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Schools of Islamic theology are variousIslamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regardingcreed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extantMu'tazili,Ash'ari,Maturidi, andAthari schools; the extinct ones include theQadari,Jahmi,Murji', andBatini schools.
The main schism betweenSunni,Shia, andKhariji branches of Islam was initially more political than theological, but theological differences have developed over time throughout thehistory of Islam.[1]
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According to theEncyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (2006),
TheQurʾān displays a wide range of theological topics related to the religious thought oflate antiquity and through its prophetMuhammad presents a coherent vision of the creator, the cosmos and man. The main issues of Muslim theological dispute prove to be hidden under the wording of the qurʾānic message, which is closely tied to Muḥammad'sbiography.[2]
Modern scholars of thehistory of Islam andIslamic studies say that some instances of theological thought were already developed amongpolytheists inpre-Islamic Arabia, such as the belief infatalism (ḳadar), which reoccurs in Islamic theology regarding the metaphysical debates on theattributes of God in Islam,predestination, andhuman free-will.[3][4] An overview about diverse denominations according toAbu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi:
| Sunnism | Mu'tazilism | Kharijites | Philosophers | Jahmites | Murjites | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of God | God is a thing and a self, but not a body. God is in no place.[5] | God is a thing, but not a body. God is in every place by knowledge only.[6] | God is a thing and body[7] | God is not a thing and not a body.[8] | God is not a thing and not a body.[9] | God is a thing and a body.[10] |
| Attributes of God | God's attributes are eternal. They consist of Knowledge, Life, Power, and Strengh.[11] | God's attributes are not eternal. They consist of Knowledge, Life, and Power.[12] | ||||
| God's will of good and evil | All incidents, entities, and actions are by God's will. God can command obedience but will disobedience for his subject, as demonstrated in the case of Satan (Iblis).[13] | Only good actions are by God's desire. God can only command obedience if God wills obedience or else God would be unjust.[14] | ||||
| Eternity of the Quran | God's speech (i.e. the Qur'an) is eternal.[15] | God's speech is created.[16] | God's speech is created.[17] | God's speech is created.[18] | God's speech is eternal, but the words are created.[19] | |
| Origin of actions | Good and Evil actions are created by God and acquired by the servant.[20] | Actions are created by the sevants, not by God.[21] | Actions are created by the servant, not by God.[22] | Actions are created by God and also performed by God.[23] | ||
| Faith and afterlife | Disobedient Muslims remain believers and only lose of faith makes an unbeliever as demonstrated in the case of Satan (Iblis). Sinful Muslims will attain paradise after purgatory.[24] | Disobedient Muslims remain Muslims but will join the unbelievers in hell. | Disobedient Muslims become apostates and will join the unbelievers in hell.[25] | God is not obligated to reward or punish: Both believers and unbelievers may go to paradise and both may go to hell.[26] | Disobedient Muslims will join paradise and remain believers. | |
| Resurrection | Bodily resurrection is true, but individually. Questioning of the grave by the angels Munkar and Nakir is affirmed.Paradise and Hell co-exist with the world, are created, but exist eternally henceforth.[27] | Bodily resurrection is true. The questioning of the grave by the angels Munkar and Nakir is denied.Paradise and hell are yet to be created but exist eternally after judgement day. | Denial of bodily resurrection. The good souls ascend to the spiritual world, but evil souls remain in the bodily world and suffer therein.[28] | Paradise and hell are created. Paradise and hell will eventually perish.[29] | ||
| Infallibility of the Prophets | The prophets and messengers are protected from intentional major and minor sins, but not from slips committed through forgetfulness or mistakes.[30] | The prophets and messengers are protected from both major and minor sins. | Prophets and messengers are protected from both major and minor sins. | Prophets and messengers are protected from both major and minor sins. | ||
| Angels and Muslims | Muslims are superior to the angels.[31] | Angels are superior to Muslims.[32] |
The original schism betweenKharijites,Sunnīs, andShīʿas amongMuslims was a dispute over thepolitical and religious succession to the leadership of theUmmah (Muslim community) after the death of prophet Muhammad.[1] From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims.[1] Shīʿas believeʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is the true successor to Muhammad, while Sunnīs considerAbu Bakr to hold that position. The Kharijites broke away from both the Shīʿas and the Sunnīs during theFirst Fitna (the first Islamic Civil War);[1] they were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach totakfīr (excommunication), whereby they declared both Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims to be eitherinfidels (kuffār) orfalse Muslims (munāfiḳūn), and therefore deemed themworthy of death for their perceivedapostasy (ridda).[1]
ʿAqīdah is an Islamic term meaning "creed" or "belief".[33] Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example ofʿaqīdah. This term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction. The term is usually translated as "theology". Such traditions are divisions orthogonal tosectarian divisions within Islam, and aMuʿtazilite may, for example, belong to theJaʿfari,Zaydī, or evenḤanafīschools of Islamic jurisprudence.
