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top: not notable for being a jurist + wording closer to EI2 (vol.1, p.694) + "I think we would generally do well to avoid using “Sunni” and “Shiʿa” as an identity markers for at least the first four centuries of Islamic history." (Matthew Pierce, Twelve infallible men, 2016, p.169)
 
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{{Short description|Muslim theologian (874–936)}}
{{Expert-subject|Islam|date=September 2009}}
{{redirect|al-Ash'ari|other uses|Ash'ari (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific_prefix = [[Imam]]
| name = Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari
| native_name = أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ
| native_name_lang = ar
| title = {{plainlist|
*[[Shaykh al-Islam]] ('Shaykh of Islam')
*Imam al-Mutakallimun ('Imam of the Scholastic Theologians')
*Imam Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jama'a ('Imam of the People of the Prophetic Way and Community')
}}
| birth_date = 874 CE (260 AH)
| birth_place = [[Basra]], Abbasid Caliphate
| death_date = 936 CE (324 AH; aged 62–63)
| death_place = [[Baghdad]], Abbasid Caliphate
| religion = [[Islam]]
| era = [[Islamic Golden Age]] ([[Abbasid]] era)
| region = Abbasid Caliphate
| denomination = [[Sunni]]
| school = [[Shafi'i]]
| main_interests = {{plainlist|
*[[Aqidah|Theology]]<ref name="Nasr 2006">{{cite book |author-last=Nasr |author-first=Seyyed Hossein |author-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |year=2006 |chapter=Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History – Dimensions of the Islamic Intellectual Tradition: Kalām, Philosophy, and Spirituality |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0ZFkdlCFnYC&pg=PA124 |title=[[Islamic Philosophy from its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy|Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy]] |location=[[Albany, New York]] |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |pages=124–126 |isbn=9780791468005 |lccn=2005023943}}</ref>
*[[Kalam|Speculative theology]]<ref name="Frank 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Frank |author-first=Richard M. |year=2020 |origyear=2007 |chapter=Al-Ashʿarī's conception of the nature and role of speculative reasoning in theology |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkX1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 |editor1-last=Frank |editor1-first=Richard M. |editor2-last=Gutas |editor2-first=Dimitri |editor2-link=Dimitri Gutas |title=Early Islamic Theology: The Muʿtazilites and al-Ashʿarī – Texts and Studies on the Development and History of Kalām, Vol. II |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |pages=136–154 |doi=10.4324/9781003110385_8 |isbn=9780860789789 |lccn=2006935669}}</ref>
}}
| notable_ideas = [[Ash'arism]]
| notable_works = {{plainlist|
*''[[Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam|Risala Istihsan al-Khawd fi Ilm al-Kalam]]''
*''[[Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin| Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa-Ikhtilaf al-Musallin]]''
*''Al-Luma' fi al-Radd ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa-l-Bid'a''
}}
| module1 = {{infobox Arabic name|embed=yes
|ism=ʿAlī
|ism-ar=عَلِيّ
|nasab=Ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq
|nasab-ar=ٱبْن إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق
|kunya=Abū al-Ḥasan
|kunya-ar=أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن
|nisba=Al-Ashʿarī
|nisba-ar=ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ
}}
| influences = {{flatlist|
*[[Abu Hanifa]]
*[[Al-Jubba'i]]
*[[Ibn Kullab]]
*[[al-Harith al-Muhasibi]]
*Abu al-Abbas al-Qalanisi
}}
| influenced = All Ash'aris
}}


'''Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari'''{{efn|Full name '''Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ashʿarī''' ({{langx|ar|أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ بْن إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ}})}} ({{langx|ar|أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ|translit=Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī}}; 874–936 CE) was a [[Islamic theology|Muslim theologian]] known for being the eponymous founder of the [[Ash'ari school]] of [[kalam]] in [[Sunnism]].<ref name="Nasr 2006"/><ref name="Frank 2020"/><ref name="Islamica 2015">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Javad Anvari |author-first=Mohammad |year=2015 |title=al-Ashʿarī |translator-last=Melvin-Koushki |translator-first=Matthew |editor1-last=Madelung |editor1-first=Wilferd |editor2-last=Daftary |editor2-first=Farhad |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0300 |issn=1875-9823}}</ref><ref name="Thiele 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Thiele |author-first=Jan |year=2016 |origyear=2014 |chapter=Part I: Islamic Theologies during the Formative and the Early Middle period – Between Cordoba and Nīsābūr: The Emergence and Consolidation of Ashʿarism (Fourth–Fifth/Tenth–Eleventh Century) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70wnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA225 |editor-last=Schmidtke |editor-first=Sabine |editor-link=Sabine Schmidtke |title=The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=225–241 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.013.45 |isbn=9780199696703 |lccn=2016935488}}</ref><ref name="Hoover 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Hoover |author-first=John |year=2020 |chapter=Early Mamlūk Ashʿarism against Ibn Taymiyya on the Nonliteral Reinterpretation (''taʾwīl'') of God’s Attributes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B3znDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |editor1-last=Shihadeh |editor1-first=Ayman |editor2-last=Thiele |editor2-first=Jan |title=Philosophical Theology in Islam: Later Ashʿarism East and West |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Islamicate Intellectual History |volume=5 |pages=195–230 |doi=10.1163/9789004426610_009 |isbn=978-90-04-42661-0 |issn=2212-8662 |lccn=2020008682}}</ref>
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{{Infobox_Muslim scholars |
<!-- Scroll down to edit this page -->
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notability = [[Muslim scholar]]|
era = [[Islamic golden age]]|
color = #cef2e0 |


Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically opposed schools of Islamic theology prevalent at the time: [[Atharism]] and [[Mu'tazilism]].<ref name="Nasr 2006"/><ref name="Frank 2020"/><ref name="Thiele 2016"/> He primarily opposed the Mu'tazili theologians on [[attributes of God in Islam|God's eternal attributes]] and [[Quranic createdness]].<ref name="Nasr 2006"/><ref name="Thiele 2016"/> On the other hand, the [[Hanbalis]] and [[muhaddith|traditionists]] were opposed to the use of [[early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]] or [[kalam|speculative theology]], and condemned any theological debate altogether.<ref name="Nasr 2006"/><ref name="Thiele 2016"/><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Halverson |author-first=Jeffry R. |year=2010 |chapter=The Doctrines of Sunni Theology |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYzGAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |pages=12–31 |doi=10.1057/9780230106581_2 |isbn=978-0-230-10658-1 |access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>
<!-- Images -->
image_name = |
image_caption = |
signature = |
<!-- Information -->
name = '''Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ismaˤel al-Ashˤari'''|
title= '''al-Ash'ari'''|
birth = {{AH|260|874}}<ref name="Al-Albaani, Mukhtasar Al-'Uluww">Al-Albaani, Mukhtasar Al-'Uluww</ref> |
death = {{AH|324|936}}<ref name="Al-Albaani, Mukhtasar Al-'Uluww" />|
Maddhab = [[Sunni]][[Ash'ari]]|
school tradition= |
Ethnicity = |
Region = |
main_interests = [[Kalam|Islamic theology]]|
notable idea= |
works = ''Maqālāt al-eslāmīyīn''<ref name="ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30">ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30</ref>, ''Ketāb al-loma''<ref name="ReferenceA">ed. and tr. R.C. McCarthy, Beirut, 1953</ref>, ''Ketāb al-ebāna'an osūl al-dīāna''<ref name="tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940">tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940</ref>|
influences = [[al-Jubba'i]], [[Imam Shafi'i]]|
influenced = |
}} <!--End of the template-->


Al-Ash'ari established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on theological rationalism (''kalam'') and the interpretation of the [[Quran]] and [[Sunna]].<ref name="Nasr 2006"/><ref name="Frank 2020"/><ref name="Thiele 2016"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Frank |first=Richard M. |date=January–March 1989 |title=Knowledge and Taqlîd: The Foundations of Religious Belief in Classical Ashʿarism |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |volume=109 |issue=1 |publisher=[[American Oriental Society]] |pages=37–62 |doi=10.2307/604336 |issn=0003-0279 |lccn=12032032}}</ref> His school eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunni Islam.<ref name="Islamica 2015"/><ref name="Thiele 2016"/><ref name="Henderson 1998">{{cite book |last=Henderson |first=John B. |year=1998 |chapter=The Making of Orthodoxies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FALN_kpyzEUC&pg=PA55 |title=The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns |location=[[Albany, New York]] |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |pages=55–58 |isbn=978-0-7914-3760-5}}</ref><ref name=Saeed-chap-5>Abdullah Saeed ''Islamic Thought: An Introduction'' Routledge 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-134-22564-4}} chapter 5</ref><ref>Juan Eduardo Campo ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' New York, NY 2009 {{ISBN|978-1-438-12696-8}} page 66</ref> By contrast, [[Shia Muslims]] do not accept his theological beliefs, as his works also involved refuting Shia Islam.
'''Abū al-Hasan Alī ibn Ismā'īl al-Ash'arī''' (874 &ndash; 936) ({{lang-ar|ابو الحسن علي ابن إسماعيل اﻷشعري}}) was a Muslim [[Arab]] [[theology|theologian]] and the founder of the [[Ash'ari]] school of [[early Islamic philosophy]] and [[Kalam|Islamic theology]].


==Biography==
==Biography==
[[File:PARSONS(1808) p008 View of Bagdad on the Persian side of the Tigris.jpg|thumb|A depiction of Baghdad from 1808, taken from the print collection in ''Travels in Asia and Africa, etc.'' (ed. [[J. P. Berjew]], British Library); al-Ashʿarī spent his entire life in this city in the tenth-century]]
Al-Ash'ari was born in [[Basra]], Iraq, a descendant of the famous companion of [[Muhammad]] and arbitrator at Siffin for [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], [[Abu Musa al-Ashari]]. He spent the greater part of his life at [[Baghdad]]. Although belonging to an orthodox family, he became a pupil of the great [[Mu'tazili|Mutazalite]] teacher [[al-Jubba'i]] (d.915), and himself remained a Mutazalite until his fortieth year. In 912 he left the Mu'tazalites and became one of its most distinguished opponents, using the [[philosophy|philosophical]] methods he had learned. Al-Ash'ari then spent the remaining years of his life engaged in developing his views and in composing polemics and arguments against his former Mutazalite colleagues. He is said to have written over a hundred works, from which only four or five are known to be extant.
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in [[Basra]],<ref name="John L. Esposito p 54">John L. Esposito, The Islamic World: Abbasid-Historian, p 54. {{ISBN|0195165209}}</ref> [[Iraq]], and was a descendant of [[Abu Musa al-Ashari|Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī]], who belonged to the first generation of [[Companions of the Prophet|Muhammad's closest companions]] (''ṣaḥāba'').<ref name="I.M.N. Al-Jubouri p 182">I.M.N. Al-Jubouri, History of Islamic Philosophy: With View of Greek Philosophy and Early History of Islam, p 182. {{ISBN|0755210115}}</ref> As a young man he studied under [[al-Jubba'i]], a renowned teacher of [[Muʿtazila|Muʿtazilite theology]] and [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]].<ref>Marshall Cavendish Reference, Illustrated Dictionary of the Muslim World, p 87. {{ISBN|0761479295}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Allard|first=Michel|title=Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, Muslim theologian|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-al-Hasan-al-Ashari#ref260804|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029094518/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-al-Hasan-al-Ashari#ref260804|archive-date=2020-10-29|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2021-04-01}}</ref>


