A major compiler and systemizer of Mu'tazilite thought, Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar, qadi al-qudat (chief judge) of the city of Rayy in the midst of the period' of Shi'ite Buyid rule (949-1055), applied reason to the question of heredity in earthly life and divine judgment and came to the conclusion that children do not inherit their father's disbelief; thus stressing the importance on individual choice and accountability.

Then'if it is asked: Is it not the case that in this world; children are virtually the same as their fathers in regard to disbelief? Hence, are they not under virtually the same rule as their fathers in the hereafter regarding divine punishment for disbelief? Say to him: If what you said were possible, one could also say that if the father committed adultery, the child should be flogged [for his father's crime], or if the...