In the history of Islam, one of the earliest systematic schools of Islamic theology to develop were theMuʿtazila in the mid-8th century CE.[3][34] Muʿtazilite theologians emphasized the use ofreason andrational thought, positing that the injunctions ofGod are accessible through rational thought and inquiry, and affirmed thatthe Quran was created (makhlūq) rather than co-eternal with God, which would develop into one of the most contentious questions in the history of Islamic theology.[3][34]
In the 9th–10th century CE, theAshʿarī school developed as a response to the Muʿtazila, founded by the 10th-century Muslim scholar and theologianAbū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī.[35] Ashʿarītes still taught the use of reason in understanding the Quran, but denied the possibility of deducing moral truths by reasoning.[35] This position was opposed by theMāturīdī school;[36] according to its founder, the 10th-century Muslim scholar and theologianAbū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī, human reason is supposed to acknowledge the existence of acreator deity (bāriʾ) solelybased on rational thought and independently from divine revelation.[36] He shared this conviction with his teacher and predecessorAbū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān (8th century CE), whereas al-Ashʿarī never held such a view.[36]
According to the Afghan-American philosopherSayed Hassan Hussaini, the early schools of Islamic theology and theological beliefs amongclassical Muslim philosophers are characterized by "a rich color ofDeism with a slight disposition towardtheism".[37]
Another point of contention was the relative position ofimān ("faith") contrasted withtaqwā ("piety"). Such schools of Islamic theology are summarized underʿIlm al-Kalām, or "science of discourse", as opposed to mystical schools who deny that any theological truth may be discovered by means of discourse or reason.[citation needed]
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Most Sunni scholars have adopted the Ash‘ariyya school of theology,[38][39] but the similar Mātūrīd’iyyah school also has Sunni scholarly adherents.[40]Sunni Muslims are the largestdenomination of Islam and are known as 'Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h' or simply as 'Ahl as-Sunnah'. The wordSunni comes from the wordSunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. Therefore, the term "Sunni" refers to those who follow or maintain theSunnah ofMuhammad.
The Sunnis believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor to lead the Muslimummah (community) before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominentcompanions gathered and electedAbu Bakr, Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law, as the first 'Caliph 'of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr,`Umar ibn al-Khattāb,Uthman Ibn Affan andAli ibn Abu Talib) as "al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn" or "The Rightly Guided Caliphs". After theRashidun, the position turned into a hereditary right and the caliph's role was limited to being a political symbol of Muslim strength and unity.