According to the traditional account, al-Ashʿarī remained a Muʿtazilite theologian until his 40th year, when he allegedly saw the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] in his dreams three times during the month of [[Ramadan|Ramaḍān]]. The first time, Muhammad told him to support what was narrated from himself, that is, the [[Hadith|prophetic traditions]] (''ḥadīth'').<ref>William Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, p 84. {{ISBN|0202362728}}</ref><ref name="Rifai">{{cite web|url=https://ghayb.com/2015/09/the-significance-of-ashari-aqeedah-and-theology-from-the-quran-and-sunnah/|title=Significance of the Ash'ari Aqeedah|author=Shaykh Rami Al Rifai|date=11 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="Asakir">{{cite book|title=Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari fima Nusiba ila al-Imam Abu'l Hasan al- Ash'ari|last=Ibn ‘Asakir|pages=51–52}}</ref> Al-Ashʿarī became worried, as he had numerous strong proofs contradictory to the prophetic traditions. After 10 days, he saw Muhammad again: Muhammad reiterated that he should support the ''ḥadīth''.<ref name="Rifai"/><ref name="Asakir"/> Subsequently, al-Ashʿarī forsook ''[[Kalam|kalām]]'' (dialectical theology) and started following the ''ḥadīth'' alone. On the 27th night of Ramaḍān, he saw Muhammad for the last time. Muhammad told him that he had not commanded him to forsake ''kalām'', but only to support the traditions narrated from himself. Thereupon, al-Ashʿarī started to advocate in favor of the [[Hadith studies|authority of the ''ḥadīth'' reports]], finding proofs for these that he said he had not read in any books.<ref name="Rifai"/><ref name="Asakir"/>
==Views==
Al-Ash'ari was noted for his teachings on [[atomism]], among the earliest
[[Islamic philosophy|Islamic philosophies]], influenced by [[Greece|Greek]] and [[Hinduism|Hindu]] concepts of ''atoms of time and matter'', and for al-Ash'ari the basis for propagating a [[deterministic]] view that [[Allah]] created every moment in [[time]] and every particle of [[matter]]. Thus cause and effect was an [[illusion]]. He nonetheless believed in [[free will]], elaborating the thought of Dirar ibn Amr' and [[Abu Hanifa]] into a "dual agent" or "acquisition" account of free will. <ref>Watt, Montgomery. Free-Will and Predestination in Early Islam. Luzac & Co.: London 1948.</ref>


After this experience, he left the Muʿtazilite school and became one of its most distinguished opponents, using the [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophical methods]] he had learned from them in order to refute their theological doctrine.<ref name="John L. Esposito p 54"/> Then, al-Ashʿarī spent the remaining years of his life engaged in developing his views and in composing polemics and arguments against his former Muʿtazilite colleagues. Al-Ashʿarī wrote more than 90 works during his lifetime, little of which have survived to the present day.<ref name="Nasr 2006"/>
Muslims consider him to be the founder of the [[Ash'ari]] tradition of [[Aqeedah]] with the followers such as Abul-Hassan Al-Bahili, Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, Imam Al-Haramain Abul-Ma’ali Al-Juwaini, Al-Razi and Al-Ghazali and <ref>[http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5&section=0&article=26116&d=12&m=5&y=2003]By Adil Salahi, Arab News</ref>, adherents of the [[Shafi`i|Shafi'i madhhab]]<ref>[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/masudq2.htm]By [[Syaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller]] </ref> and [[Sufis]]<ref>[http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/ashari.htm]By R. M. FRANK </ref> . <ref>[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/al_ashari.htm] by Dr. G.F Haddad </ref><ref>[http://www.livingislam.org/ashari_e.html] by Dr. G.F Haddad </ref><ref>[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/masudq2.htm]By [[Syaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller]] </ref>


