Who are the Mu'tazilah?

Question:
Who are the Mu'tazilah?

Answer:
The Mu'tazilah are those who withdrew from the gathering of al-Hasan al-Basri when he said that the one who commits a major sin does not leave Islam, but rather is a disobedient open sinner with deficient faith. They withdrew from him and said: "No, the one who commits a major sin is not outside of faith, nor does he enter into disbelief; he is in the intermediate position between the two positions. And if he dies without repenting, he is eternally in the Fire." So they are, in a sense, like the Khawarij in that they share some of the Khawarij's doctrine, but they differed from the Khawarij in that they say he does not enter into disbelief. The Khawarij declared them disbelievers and said they enter into disbelief immediately. But these people say: "No, he does not; he becomes in the intermediate position between the two positions until he dies. So if he dies in this state, he is among the people of the Fire." Thus, they agreed with the Khawarij. They are the offspring of the Khawarij; they are the offspring of the Khawarij. Yes.