Atharism (Arabic:أثري;textualism) is a movement of Islamic scholars who reject rationalistic Islamic theology (kalam) in favor of strict textualism in interpreting theQuran.[41] The name is derived from the Arabic wordathar, literally meaning "remnant" and also referring to a "narrative".[42] It has a minority position amongst the scholars and their disciples are called theAthariyya, or Atharis.[citation needed]
Earliest atharist such asAmir al-Sha'bi denounced the use ofQiyas (analogic deduction), as he strongly relied primarily on scriptural traditions.[43] He also tried to convince other scholars that Qiyās was not a valid argument.[44] Al-Sha'bi was recorded to have said: "Beware of Qiyās. For when you use it, you make what ishalal to beharam and what is haram to be halal.".[45]
For followers of the Athari movement, the "clear" meaning of the Qur'an, and especially the prophetic traditions, has sole authority in matters of belief, and to engage in rational disputation (kalam), even if one arrives at the truth, is absolutely forbidden.[46] Atharis engage in an amodal reading of the Quran, as opposed to one engaged inta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Quran rationally, and believe that the "real" meaning should be consigned to God alone (tafwid).[47] In essence, the meaning has been accepted without asking "how" or "Bi-la kaifa".[citation needed] In theory,Ahmad ibn Hanbal has stated this means rejecting any attribution of God with creatures; such as the doctrine of the rationalists (Mu'tazilah). thus, Ahmad rejecting the notion of Mu'tazilah that Qur'an was a creation, and instead stated Qur'an is ashifat (attribute) of God.[48][49][50][51]
On the other hand, the famousHanbali scholarIbn al-Jawzi states, inKitab Akhbar as-Sifat, that Ahmad ibn Hanbal would have been opposed toanthropomorphic interpretations of Quranic texts such as those of al-Qadi Abu Ya'la, Ibn Hamid, and Ibn az-Zaghuni.[52] Based onAbu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi's criticism ofAthari-Hanbalis,Muhammad Abu Zahra, a professor ofIslamic law atCairo University deduced that theSalafi aqidah is located somewhere betweenta'til andanthropopathy(AbsoluteẒāhirīsm in understanding thetashbih in Qur'an)[53][54] in Islam.AbsoluteẒāhirīsm and total rejection ofta'wil are amongst the fundamental characteristics of this"new" Islamic school of theology.[citation needed]
ʿIlm al-Kalām (Arabic:علم الكلام, literally "science of discourse"),[33] usually foreshortened tokalām and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is a rational undertaking born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of Islamic faith against doubters and detractors.[55]ʿIlm al-Kalām incorporatesAristotelian reasoning andlogic into Islamic theology.[34] A Muslim scholar ofkalām is referred to as amutakallim (plural:mutakallimūn) as distinguished from philosophers, jurists, and scientists.[56] There are many possible interpretations as to why this discipline was originally calledkalām; one is that the widest controversy in this discipline has been about whether theWord ofGod, as revealed in the Quran, can be considered part of God's essence and therefore not created, or whether it was made into words in the normal sense ofspeech, and is thereforecreated.[34] There are many schools of Kalam, the main ones being theMutazila,[57] theAsh'ari andMaturidi schools in Sunni Islam. Traditionalist theology rejects the use of kalam, regarding humans reason as sinful in unseen matters.[58]
Ashʿarīyyah is a school of theology that was founded by the Arab Muslim scholar, reformer, and scholastic theologianAbū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (874–936), who developed the school of thought founded byIbn Kullab a century earlier.[59][60][35]
It established an orthodox guideline[61][62] based onscriptural authority,[59][35][63]rationality,[59][63][64][65][66] and theologicalrationalism.[59][63][65][67][68][69] As a young man, al-Ashʿarī studied underal-Jubba'i, a renowned teacher ofMuʿtazilite theology andphilosophy.[70][71] He was noted for his teachings onatomism,[72] among theearliest Islamic philosophies, and for al-Ashʿarī this was the basis for propagating the view thatGod created every moment intime and every particle ofmatter. He nonetheless believed infree will, elaborating the thoughts of Dirar ibn 'Amr andAbu Hanifa into a "dual agent" or "acquisition" (iktisab) account of free will.[73]
Al-Ashʿarī established a middle way between the doctrines of theAṯharī andMuʿtazila schools of Islamic theology, based both on reliance on thesacred scriptures of Islam and theological rationalism concerning theagency andattributes of God.[59][35][63] The Ashʿarī school reasoned that truth can only be known through revelation, and that without revelation the unaided human mind wouldn't be able to know if something is good or evil. It has been called "an attempt to create a middle position" between the rationalism of the Muʿtazilites and scripturalism of the traditionalists.[74] For the Ashʿarīyyah God is uncreated, eternal, and unique, simple, and one. God's attributes are also eternal and uncreated. Differing from the Muʿtazila the Ashʿarīyyah posit God as the author of both good and evil actions.[75]
