The history of the Maturidi School is characterized by three phases. The phase[which?] lasted until the end of the 10th century, and is characterized by the fact that nothing of importance happened for the development of the school. Al-Maturidi had many followers; of them the most important isAbū Salama al-Samarqandī,[20] who gave us the summary ofAl- Maturidi'sKitab Al Tawhid namely the Jumal usul al-dīn.
Al-Maturidi, being a follower of the Hanafi school ofIslamic jurisprudence, based his theological opinions and epistemological perspectives on the teachings of the school's eponymous founder,Abu Hanifa (8th century CE).[21]
Ethics have an objective existence and humans are capable of recognizing it throughreason alone.[23]
Although humans are intellectually capable of realizing God, they need revelations and guidance ofprophets and messengers, because human desire can divert the intellect and because certain knowledge of God has been specially given to these prophets (e.g. theQuran was revealed toMuhammad according to Islam, whoMuslims believe was given this special knowledge from God and only through Muhammad did this knowledge become accessible to others).[22]
Humans are free in determining their actions within scope of God-given possibilities. Accordingly, God has created all possibilities, but humans are free to choose.[22]
The Maturidites state thatimān (faith) does not increase nor decrease depending on one's deeds; it's rathertaqwā (piety) which increases and decreases.[27]
The Maturidites emphasize the importance of monotheism and the transcendence of God (tanzih).
Regardingʿaqīdah (creed), unlike manyMu'tazilites (free-will theology), al-Maturidi does not hold thatangels are necessarily infallible. Pointing atsurahal-Baqara, he notes that angels too, have been tested.[28] Referring tosurahal-Anbiyāʼ, he points out, angels who claim divinity for themselves are sentenced tohell.[29] AboutIblīs, otherwise known as Satan, he states, disputing whether he was an angel or ajinn before his fall is useless, as it is more important to know, that he has become a devil and enemy of humans.[30]
Maturidism holds that humans are creatures endowed withreason, which differentiates them from animals. The relationship between people and God differs from that of nature and God; humans are endowed withfree-will, but due to God's sovereignty, God creates the acts the humans choose, so humans can perform them.Ethics can be understood just by rational thought and do not require prophetic guidance. Al-Maturidi also considered theaḥādīth to be unreliable when they are at odds with reason.[31] Furthermore, Maturidi theology opposes anthropomorphism and similitude, but simultaneously does not deny thedivine attributes.
Maturidism defends the idea that paradise and hell are coexisting with the temporal world, against the assertion of someMuʿtazila that paradise and hell will be created only after theDay of Judgement. The attributes of paradise and hell would already take effect onthis world (dunya).Abū l-Laiṯ as-Samarqandī (944–983 CE) stated that the purpose of simultaneous existence of both worlds is that they inspire hope and fear among humans.[32]: 168
Al-Maturidi's doctrine, primarily based onḤanafītheology andjurisprudence,[33] asserted man's capacity and will alongside the supremacy of God in man's acts, providing a doctrinal framework for more flexibility and adaptability. Maturidism especially flourished and spread among the Muslim populations inCentral Asia from the 10th century onwards.[34]
According to Maturidism,belief (ʾīmān) does neither increase nor decrease depending on observation of religious law. Instead, deeds follow from faith. Based onSurahṬā Hā (verse 112), if a Muslim does not perform the deeds prescribed by theIslamic law (sharīʿa), he is not considered anapostate as long as he doesn't deny his obligations.[35] According to al-Maturidi, faith isn't based on actions or confession, but comes from the heart. He supports his doctrine by referring toSurahal-ʿImrān (verse 3:22): "They are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world andthe Hereafter, and for them there will be no helpers." These people would have performed the obligatory actions and rituals without the proper faith in their heart. Therefore, actions must be based on faith to be acceptable before God.[21] Maturidism is known for its reserved position regardingtakfir: Based on Surah 2:30,Kitāb al-ʿĀlim states that neither humans nor angels can know what is in theheart of a human, thus it couldn't be said who is inwardly a Muslim and who is not, except for those who commit acts of disbelief.[36] One who is committing sins isn't necessarily a disbeliever, but someone who explicitly dissociates themselves from God is.[36]
