Abū l-Hudhayl Muḥammad b. al-Hudhayl b. ʿUbaydallāh b. Makḥūl al-ʿAbdī al-ʿAllāf (c. 135-c. 227/752-842) was one of the most influential early Muʿtazilī theologians. He was born in Basra as a Persian mawlā (client) of the ʿAbd al-Qays clan and was introduced to Muʿtazilism as a student of several disciples of Wāṣil b. ʿAṭāʾ (d. 131/748), the founder of the Muʿtazilī movement. He may have also studied with his notable older contemporary Ḍirār b. ʿAmr (d. 200/815). During his lifetime, Abū