Hasan al-Basri, al-

Hasan al-Basri, al-

 in full Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri

(born 642, Medina, Arabia—died 728, Basra, Iraq) Muslim ascetic and major figure in early Islam. He took part in the conquest of eastern Iran as a young soldier. He then settled at Basra, and from 684 he was a popular preacher. He emphasized the practice of religious self-examination and asserted that true Muslims must live in a state of anxiety about their destiny after death. Rejecting determinism, he held that people are entirely responsible for their actions. Political opposition forced him into hiding (705–714), but he afterward lived openly in Basra. He is considered a founder of the two major schools of early Sunnite Islam, the Mu'tazilah and the Ash'ariyyah.