In an attempt to explain how God is the author of every action, yet humans bear responsibility for their sins, al-Ashʿarī developed the doctrine ofkasb (acquisition), whereby any and all human acts, even the raising of a finger, arecreated by God, but the human being who performs the act isresponsible for it, because they have "acquired" the act.[76] For the Ashʿarīyyah, belief and sin do are no contradictions. Even if a believer commits a major sin, they remain a believer.[75]
While al-Ashʿarī opposed the views of the rivalMuʿtazilite school, he was also opposed to the view whichrejected all debate, held by certain schools such as theZahiri ("literalist"),Mujassimite ("anthropotheist"), andMuhaddithin ("traditionalist") schools for their over-emphasis ontaqlid (imitation) in hisIstihsan al‑Khaud.[77] Ashʿarism eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunnī Islam,[60][35][78] and is regarded by some as the single most important school of Islamic theology in thehistory of Islam.[60] Amongst the most famous Ashʿarite theologians areImam Nawawi,Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,Ibn al-Jawzi,al-Ghazali,al-Suyuti,Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam,Fakhr al-Din al-Razi,Ibn 'Asakir,al-Subki,al-Taftazani,al-Baqillani andal-Bayhaqi.[79]
TheMaturidi school was founded byAbu Mansur al-Maturidi (853–944), and is the most popular theological school amongst Muslims, especially in the areas formerly controlled by theOttomans and theMughals. Today, the Maturidi school is the position favored by theAhl ar-Ra'y ("people of reason"), which includes only theHanafi school of fiqh who make up the majority of Sunni Muslims.[80]
The Maturidi school takes the middle position between the Ash'ari and Mu'tazili schools on the questions of knowing truth andfree will. The Maturidis say that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation, but still maintain that revelation is the ultimate source of knowledge. Additionally, the Maturidi believe that God created and can control all of His creation, but that He allows humans to make individual decisions and choices for themselves.
Ethics are considered to have objective existence. Humans are thus capable of recognizing good and bad without revelation, butreason alone.[81] However, prophets and revelation are necessary to explain matters beyond human reason.[82] In matters of the six articles of faith, Māturīdism notably holds the idea that paradise and hell coexist with the current world, and does not adhere to the doctrine of impeccability of angels.[83][84]
Muʿtazila is a school of theology that appeared in early Islāmic history and were known for their neutrality in the dispute betweenAlī and his opponents after the death of the third caliph,Uthman. By the 10th century CE the term had also come to refer to an Islamic school of speculative theology (kalām) that flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century).[85][86][87] According to Sunni sources, Muʿtazili theology originated in the eighth century inBasra (now in Iraq) whenWāṣil ibn ʿAṭā' (died 131 AH/748 AD) withdrew (iʿtazala, hence the name Mu'tazila) from the teaching lessons ofHasan al-Basri after a theological dispute regarding the issue ofal-Manzilah bayna al-Manzilatayn (a position between two positions), where Wasil ibn Ata reasoned that a grave sinner (fāsiq) could be classed neither as believer nor unbeliever but was in an intermediate position (al-manzilah bayna manzilatayn).[88]
The later Mu'tazila school developed anIslamic type of rationalism, partly influenced byAncient Greek philosophy, based around three fundamental principles: the oneness (Tawhid) and justice (Al-'adl) ofGod,[89] human freedom of action, and the creation of the Quran.[90] The Muʿtazilites are best known for rejecting the doctrine of theQuran as uncreated and co-eternal with God,[91] asserting that if the Quran is the word of God, helogically "must have preceded his own speech".[92] This went against the orthodox Sunni position which argued that with God being all knowing, his knowledge of the Quran must have been eternal, hence uncreated just like him.[93] One of the most notable episode of Mu'tazila conflict with the Atharist orthodoxy was during the reign of Abbasid caliphAl-Ma'mun, where the long feud of Mu'tazila Quran creationism doctrine opposed by the atharist doctrine that Quran asshifat (attribution) of God which championed by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder ofHanbali school.[49][50][51][48] Ahmad was recorded engaged in long debates against the leading Mu'tazilite andqadi of caliphate,Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad regarding the said matter about the nature of Quran.[94]
