Al-Ash'ari, al-Jubba'i's pupil at Basra, and the three brothers debate

الأشعري تلميذ أبي علي الجبائي بالبصرة ومناظرة الإخوة الثلاثة

between 874 and 913 CE

Basra

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari learned kalam from Abu Ali al-Jubba'i, shaykh of the Mu'tazila and the leading theologian of his age at Basra, and was one of his best pupils, near to succeeding him 1 2 3. From this period comes the report of his question to his master about three brothers, one pious, one an unbeliever, and one who died young; when al-Jubba'i answered on Mu'tazilite premises al-Ash'ari pressed him with questions until he was silenced, a debate counted among the preliminaries of his break with the Mu'tazila 1 4.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Abbasid Fragmentation
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
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In time

860870880890900910920930
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · Abbasid Fragmentation

In space

Basra

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Creed

Overview

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari learned kalam from Abu Ali al-Jubba'i, shaykh of the Mu'tazila and the leading theologian of his age at Basra, and was one of his best pupils, near to succeeding him 1 2 3. From this period comes the report of his question to his master about three brothers, one pious, one an unbeliever, and one who died young; when al-Jubba'i answered on Mu'tazilite premises al-Ash'ari pressed him with questions until he was silenced, a debate counted among the preliminaries of his break with the Mu'tazila 1 4.

His other teachers

Al-Dhahabi records that al-Ash'ari also took from Abu Khalifa al-Jumhi, Zakariyya al-Saji and Sahl ibn Nuh and their contemporaries, transmitting from them with isnad extensively in his tafsir 2.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari· al-Jubba'i· Mu'tazila
Occurred at
Basra

People and things also explored

Al-Ash'ari publicly renounces Mu'tazilism in the Great Mosque of Basra, 300/912-13· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari· al-Jubba'i· Basra· Al-Ash'ari composes Maqalat al-Islamiyyin and his refutations of the Mu'tazila· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari is born at Basra, 260/873-4· Al-Ash'ari moves to Baghdad late in life· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari dies at Baghdad, 324/935-6

Sources

  1. Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan
  2. Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' — al-Dhahabi (Dar al-Risala al-Alamiyya edition) , 15/85
  3. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 743
  4. Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' — al-Dhahabi (Dar al-Risala al-Alamiyya edition) , 15/86
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Ash'ari, al-Jubba'i's pupil at Basra, and the three brothers debate”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/al-ashari-studies-jubbai-basra/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Related

Al-Ash'ari publicly renounces Mu'tazilism in the Great Mosque of Basra, 300/912-13

The historians of al-Ash'ari place his change from the Mu'tazilite doctrine to the party of the orthodox traditionists in 300/912-13. Ibn al-Nadim relates that he repented of the doctrines of divine justice and the createdness of the Qur'an in the Great Mosque of Basra on a Friday, mounting a chair and proclaiming at the top of his voice: 'Whoever knows me knows me; whoever does not, I tell him who I am: I am so-and-so; I used to say the Qur'an was created, that God cannot be seen with the eyes, and that I myself do evil deeds; I repent and renounce, resolved to refute the Mu'tazila and expose their scandals'. The books also relate that in Ramadan he saw a vision three times commanding him to hold fast to true tradition without abandoning kalam.