==Views==
Al-Ash'ari was opposed to the views of the [[Mu'tazili]] school for its over-emphasis on [[ijtihad]] (reason), he was also opposed to the views of certain schools such as the [[Thahiri]] and [[Salafi]] schools for their over-emphasis on [[taqlid]] (imitation) in his ''Istihsan al‑Khaud'':<ref>M. Abdul Hye, Ph.D, [http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hmp/14.htm Ash’arism], ''Philosophia Islamica''.</ref>
{{Ash'arism}}
After leaving the [[Muʿtazila]] school, and joining the side of [[Traditionalist Theology (Islam)|traditionalist]] theologians<ref>{{cite book|last1=Anjum|first1=Ovamir|title=Politics, Law, and Community in Islamic Thought|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=108|isbn=9781107014060|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0SePRbkpXvMC&q=ibn+hanbal+and+vindicated+by+its+triumph&pg=PA108|access-date=14 July 2016}}</ref> al-Ash'ari formulated the theology of [[Sunni]] Islam through [[Kalam]] and the usage of the [[Quran|Qur'an]] and [[Sunnah]], following in the footsteps of [[Ibn Kullab]] and confirming the methods of other traditionalists such as [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal|Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal]] a century earlier.<ref>John L. Esposito, The Oxford History of Islam, p 280. {{ISBN|0199880417}}</ref> He was followed in this by a large number of distinguished scholars of Sunni Islam, many of whom belonged to the [[Shafi'i]] school of law.<ref name="arabnews.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/211921|title = Scholar of renown: Abul-Hassan Al-Ash'ari|date = 21 May 2001}}</ref> The most famous of these are {{ill|Abu al-Hasan al-Bahili|ar|أبو الحسن الباهلي}}, [[al-Baqillani]], [[al-Juwayni]], [[al-Nawawi]], [[al-Ghazali]] and [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|al-Razi]].<ref>[[Namira Nahouza]] (2018). Wahhabism and the Rise of the New Salafists: Theology, Power and Sunni Islam. I.B. Tauris. pp. 121–122.</ref><ref>Zhussipbek, Galym and Nagayeva, Zhanar. "Epistemological Reform and Embracement of Human Rights. What Can be Inferred from Islamic Rationalistic Maturidite Theology?" Open Theology, vol. 5, no. 1, 2019, pp. 352. https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2019-0030</ref> Thus Al-Ash'ari's school became, together with the [[Maturidi]], the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah.<ref name="arabnews.com"/> He is also known to have directly taught the Sufi [[Ibn Khafif]].


In line with Sunni tradition (''Ahl us-Sunnah wal Jama’ah''), al-Ash'ari held the view that a Muslim should not be considered an unbeliever on account of a sin even if it were an enormity such as drinking wine or theft. This opposed the position held by the [[Khawarij]].<ref name="Jeffry R. Halverson p 77">Jeffry R. Halverson, Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism, p 77. {{ISBN|0230106587}}</ref> Al-Ash'ari also believed it impermissible to violently oppose a leader even if he were openly disobedient to the commands of the sacred law.<ref name="Jeffry R. Halverson p 77" />
{{quote|"A section of the people (i.e., the Thahirites and other orthodox people) made capital out of their own ignorance; [[Debate|discussions]] and [[Rationality|rational thinking]] about matters of faith became a heavy burden for them, and, therefore, they became inclined to blind faith and blind following (taqlid). They condemned those who tried to rationalize the principles of religion as `[[Bid‘ah|innovators]].' They considered discussion about [[Motion (physics)|motion]], [[Rest (physics)|rest]], [[body]], [[accident]], [[Color|colour]], [[space]], [[atom]], the leaping of atoms, and attributes of [[God]], to be an innovation and a [[sin]]. They said that had such discussions been the right thing, the [[Muhammad|Prophet]] and his [[Sahaba|Companions]] would have definitely done so; they further pointed out that the Prophet, before his death, discussed and fully explained all those matters which were necessary from the religious point of view, leaving none of them to be discussed by his followers; and since he did not discuss the problems mentioned above, it was evident that to discuss them must be regarded as an innovation."}}


Al-Ash'ari spent much of his works opposing the views of the [[Muʿtazila]] school. In particular, he rebutted them for believing that the Qur'an was created and that deeds are done by people of their own accord through their direct creation of them.<ref name="arabnews.com"/> He also rebutted the Muʿtazili school for denying that Allah can hear, see and has speech. Al-Ash’ari confirmed all these attributes stating that they differ from the hearing, seeing and speech of the creation.<ref name="arabnews.com"/>
===Retraction of Previous Position===
Salafi writers claim that toward the end of his life, al-Ash'ari adopted the creed of orthodoxy, affirming that Allah 'rose above his throne' and possesses a 'face' and 'hands' as mentioned in the [[Qur'an]] though not similar to anything in creation.<ref>[http://spubs.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID=GSC06&articleID=AQD060002&articlePages=1 Salafi Publications | The Creed of Abu Hasan al-Ash'aree<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The renowned historian, [[Al-Dhahabi]] said of Ashari: "I saw four works of Abu al-Hasan relating to theological fundamentals in which he mentioned the principals of the school of thought of the early scholars, the [[salaf]], pertaining to the attributes. He said in each of them, 'We leave them as they are,' and then saying, 'This is my position by which I practice my religion and they are not to be interpreted upon other than their apparent meanings.'"<ref>Siyar 'Alam Al-Nubala, vol. 15, pg. 86, Muassah al-Risalah, Beruit, 11th edition.</ref> Al-Dhahabi then quoted Abu al-Hasan, in Abu al-Hasan's book entitled 'Al-'Amd fi al-Ruyah,' listing the books he authored, saying the following, "... And a book about the attributes, the largest of our books, in which we contradict what we had previously authored in correcting the Mu'tazilah school of thought.<ref>Siyar 'Alam Al-Nubala, vol. 15, pg. 87, Muassah al-Risalah, Beruit, 11th edition.</ref> Other Muslim authors, however, dispute the historicity of this; and believe that his work, al-Ibaanah, was tampered to suit the orthodox school of thought.


