Resumen:
The Mi¿na has usually been attributed to the Mu`tazilite theological school as expression of something unusual, a bid`ah (Islamic innovation) related to a rationalist group of theologians that tried, in strict political cooperation with al-Ma`m¿n, to subvert the `Abb¿sid caliphate system. The full support of relevant political and religious authorities, during the Mi¿na, to the caliph¿s purpose permitted at the `Abb¿sids to post-pone for few decades, a period of decadence which started with the murderer of al- Mutawakkil in 861/246. It is significant to analyze the role played by the Mu`tazilite school during the Mi¿na, which if was theologically evident, it was also politically non-existent; a reconsideration of the importance of this rationalist school is necessary to make clearer who were the main persecutors during this short inquisitorial period in early `Abb¿sid age.