Similarly, it is argued that the obedience to God observed byangels andprophets derives from their insights to God's nature and doesn't result from their creation.[28]Abū al-Qāsim Ishaq ibn Muhammad al Maturidi (9th to 10th centuries CE) drew an analogy onHarut and Marut, who are regarded assinful yet notunbelievers (Kuffār) in the Islamic tradition.[37] Al-Samarqandī further stated that children cannot be considered unbelievers and all of them go toparadise.[37] According to al-Maturidi, human rationality is supposed to acknowledge the existence of acreator deity (bāriʾ) solelybased on rational thought and independently from divine revelation.[33] He shared this conviction with his teacher and predecessorAbū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān (8th century CE), whereas the 10th-century Muslim scholar and theologianAbū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī never held such a view.[33] Although Māturīdism adhers, like theMu'tazilites, toethical realism, the former holds that moral objects are ultimately created by God, thus God is not bound by them, but human reason can detect such moral truths on their own.[38]
Yohei Matsuyama points to al-Maturidi's wording about faith, referring to the only obligation to believe in acreator (bāriʾ) or maker (sanī), not specifically inAllah, and concludes, it is only necessary forsalvation to construct a belief in a creator, not necessarily accepting the theological or doctrinal formulations of Islam.[39]Toshihiko Izutsu likewise argues that "believing in islam" refers to submission to the creator, by voluntarily surrendering to his will, and not necessarily accepting a religious formula.[40]
Particularly and inextricably, Maturidism is closely linked to theHanafi school of law. Therefore, where there areHanafis, there are Maturidis.[44][45][46] Maturidism was initially spread in the Eastern realms of theIslamic world, particularly inSamarqand andTransoxiana. It became widespread amongTurkic peoples inCentral Asia and was introduced into theMiddle East with the coming of theSeljuks.[47] It was popular among theArabicizedPersians of easternKhurasan and was the preferred school of the Central Asian andOttoman Turks. From its central Asian origins, it spread all over the lands of Islam, fromEgypt in the west toChina andIndia in the east. In this capacity, at least during theHigh Middle Ages.[48][46]Wilferd Madelung explains the connection between the earlier Seljuk Turks, Hanafi law, and Maturidi theology:[49]
As a result of the Turkish expansion, eastern Hanafism and Maturidi theological doctrine were spread throughout westernPersia,'Iraq,Anatolia,Syria and Egypt. Numerous Transoxianan and other eastern Hanafi scholars migrated to these regions and taught there from the late 5th/11th to the 8th/14th century. Maturidi doctrine thus gradually came to prevail among the Hanafi communities everywhere.
^abHarvey, Ramon (2021). "Chapter 1: Tradition and Reason".Transcendent God, Rational World: A Māturīdī Theology. Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology.Edinburgh:Edinburgh University Press.ISBN9781474451673.
^Жусипбек, Галым, Жанар Нагаева, and Альберт Фролов. "Ислам и плюрализм: Что могут предложить идеи школы аль-Матуриди? Журнал Аль-Фараби, Алматы, No 4 (56), 2016 (p. 117-134)." "On the whole, the authors argue that the Maturidi school which is based on 'balanced theological rationalism', 'metaphysics of diversity', 'subjectivity of faith' and 'to be focused on justice and society-centeredness'"
^Schlesinger, Sarah J. "The Internal Pluralization of the Muslim Community of Bosnia-Herzegovina: From Religious Activation to Radicalization." Master’s Research Paper. Boston University (2011).
^abAkimkhanov, Askar Bolatbekovich, et al. "Principles of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Central Asian Islamic theologian preoccupied with the question of the relation between the Iman/Credo and the action in Islam." European Journal of Science and Theology 12.6 (2016): 165-176.
^Yerzhan, K. "Principles of Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi, Central Asian Islamic Theologian Preoccupied With.pdf." A. Akimkhanov, A.Frolov, Sh.Adilbaeyva, K.Yerzhan (2016): n. pag. Print.
^abRudolph, Ulrich. al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand. Brill, 2014.
^abTritton, A. S. "An Early Work from the School of Al-Māturīdī." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 3/4, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1966, pp. 96–99,http://www.jstor.org/stable/25202926.
^The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy. (2015). Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 311
^Zhussipbek, Galym, and Bakhytzhan Satershinov. "Search for the theological grounds to develop inclusive Islamic interpretations: Some insights from rationalistic Islamic Maturidite theology." Religions 10.11 (2019): 609. p. 5
^Zhussipbek, Galym, and Bakhytzhan Satershinov. "Search for the theological grounds to develop inclusive Islamic interpretations: Some insights from rationalistic Islamic Maturidite theology." Religions 10.11 (2019): 609. p. 6
^Zhussipbek, Galym, and Bakhytzhan Satershinov. "Search for the theological grounds to develop inclusive Islamic interpretations: Some insights from rationalistic Islamic Maturidite theology." Religions 10.11 (2019): 609. p. 3
^Bürgel, J. Christoph. "Zoroastrianism as Viewed in Medieval Islamic Sources." Muslim Perceptions of Other Religions (1999): 202-212.
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