Though Muʿtazilis later relied onlogic and different aspects ofearly Islamic philosophy andancient Greek philosophy, the basics of Islam is their starting point and ultimate reference.[95][96] Several groups were later influenced by Muʿtazilite theology, such as theBishriyya, who followed the teachings ofBishr ibn al-Mu'tamir, and theBahshamiyya, who followed the teachings ofAbu Hashim al-Jubba'i.[97][98]
The theology of the Muʿtazilis is characterized by "The Five Principles": They confess the unity of God, asserting God's justice and reject that God is the author of evil, affirm God's promise for reward and threat of punishment in the afterlife, considering an intermediary state for sinful Muslims between pious believers and unbelievers, and consider if a duty to demand goodness and deprecate the reprehensible, either with words, hands, or the sword.[75]
Jahmis were the followers of the Islamic theologianJahm bin Safwan who associate himself withAl-Harith ibn Surayj. He was an exponent of extremedeterminism according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun acts or does something when it sets.[99]
Qadariyyah is an originally derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who asserted human beings are ontologically free and have a perfect free will, whose exercise justifies divine punishment and absolving God of responsibility for evil in the world.[100][101] Their doctrines were adopted by theMu'tazilis and rejected by theAsh'aris.[100] The tension between free will and God's omnipotence was later reconciled by theMaturidi school of theology, which asserted that God grants human beings their agency, but can remove or otherwise alter it at any time.
Hasan al Basri (642 - 728) was the first who definedQadariyya doctrines in a systematic way: 1) God creates only good, evil stems from free will. 2) Humanity has free will to choose doing the will of God or not. 3) God only leads humans astray if they first have given him the occasion to do so by demonstrating the intention to sin.[102] Related to the question of the origin of evil is the nature of thedevil (Iblīs). By asserted the origin of the devil lies in his free will to sin,Qadariyya and laterMutazilites rejected the angelic origin of Iblīs.[103][104]Amr ibn Ubayd (died 761), one of Hasan's later students, became a leading figure in the Mutazilite movement, still advocating theQadariyya belief in free will independent of God.[105]
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The groups that were seceded fromAli's army in the end of theArbitration Incident constituted the branch ofMuhakkima (Arabic:محكمة). They are mainly divided into two major sects called asKharijites andIbadis.
TheKharijites considered thecaliphate ofAbu Bakr andUmar to be rightly guided but believed thatUthman ibn Affan had deviated from the path of justice and truth in the last days of his caliphate, and hence was liable to be killed or displaced. They also believed thatAli ibn Abi Talib committed a grave sin when he agreed on the arbitration withMuʿāwiyah. In theBattle of Siffin, Ali acceded to Muawiyah's suggestion to stop the fighting and resort to negotiation. A large portion of Ali's troops (who later became the first Kharijites) refused to concede to that agreement, and they considered that Ali had breached aQur'anic verse which states thatThe decision is only for Allah (Qur'an 6:57), which the Kharijites interpreted to mean that the outcome of a conflict can only be decided in battle (by God) and not in negotiations (by human beings).
The Kharijites thus deemed the arbitrators (Abu Musa al-Ashʿari andAmr Ibn Al-As), the leaders who appointed these arbitrators (Ali andMuʿāwiyah) and all those who agreed on the arbitration (all companions ofAli andMuʿāwiyah) asKuffār (disbelievers), having breached the rules of the Qur'an. They believed that all participants in theBattle of Jamal, includingTalha,Zubayr (both being companions ofMuhammad) andAisha had committed aKabira (major sin in Islam).[106]
Kharijites reject the doctrine ofinfallibility for the leader of the Muslim community, in contrast to Shi'a but in agreement with Sunnis.[107] Modern-day Islamic scholarAbul Ala Maududi wrote an analysis of Kharijite beliefs, marking a number of differences between Kharijism and Sunni Islam. The Kharijites believed that the act of sinning is analogous toKufr (disbelief) and that every grave sinner was regarded as aKāfir (disbeliever) unless he repents. With this argument, they denounced all the above-mentionedṢaḥābah and even cursed and used abusive language against them. Ordinary Muslims were also declared disbelievers because first, they were not free of sin; secondly they regarded the above-mentionedṢaḥābah as believers and considered them as religious leaders, even inferringIslamic jurisprudence from theHadeeth narrated by them.[106] They also believed that it is not a must for thecaliph to be from theQuraysh. Any pious Muslim nominated by other Muslims could be an eligiblecaliph.[106] Additionally, Kharijites believed that obedience to the caliph is binding as long as he is managing the affairs with justice and consultation, but if he deviates, then it becomes obligatory to confront him, demote him and even kill him.
