Shi'i Doctrine, Mu'tazili Theology

Examines the critical turn that shaped Imami Shi'ism in the 10th and 11th centuries God is not free to act; He is bound by human ethics. To be just, He must create an individual of perfect intellect and infallible morality. People are obligated to submit to this person; otherwise eternal damnation awaits them. While these claims may be interpreted as an affront to God’s power, an insult to human judgment and a justification for despotism, Shiʿi Muslims in the eleventh century eagerly adopted the