A comparison of Mu'tazila and Salafiyya in terms of the epistemological value of reason

Reason, one of the most critical concepts of Islamic thought, constitutes the most meaningful point of the connection between God and man. The reason, which distinguishes human beings from other living beings, has become more meaningful as a result of gaining an epistemological value with its functional form in humans. Thus, the reason, which has an indispensable place in the science of epistemology, gained more and more value as the data revealed by thoughts became systematic. Therefore, reason has been one of the most used sources of information from the birth of the science of kalam to its development. Specially the Mu'tazila school left its mark on the science of kalam with its rational inferences. Despite the Mu'tazila school, which used the reason the most, the Salafiyya, who were known to use the mind with certain records, were mostly based on conveyance. From the point of view of using the reason, we can say that these two schools are located at different poles. However, the influence of both schools on Islamic scholars with their views has preserved its importance from past to present. In this study, it is aimed to examine the mind of Mu'tazila and Salafiyya in a comparative way through the principles they put forward in the context of epistemological value. For this purpose, it has been tried to reveal how effective Mu'tazila and Salafiyya were in the formation of new intellectual structures in Islamic thought.