Ibadiyya has some common beliefs overlapping with theAshʿarī andMu'tazila schools, mainstreamSunni Islam, and someShīʿīte sects.[108]
Murji'ah (Arabic:المرجئة) was an early Islamic school whose followers are known in English as "Murjites" or "Murji'ites" (المرجئون). The Murji'ah emerged as a theological school in response to theKharijites on the early question about the relationship between sin and apostasy(rida). The Murji'ah believed that sin did not affect a person's beliefs (iman) but rather their piety (taqwa). Therefore, they advocated the idea of "delayed judgement", (irjaa). The Murji'ah maintain that anyone who proclaims the bare minimum of faith must be considered a Muslim, and sin alone cannot cause someone to become a disbeliever(kafir). The Murjite opinion would eventually dominate that of theKharijites and become the mainstream opinion inSunni Islam. The later schools of Sunni theology adopted their stance while form more developed theological schools and concepts.
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TheZaydi denomination of Shīʿa Islam is close to the Muʿtazila school in matters of theological doctrine. There are a few issues between both schools, most notably the Zaydi doctrine of theImamate, which is rejected by the Muʿtazilites. Amongst the Shīʿa, Zaydis are most similar to Sunnīs,[109] since Zaydism shares similar doctrines and jurisprudential opinions with Sunnī scholars.[110]
TheBāṭen’iyyah was originally introduced by Abu’l-Khāttāb Muhammad ibn Abu Zaynab al-Asadī,[111][112] and later developed byMaymūn al-Qaddāh[113] and his sonʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn[114] for theesoteric interpretation of the Quran.[115] The members of Bāṭen’iyyah may belong to either theIsmāʿīlī orTwelver denominations of Shīʿa Islam.
TheIsmāʿīlīs differ fromTwelvers because they hadlivingimams orda'is for centuries. They followedIsma'il ibn Jafar, elder brother ofMusa al-Kadhim, as the rightful Imam[116] after his fatherJa'far al-Sadiq. The Ismailis believe that whether Imam Ismail did or did not die before Imam Ja'far, he had passed on the mantle of the imāmate to his sonMuḥammad ibn Ismā'īl al-Maktum as the next imam.[117]
The followers ofBāṭen’iyyah-Twelver school consist ofAlevis andNusayris, who developed their ownsystem of Islamic jurisprudence and do not pursue theJa'fari jurisprudence. Their combined population is nearly around 1% of the global Muslim population.[118]
Alevis are sometimes categorized as part of Twelver Shīʿīsm, and sometimes as its own religious tradition, as it has markedly different philosophy, customs, and rituals. They have manyTasawwufī characteristics and express belief in theQur'an andThe Twelve Imams, but rejectpolygamy and accept religious traditions predating Islam, likeTurkic shamanism. They are significant in East-CentralTurkey. They are sometimes considered aSufibrotherhood, and have an untraditional form of religious leadership that is not scholarship-oriented like other Sunnī and Shīʿa groups. 7 to 11 million Alevis, including the other denominations of Twelver Shīʿītes, live inAnatolia.[118]
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InTurkey, Shīʿa Muslims follow theJa'fari jurisprudence, which tracks back to the sixthShia ImamJa'far al-Sadiq, and are called "Ja'faris".[citation needed]
The Bektashiyyah is a Shia Sufi order founded in the 13th century byHaji Bektash Veli, a dervish who escaped Central Asia and found refuge with the Seljuks in Anatolia at the time of the Mongol invasions (1219–23). This order gained a great following in rural areas and it later developed in two branches: theÇelebi clan, who claimed to be physical descendants of Haji Bektash Veli, were called"Bel evladları" (children of the loins), and became the hereditary spiritual leaders of the rural Alevis; and theBabağan, those faithful to the path"Yol evladları" (children of theway), who dominated the official Bektashi Sufi order with its elected leadership.[citation needed]
Bektashism places much emphasis on the concept ofWahdat-ul-Wujood وحدة الوجود, the "Unity of Being" that was formulated byIbn Arabi. This has often been labeled aspantheism, although it is a concept closer topanentheism. Bektashism is also heavily permeated with Shiite concepts, such as the marked veneration ofAli,The Twelve Imams, and the ritual commemoration ofAshurah marking theBattle of Karbala. The oldPersian holiday ofNowruz is celebrated by Bektashis asImam Ali's birthday.
