The study of the history of various schools of thought plays an important role in coming into grasps with social and polictical developments in Islamic history. The Mu'tazilah school, with its prominent feature of rationalism, was one of the most important trends of thought in early Islamic centuries. The mu'tazilites who played a major role in advancing Islamic thought became the dominant ideological force in part of the Abbasid period during Ma'mun and Mu'tasim's rules. At their peak of power, they adopted a strict policy against their opponents, mainly the Sunni jurists and hadith relators who reacted negatively to the pressures, and tried to spread their line of thought through means of power at their disposal. This period, known as "Mihnah", or "Hardship", is the subject of study of this investigative article.
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