The real causes are...

The real causes are, in my opinion, as follows: We are all familiar with the Rationalist movement which appeared in the church of Islam during the early days of the Abbasids and the bitter controversies which it raised. Take for instance the one important point of controversy between the two camps - the conservative dogma of the eternity of the Qur’an.

The Rationalists denied it because they thought that this was only another form of the Christian dogma of the eternity of the word; on the other hand, the conservative thinkers whom the later Abbasids, fearing the political implications of Rationalism, gave their full support, thought that by denying the eternity of the Qur’an the Rationalists were undermining the very foundations of Muslim society.9 Naïï«m, for instance, practically rejected the traditions, and openly declared Abë Hurairah to be an untrustworthy reporter.10 Thus, partly owing to a misunderstanding of the ultimate motives of Rationalism, and partly owing to the unrestrained thought of particular Rationalists,…