In keeping with the central belief ofWahdat-ul-Wujood the Bektashi see reality contained inHaqq-Muhammad-Ali, a single unified entity. Bektashi do not consider this a form oftrinity. There are many other practices and ceremonies that share similarity with other faiths, such as a ritual meal (muhabbet) and yearly confession of sins to ababa (magfirat-i zunub مغفرة الذنوب). Bektashis base their practices and rituals on their non-orthodox andmystical interpretation and understanding of theQur'an and the prophetic practice (Sunnah). They have no written doctrine specific to them, thus rules and rituals may differ depending on under whose influence one has been taught. Bektashis generally revere Sufi mystics outside of their own order, such asIbn Arabi,Al-Ghazali andJelalludin Rumi who are close in spirit to them.
The Bektashi Order is a Sufi order and shares much in common with other Islamic mystical movements, such as the need for an experienced spiritual guide — called ababa in Bektashi parlance — as well as the doctrine of "the four gates that must be traversed": the "Sharia"(religious law), "Tariqah"(the spiritual path), "Haqiqah"(truth), and "Marifa"(true knowledge).
Bektashis hold that the Qur'an has two levels of meaning: an outer (Zāher ظاهر) and an inner (bāṭen باطن).[123] They hold the latter to be superior and eternal and this is reflected in their understanding of both the universe and humanity, which is a view that can also be found inIsmailism andBatiniyya.[115]
Bektashism is alsoinitiatic and members must traverse various levels or ranks as they progress along the spiritual path to theReality. First level members are calledaşıks عاشق. They are those who, while not having taken initiation into the order, are nevertheless drawn to it. Following initiation (callednasip) one becomes amühip محب. After some time as amühip, one can take further vows and become adervish. The next level above dervish is that ofbaba. Thebaba (lit. father) is considered to be the head of atekke and qualified to give spiritual guidance (irshad إرشاد). Above thebaba is the rank ofhalife-baba (ordede, grandfather). Traditionally there were twelve of these, the most senior being thededebaba (great-grandfather). Thededebaba was considered to be the highest ranking authority in the Bektashi Order. Traditionally the residence of thededebaba was the Pir Evi (The Saint's Home) which was located in the shrine ofHajji Bektash Wali in the central Anatolian town ofHacıbektaş(Solucakarahüyük).
Twelvers believe in the twelve Shīʿa Imams. Thetwelfth Imam is believed to be inoccultation, and will appear again just before theQiyamah (Islamic view of the Last Judgment). The Shiahadiths include the sayings of the Imams. They are the largest Shia school of thought (93%), predominant inAzerbaijan,Iran,Iraq,Lebanon, andBahrain and have a significant population in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan,Kuwait and theEastern province of Saudi Arabia. The Twelver Shīʿas are followers ofeither theJaf'ari orBatiniyyahmadh'habs.
Followers oftheJaf'arimadh'hab are divided into the following sub-divisions, all of them are the followers oftheTheology of Twelvers:
TheUsuli form the overwhelming majority within the Twelver Shia denomination. They follow aMarja-i Taqlid on the subject oftaqlid and fiqh. They are concentrated in Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Akhbari, similar to Usulis, however rejectijtihad in favor of hadith. Concentrated in Bahrain.