He was also noted for his teachings on [[atomism]].<ref>[http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hmp/14.htm Ash'ari - A History of Muslim Philosophy]</ref>
They also refute the claim that al-Ibanah was his final book. The scholar al-Kawthari states:


==Legacy==
The Ibana was authored at the first of his return from Mu‘tazilite thought, and was by way of trying to induce [n: the Hanbali literalist] Barbahari (d. 328/940) to embrace the tenets of faith of Ahl al-Sunna. Whoever believes it to be the last of his books believes something that is patently false. Moreover, pen after pen of the anthropomorphists has had free disposal of the text—particularly after the strife (fitna) that took place in Baghdad [n: after A.H. 323, when Hanbalis ("the disciples of Barbahari") gained the upper hand in Baghdad, Muslims of the Shafi‘i madhhab were beaten, and anthropomorphism became the faith (‘aqida) of the day <ref>Ibn Athir: al-Kamal fi al-tarikh, 7.114</ref>]—so that what is in the work that contradicts the explicit positions transmitted from Ash‘ari by his own disciples, and their disciples, cannot be relied upon <ref>al-Sayf al-saqil, 108</ref>.
The 18th century Islamic scholar [[Shah Waliullah]] stated:
:A [[Mujaddid|Mujadid]] appears at the end of every century: The [[Mujadid]] of the first century was [[Imam#Sunni "Imams"|Imam of Ahlul Sunnah]], [[Umar II|Umar bin Abdul Aziz]]. The Mujadid of the second century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah [[Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i|Muhammad Idrees Shaafi]]. The Mujadid of the third century was the Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari. The Mujadid of the fourth century was [[Hakim al-Nishaburi|Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri]].<ref>[[Izalat al-Khafa]], p. 77, part 7.</ref>


Earlier major scholars also held positive views of al-Ash'ari and his efforts, among them [[Qadi Iyad]] and [[Taj al-Din al-Subki]].<ref>Fatwa No. 8001. Who are the Ash'arites? - [[Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah|Dar al-Ifta' al-Misriyyah]]</ref>
This is borne out by hadith master (hafiz) Dhahabi<ref>Siyar a‘lam al-nubala’ (15.90)</ref>, as well as Ibn ‘Asakir’s Tabyin kadhib al-muftari.


According to scholar [[Jonathan A.C. Brown]], although "the Ash'ari school of theology is often called the Sunni 'orthodoxy,' "the original ahl al-hadith, early Sunni creed from which Ash'arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it as a rival Sunni 'orthodoxy' as well."<ref>{{Cite book|first=Jonathan A.C. |last=Brown| author-link = Jonathan A.C. Brown | year=2009 | title=Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World|publisher=Oneworld Publications (Kindle edition) |page=180}}</ref> According to Brown this competing orthodoxy exists in the form of the "[[Hanbali]] über-Sunni orthodoxy".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Canonization of al‐Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon|last=Brown|first=Jonathan|publisher=Leiden and Boston: Brill|year=2007|isbn=9789004158399|pages=137}}</ref>


==Legacy==
==Works==
The Ash'ari scholar [[Ibn Furak]] numbers Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari's works at 300, and the biographer [[Ibn Khallikan]] at 55;<ref>Beirut, III, p.286, tr. de Slaine, II, p.228</ref> Ibn Asāker gives the titles of 93 of them, but only a handful of these works, in the fields of heresiography and theology, have survived. The three main ones are:
{{PresentScholar|Shah Waliullah|18th|Sunni}} stated <ref>[[Izalat al-Khafa]] p. 77 part 7</ref>:
* ''[[Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam]]'' (Treatise on the Appropriateness of Inquiry in the Science of Kalam)
* ''[[Risalat Ila Ahl Ath Taghr]]'' (Letter in which he confirmed the consensus of the pious predecessors)
* ''[[Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin]]'' (The Treatises/Teachings of the Muslims and the Differences of the Prayerful/Worshippers), an encyclopaedia of deviated Islamic sects.<ref name="ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30">ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30</ref> It comprises not only an account of the Islamic sects but also an examination of problems in ''kalām'', or scholastic theology, and the Names and Attributes of [[Allah]]; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Muʿtaziltes.
* ''Al-Luma'''
# ''Al-Luma' fi al-Radd 'ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Bida''' (The Gleams/Illuminations on the Refutation of the People of Deviation/Perversity and Heresies), a slim volume.
# ''Al-Luma' al-Kabir'' (The Major Book of Sparks), a preliminary to Idah al-Burhan and, together with the Luma' al-Saghir, the last work composed by al-Ash'ari according to Shaykh 'Isa al-Humyari.
# ''Al-Luma' al-Saghir'' (The Minor Book of Sparks)'', a preliminary to al-Luma' al-Kabir.<ref name="ReferenceA">ed. and tr. R.C. McCarthy, Beirut, 1953</ref>
* ''{{ill|Al-Ibana 'an Usul al-Diyana|ar|الإبانة عن أصول الديانة (كتاب)}}'' (The Elucidation of the Fundamentals of Religion),<ref name="tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940">tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940</ref> though the authenticity of this book has been disputed by several scholars.<ref>{{cite book |last= McCarthy |first=Richard J. |date=1953 |title=The Theology of Al-Ashari |publisher=Imprimerie Catholique |page=232}}</ref><ref>Makdisi, George. 1962. Ash’ari and the Asharites and Islamic history I. Studia Islamica 17: 37–80</ref><ref>Ignaz Goldziher, Vorlesungen uber den Islam, 2nd ed. Franz Babinger (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1925), 121;</ref><ref>Richard M. Frank, ''Early Islamic Theology: The Mu'tazilites and al-Ash'ari'', Texts and studies on the development and history of kalām, vol. 2, pg. 172. [[Farnham]]: [[Ashgate Publishing]], 2007. {{ISBN|9780860789789}}</ref><ref>Jackson, Sherman A. “Ibn Taymiyyah on Trial in Damascus.” Journal of Semitic Studies 39 (Spring 1994): 41–85.</ref>


