and exile, which shook the Muslim society. The common people considered the Mu'tazilah responsible for that havoc, and this earned them greater disfavour with the public. These two causes contributed to the public welcome at the emergence of the school of Ash'arism. After Abu al-Hasan al-'Ash'ari, other distinguished personalities appeared in this school, who strengthened its foundations.