Abstract

The problem of good and evil in classical Islamic theology (kalam) is one of the critical issues disputed between the Ashcarites and the Muctazilites, two major schools of theology in Islam. Both schools disagree on the role played by revelation and reason in the process of knowing good and evil. This article is an endeavour to study the arguments established by both schools with special reference to al-Qadi ᶜAbd al-Jabbar al-Muᶜtazilite (d. 415 AH/1015 AD) and his Ashᶜarite contemporary Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 429 AH/1037 AD). Both are considered prominent representatives for the Muᶜtazilites and the Ashᶜarites schools of theology respectively. From the study, it is clear that the similarities between the two schools are more pronounced compared to the differences. Both agree that the knowledge of good and evil come from God. Their only difference is the way that knowledge arrives in the human being.