== See also ==
{{cquote|A [[Mujaddid|Mujadid]] appears at the end of every century: The [[Mujadid]] of the [[1st century AH|first century]] was [[Imam#Sunni "Imams"|Imam of Ahlul Sunnah]], [[Umar II|Umar bin Abdul Aziz]]. The Mujadid of the [[2nd century AH|second century]] was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah [[Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i|Muhammad Idrees Shaafi]]. The Mujadid of the [[3rd century AH|third century]] was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Abu Hasan Ashari. The Mujadid of the [[4th century AH|fourth century]] was [[Hakim al-Nishaburi|Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri]].}}
{{div col}}
* [[Abi al-Hasan al-Ash'ari Center for Theological Studies and Research]]
* [[Abu Musa al-Ash'ari]]
* [[Ibn Kullab]]
* [[Al-Tahawi]]
* [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]]
* [[Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi]]
* [[List of Ash'aris and Maturidis]]
* [[List of Muslim theologians]]
* [[List of Muslim comparative religionists]]
* [[2016 international conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny]]
{{div col end}}


==Early Islam scholars==
===Works===
{{Islam scholars diagram}}
The Ashari scholar Ibn Furak numbers Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari's works at 300, and the biographer [[Ibn Khallikan]] at 55;<ref>Beirut, III, p.286, tr. de Slaine, II, p.228</ref> Ibn Asāker gives the titles of 93 of them, but only a handful of these works, in the fields of heresiography and theology, have survived. The three main ones are:
*''Maqālāt al-eslāmīyīn'',<ref name="ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30" /> it comprises not only an account of the Islamic sects but also an examination of problems in ''kalām'', or scholastic theology, and the names and attributes of [[Allah]]; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Mutaziltes.
*''Ketāb al-loma''<ref name="ReferenceA" />
*''Ketāb al-ebāna'an osūl al-dīāna'', <ref name="tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940" /> an exposition of his developed theological views and arguments against Mutazilite doctrines. However the works is disputed as the last or the first books upon rejecting Mu'tazilite as mentioned by Imam Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Muqri (Ibn Matar) who died in the year 306: "Imam al-Ash`ari composed it in Baghdad upon his arrival there." <ref>[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/al_ashari.htm] Dr G. F Haddad</ref>


==Notes==
==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
*{{1911}}
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.livingislam.org/ashari_e.html Imam Abu Al-Hasan Al-Ash`ari; by G F Haddad]
*[http://masud.co.uk/imam-abul-hasan-al-ashari/ Imam Abu‘l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari by Shaykh Gibril Haddad]
*[http://masud.co.uk/imam-ashari-repudiating-asharism/ Imam Ash’ari Repudiating Asha’rism? by Shaykh Nuh Keller]
*[http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/SalafiManhaj_AshariCreed.pdf The Asharis: In the Scales of Ahl us-Sunnah]

==Further reading==
*{{Cite EB1911|first=Griffithes Wheeler|last=Thatcher|wstitle=Ash'arī|volume=2|page=729|short=x}}

{{Ash'ari}}
{{Kullabi}}
{{Shafi'i scholars}}
{{Islamic Theology}}
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[[Category:9th-century Muslim theologians]]
[[Category:10th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:10th-century Muslim theologians]]
[[Category:Arab Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Asharis]]
[[Category:Atomists]]
[[Category:Hadith scholars]]
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[[Category:Salaf]]
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[[it:Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari]]
[[Category:Shaykh al-Islāms]]
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Latest revision as of 09:35, 23 December 2024

Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari
أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ
Title
  • Shaykh al-Islam ('Shaykh of Islam')
  • Imam al-Mutakallimun ('Imam of the Scholastic Theologians')
  • Imam Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jama'a ('Imam of the People of the Prophetic Way and Community')
Personal life
Born874 CE (260 AH)
Basra, Abbasid Caliphate
Died936 CE (324 AH; aged 62–63)
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
EraIslamic Golden Age (Abbasid era)
RegionAbbasid Caliphate
Main interest(s)
Notable idea(s)Ash'arism
Notable work(s)
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
SchoolShafi'i
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
  • All Ash'aris
Arabic name
Personal
(Ism)
ʿAlī
عَلِيّ
Patronymic
(Nasab)
Ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq
ٱبْن إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق
Teknonymic
(Kunya)
Abū al-Ḥasan
أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن
Toponymic
(Nisba)
Al-Ashʿarī
ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ

Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari[a] (Arabic: أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ, romanizedAbū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī; 874–936 CE) was a Muslim theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of kalam in Sunnism.[1][2][3][4][5]

Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically opposed schools of Islamic theology prevalent at the time: Atharism and Mu'tazilism.[1][2][4] He primarily opposed the Mu'tazili theologians on God's eternal attributes and Quranic createdness.[1][4] On the other hand, the Hanbalis and traditionists were opposed to the use of philosophy or speculative theology, and condemned any theological debate altogether.[1][4][6]

Al-Ash'ari established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on theological rationalism (kalam) and the interpretation of the Quran and Sunna.[1][2][4][7] His school eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunni Islam.[3][4][8][9][10] By contrast, Shia Muslims do not accept his theological beliefs, as his works also involved refuting Shia Islam.

