Question:
What is the difference and distinction between the Mu’tazilah sect and Ahl al-Sunnah (the People of Sunnah)? And are there people among the Mu’tazilah who follow the way that the Prophet ﷺ was upon?
Answer:
The Mu’tazilah is an innovated, deviant sect that denied the attributes of Allah. They said: He is not All-Knowing, nor All-Wise, nor All-Hearing, nor All-Seeing—we seek refuge with Allah. They denied the attributes of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and said: whoever dies upon a sin is eternally in the Hellfire. Regarding the adulterer, they said: he is eternal in the Hellfire, and for the wine-drinker, they said: he is eternal in the Hellfire, and likewise for the rest of the wrongdoers, just like the Kharijites and their likes.
In conclusion: The Mu’tazilah is an innovated sect that holds many misguidances. The greatest and most heinous of these is their claim that Allah has no attributes—meaning He is not All-Knowing, nor All-Hearing, nor All-Seeing, nor Ever-Living, nor Sustainer of all, nor anything else. This is disbelief and misguidance—we seek refuge with Allah. They also say—we seek refuge with Allah from this as well—that the sinner is eternally in the Hellfire.
As for Ahl al-Sunnah, they say: No, the sinner is not eternally in the Hellfire, provided that he is a monotheist Muslim under the will of Allah. If he dies upon a sin, he is under the will of Allah; because Allah, Glory be to Him, says: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him,” [An-Nisa: 48] Then He says immediately after it: “but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” [An-Nisa: 48]”
Meaning, whatever is less than shirk (associating partners with Allah) is under the will of Allah. If Allah wills, He pardons him when he dies upon it due to his Islam, his prayer, and his fasting; and if Allah wills, He punishes him in proportion to the sins he committed, such as adultery and other acts of disobedience. After he is purified and purged, Allah brings him out of the Hellfire and into Paradise.
This is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah from among the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ and those who followed them in righteousness. As for the Mu’tazila, they stand in opposition to that—we ask Allah for safety—and likewise, the Kharijites stand in opposition to that.