Özet:

The issue of the governance of the Islamic society, which came to the agenda after the Prophet's death, has been on the agenda of Muslims since the early periods. Muslims, who wanted to estab-lish the governance of society on the basis of order, developed various theories of governance over time. The issue of imāmete, which corresponds to the practice, was drawn to a theological ground by the intervention of the Shiites. Imāmete, which constitutes the center of the belief sys-tem of the Shiites, was considered in a theological position and the sects that did not think like them were subjected to criticism. Due to the elimination of these attitudes and behaviors of the Shiites, theological scholars also engaged in various writing activities. As a result, imāmete began to be discussed in the books of theology. Although the theological scholars included these issues in their theological works in order to respond to them, they maintained the same conviction that the imāmete was an administrative issue. Abu 'l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, who is considered the most important representative of the late Muʿtazila, is one of these scholars. Abu 'l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, who is considered the founder of the Ḥusayniyya school established around his views, had a sig-nificant influence both within and outside the sect with his views. For this reason, Abu 'l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī's views on the idea of Imāmete and especially his criticisms of the 10th century Imāmiyya perception are important. In this study, Abu 'l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī's approach to the issue of Imāmete will be discussed and how his views were maintained by his followers will be traced. What stands out in Abu‘l-Husayn al-Basrī’s views on imāmate and politics is his introduction to the issue by defining the imāmah. These issues were previously discussed within the Mu’ tazila. What differentiates al-Basrī here is that he begins by defining this issue. This should not be interpreted as meaning that the issues mentioned in the definition were not discussed before al-Basrī. The elements that al-Basrī mentioned in the definition were discussed before him. A clear definition and discussion of the issue began only with al-Basrī. This definition mentioned by al-Basrī was adopted by later Mu‘tazilite scholars. Al-Basrī disagrees with the Bahshamiyya’s claim that the imāmate is necessary from the sam’ī point of view and states that it is necessary both intellectually and by tradition. He rejected Shiite’s claims on the necessity of the imāmate based on grace and caution. Basrī thinks that the removal of harm, rather than favor, can be evidence of the necessity of an imāmate. al-Basrī’s extensive treatment of the issue of grace and his criticism of the Shiites in this regard suggest that he was addressing the Imāmī thought of the 10th century. In this respect, it is especially important for the reader to witness the debates that occurred in his time and region. Abū al-Husayn al-Basrī perceives the issue of imāmate as an administrative matter and approaches it from the point of view of the public good. According to him, the most important element in imamates is social benefit. The aim is to organize religious and worldly affairs in the correct way. His stance on this point is clearly observed in issues such as the purpose of the imāmate, the conditions of the imāmate, the imāmate of the mafḍūl, the appointment of the imām, and the dismissal of the imām. The most prominent distinction within the Mu‘tazila at this point was the degree of virtue of the person who would succeed to the imamate. al-Basrī opposed the ranking of the rāshid caliphs who undertook the issue of governance after the Prophet (pbuh) in terms of virtue, in other words, he opposed putting the companions in a race of virtue. al-Basrī, who argues that all of them were favored by the Prophet, opposes those who make a ranking at this point. al-Basrī criticizes his own sect as he criticizes different sects. According to al-Basrī, no scale can measure virtue in imameteç, and al-Basrī believes that political competence is decisive in such cases. On the other hand, al-Basrī does not mention virtue in situations where the imam should be dismissed. According to him, even if there is someone more virtuous than the imam in society, the current imam should not be dismissed to avoid causing chaos; that is, the imām of the mafḍūl is permissible according to him.

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