Biography

[edit]
A depiction of Baghdad from 1808, taken from the print collection in Travels in Asia and Africa, etc. (ed. J. P. Berjew, British Library); al-Ashʿarī spent his entire life in this city in the tenth-century

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in Basra,[11] Iraq, and was a descendant of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī, who belonged to the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba).[12] As a young man he studied under al-Jubba'i, a renowned teacher of Muʿtazilite theology and philosophy.[13][14]

According to the traditional account, al-Ashʿarī remained a Muʿtazilite theologian until his 40th year, when he allegedly saw the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his dreams three times during the month of Ramaḍān. The first time, Muhammad told him to support what was narrated from himself, that is, the prophetic traditions (ḥadīth).[15][16][17] Al-Ashʿarī became worried, as he had numerous strong proofs contradictory to the prophetic traditions. After 10 days, he saw Muhammad again: Muhammad reiterated that he should support the ḥadīth.[16][17] Subsequently, al-Ashʿarī forsook kalām (dialectical theology) and started following the ḥadīth alone. On the 27th night of Ramaḍān, he saw Muhammad for the last time. Muhammad told him that he had not commanded him to forsake kalām, but only to support the traditions narrated from himself. Thereupon, al-Ashʿarī started to advocate in favor of the authority of the ḥadīth reports, finding proofs for these that he said he had not read in any books.[16][17]

After this experience, he left the Muʿtazilite school and became one of its most distinguished opponents, using the philosophical methods he had learned from them in order to refute their theological doctrine.[11] Then, al-Ashʿarī spent the remaining years of his life engaged in developing his views and in composing polemics and arguments against his former Muʿtazilite colleagues. Al-Ashʿarī wrote more than 90 works during his lifetime, little of which have survived to the present day.[1]

Views

[edit]

After leaving the Muʿtazila school, and joining the side of traditionalist theologians[18] al-Ash'ari formulated the theology of Sunni Islam through Kalam and the usage of the Qur'an and Sunnah, following in the footsteps of Ibn Kullab and confirming the methods of other traditionalists such as Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal a century earlier.[19] He was followed in this by a large number of distinguished scholars of Sunni Islam, many of whom belonged to the Shafi'i school of law.[20] The most famous of these are Abu al-Hasan al-Bahili [ar], al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni, al-Nawawi, al-Ghazali and al-Razi.[21][22] Thus Al-Ash'ari's school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah.[20] He is also known to have directly taught the Sufi Ibn Khafif.

In line with Sunni tradition (Ahl us-Sunnah wal Jama’ah), al-Ash'ari held the view that a Muslim should not be considered an unbeliever on account of a sin even if it were an enormity such as drinking wine or theft. This opposed the position held by the Khawarij.[23] Al-Ash'ari also believed it impermissible to violently oppose a leader even if he were openly disobedient to the commands of the sacred law.[23]

Al-Ash'ari spent much of his works opposing the views of the Muʿtazila school. In particular, he rebutted them for believing that the Qur'an was created and that deeds are done by people of their own accord through their direct creation of them.[20] He also rebutted the Muʿtazili school for denying that Allah can hear, see and has speech. Al-Ash’ari confirmed all these attributes stating that they differ from the hearing, seeing and speech of the creation.[20]

He was also noted for his teachings on atomism.[24]

Legacy

[edit]

The 18th century Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah stated:

A Mujadid appears at the end of every century: The Mujadid of the first century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz. The Mujadid of the second century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Muhammad Idrees Shaafi. The Mujadid of the third century was the Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari. The Mujadid of the fourth century was Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri.[25]

Earlier major scholars also held positive views of al-Ash'ari and his efforts, among them Qadi Iyad and Taj al-Din al-Subki.[26]

According to scholar Jonathan A.C. Brown, although "the Ash'ari school of theology is often called the Sunni 'orthodoxy,' "the original ahl al-hadith, early Sunni creed from which Ash'arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it as a rival Sunni 'orthodoxy' as well."[27] According to Brown this competing orthodoxy exists in the form of the "Hanbali über-Sunni orthodoxy".[28]

Works

[edit]

The Ash'ari scholar Ibn Furak numbers Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari's works at 300, and the biographer Ibn Khallikan at 55;[29] Ibn Asāker gives the titles of 93 of them, but only a handful of these works, in the fields of heresiography and theology, have survived. The three main ones are:

  • Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam (Treatise on the Appropriateness of Inquiry in the Science of Kalam)
  • Risalat Ila Ahl Ath Taghr (Letter in which he confirmed the consensus of the pious predecessors)
  • Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin (The Treatises/Teachings of the Muslims and the Differences of the Prayerful/Worshippers), an encyclopaedia of deviated Islamic sects.[30] It comprises not only an account of the Islamic sects but also an examination of problems in kalām, or scholastic theology, and the Names and Attributes of Allah; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Muʿtaziltes.
  • Al-Luma'
  1. Al-Luma' fi al-Radd 'ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Bida' (The Gleams/Illuminations on the Refutation of the People of Deviation/Perversity and Heresies), a slim volume.
  2. Al-Luma' al-Kabir (The Major Book of Sparks), a preliminary to Idah al-Burhan and, together with the Luma' al-Saghir, the last work composed by al-Ash'ari according to Shaykh 'Isa al-Humyari.
  3. Al-Luma' al-Saghir (The Minor Book of Sparks), a preliminary to al-Luma' al-Kabir.[31]

See also

[edit]

Early Islam scholars

[edit]
Muhammad, The final Messenger of God(570–632 the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions
Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taughtAli (607–661) fourth caliph taughtAisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taughtAbd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taughtZayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taughtUmar (579–644) second caliph taughtAbu Hurairah (603–681) taught
Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taughtHusayn ibn Ali (626–680) taughtQasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by AishaUrwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taughtSaid ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taughtAbdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taughtAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught
Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taughtAli ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taughtHisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taughtIbn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taughtSalim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taughtUmar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar
Hammad bin ibi Sulman taughtMuhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taughtFarwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother
Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taughtZayd ibn Ali (695–740)Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taughtMalik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Sunni in Africa, Sunni Sufi and taughtAl-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn AnasAbu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas
Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqhMuhammad al-Shaybani (749–805)al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and taughtIsmail ibn IbrahimAli ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the CompanionsIbn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography
Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775)Musa al-Kadhim (745–799)Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and hadith booksMuhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith booksMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith booksDawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri schoolMuhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith booksAl-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles
Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith bookAbu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver ShiaMuhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-TabariAbu Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna
Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver ShiaSharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver ShiaNasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver ShiaAl-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on SufismRumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism
Key: Some of Muhammad's CompanionsKey: Taught in MedinaKey: Taught in IraqKey: Worked in SyriaKey: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadithKey: Worked in Persia

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Full name Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ashʿarī (Arabic: أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ بْن إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ)

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2006). "Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History – Dimensions of the Islamic Intellectual Tradition: Kalām, Philosophy, and Spirituality". Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 124–126. ISBN 9780791468005. LCCN 2005023943.
  2. ^ a b c d Frank, Richard M. (2020) [2007]. "Al-Ashʿarī's conception of the nature and role of speculative reasoning in theology". In Frank, Richard M.; Gutas, Dimitri (eds.). Early Islamic Theology: The Muʿtazilites and al-Ashʿarī – Texts and Studies on the Development and History of Kalām, Vol. II (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 136–154. doi:10.4324/9781003110385_8. ISBN 9780860789789. LCCN 2006935669.
  3. ^ a b Javad Anvari, Mohammad (2015). "al-Ashʿarī". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica. Translated by Melvin-Koushki, Matthew. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0300. ISSN 1875-9823.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Thiele, Jan (2016) [2014]. "Part I: Islamic Theologies during the Formative and the Early Middle period – Between Cordoba and Nīsābūr: The Emergence and Consolidation of Ashʿarism (Fourth–Fifth/Tenth–Eleventh Century)". In Schmidtke, Sabine (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 225–241. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.013.45. ISBN 9780199696703. LCCN 2016935488.
  5. ^ Hoover, John (2020). "Early Mamlūk Ashʿarism against Ibn Taymiyya on the Nonliteral Reinterpretation (taʾwīl) of God's Attributes". In Shihadeh, Ayman; Thiele, Jan (eds.). Philosophical Theology in Islam: Later Ashʿarism East and West. Islamicate Intellectual History. Vol. 5. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 195–230. doi:10.1163/9789004426610_009. ISBN 978-90-04-42661-0. ISSN 2212-8662. LCCN 2020008682.
  6. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). "The Doctrines of Sunni Theology". Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 12–31. doi:10.1057/9780230106581_2. ISBN 978-0-230-10658-1. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. ^ Frank, Richard M. (January–March 1989). "Knowledge and Taqlîd: The Foundations of Religious Belief in Classical Ashʿarism". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 109 (1). American Oriental Society: 37–62. doi:10.2307/604336. ISSN 0003-0279. LCCN 12032032.
  8. ^ Henderson, John B. (1998). "The Making of Orthodoxies". The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 55–58. ISBN 978-0-7914-3760-5.
  9. ^ Abdullah Saeed Islamic Thought: An Introduction Routledge 2006 ISBN 978-1-134-22564-4 chapter 5
  10. ^ Juan Eduardo Campo Encyclopedia of Islam New York, NY 2009 ISBN 978-1-438-12696-8 page 66
  11. ^ a b John L. Esposito, The Islamic World: Abbasid-Historian, p 54. ISBN 0195165209
  12. ^ I.M.N. Al-Jubouri, History of Islamic Philosophy: With View of Greek Philosophy and Early History of Islam, p 182. ISBN 0755210115
  13. ^ Marshall Cavendish Reference, Illustrated Dictionary of the Muslim World, p 87. ISBN 0761479295
  14. ^ Allard, Michel. "Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, Muslim theologian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  15. ^ William Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, p 84. ISBN 0202362728
  16. ^ a b c Shaykh Rami Al Rifai (11 September 2015). "Significance of the Ash'ari Aqeedah".
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  18. ^ Anjum, Ovamir (2012). Politics, Law, and Community in Islamic Thought. Cambridge University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9781107014060. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
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  32. ^ tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940
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  34. ^ Makdisi, George. 1962. Ash’ari and the Asharites and Islamic history I. Studia Islamica 17: 37–80
  35. ^ Ignaz Goldziher, Vorlesungen uber den Islam, 2nd ed. Franz Babinger (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1925), 121;
  36. ^ Richard M. Frank, Early Islamic Theology: The Mu'tazilites and al-Ash'ari, Texts and studies on the development and history of kalām, vol. 2, pg. 172. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9780860789789
  37. ^ Jackson, Sherman A. “Ibn Taymiyyah on Trial in Damascus.” Journal of Semitic Studies 39 (Spring 1994): 41–85.
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Further reading

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