Shaykhism is an Islamic religious movement founded byShaykh Ahmad in the early 19th centuryQajar dynasty, Iran, now retaining a minority following in Iran and Iraq. It began from a combination of Sufi and Shia and Akhbari doctrines. In the mid 19th-century many Shaykhis converted to theBábí andBaháʼí religions, which regard Shaykh Ahmad highly.
Alawites are also called Nusayris, Nusairis, Namiriya or Ansariyya. Theirmadhhab is established byIbn Nusayr, and theiraqidah is developed byAl-Khaṣībī. They followCillīaqidah of"Maymūn ibnAbu’l-Qāsim Sulaiman ibn Ahmad ibn at-Tabarānīfiqh" of the‘Alawis.[121][124] One million three hundred and fifty thousand of them lived in Syria and Lebanon in 1970. It is estimated they are 10–12% of the population of Syria of 23 million in 2013.[125]
Alawites consider themselves to be Muslims, although some Sunnis dispute that they are.[126] Alawite doctrine incorporatesGnostic,neo-Platonic, Islamic, Christian and other elements and has, therefore, been described assyncretistic.[127][128] Their theology is based on a divine triad,[126][129][130] or trinity, which is the core of Alawite belief.[131] The triad comprises threeemanations of the one God: the supreme aspect or entity called the "Essence"[131] or the "Meaning"[130] (both being translations ofma'na), together with two lesseremanations known as his "Name" (ism), or "Veil" (hijab), and his "Gate" (bab).[129][130][131][132] These emanations have manifested themselves in different human forms over several cycles in history, the last cycle of which was asAli (the Essence/Meaning),Muhammad (the Name) andSalman the Persian (the Gate).[129][131][132][133] Alawite belief is summarised in the formula: "I turn to the Gate; I bow before the Name; I adore the Meaning".[126] The claim that Alawites believe Ali is a deity has been contested by some scholars as a misrepresentation on the basis that Ali is, in fact, considered an "essence or form", not a human being, by which believers can "grasp God".[134] Alawites also hold that they were originally stars or divine lights that were cast out of heaven through disobedience and must undergo repeatedreincarnation (ormetempsychosis[131]) before returning to heaven.[126][132] They can be reincarnated as Christians or others through sin and as animals if they become infidels.[126][135]
Alawite beliefs have never been confirmed by their modern religious authorities.[136] Alawites tend to conceal their beliefs (taqiyya) due to historical persecution.[137] Some tenets of the faith are secret, known only to a select few;[138][139] therefore, they have been described as amystical sect.[140] In addition toIslamic festivals, the Alawites have been reported to celebrate or honor certain Christian festivals such as thebirth of Jesus andPalm Sunday.[141][142] Their most-important feast isEid al-Ghadeer.
Alawites have always described themselves as being Twelver Shi'ite Muslims and have been recognized as such by the prominent Lebanese Shi'ite clericMusa al-Sadr.[143] The SunniGrand Mufti of JerusalemHaj Amin al-Husseini issued afatwa recognising them as part of theMuslim community in the interest ofArab nationalism.[144][145] However,Athari Sunni (modern daySalafis) scholars such asIbn Kathir(a disciple ofIbn Taymiyya) have categorised Alawites aspagans in their writings.[138][146][147]
Barry Rubin has suggested that Syrian leaderHafez al-Assad and his son and successorBashar al-Assad pressed their fellow Alawites "to behave likeregular Muslims, shedding (or at least concealing) their distinctive aspects".[148] During the early 1970s a booklet,al-`Alawiyyun Shi'atu Ahl al-Bait ("TheAlawites are Followers ofthe Household of the Prophet") was published, which was "signed by numerous 'Alawi' men of religion", described the doctrines of theImami Shia as Alawite.[149] Additionally, there has been a recent movement to unite Alawism and the other branches of Twelver Islam through educational exchange programs in Syria andQom.[150]
Some sources have discussed the "Sunnification" ofAlawites under the al-Assad regime.[151]Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies, writes thatHafez al-Assad "tried to turn Alawites into 'good' (read Sunnified) Muslims in exchange for preserving a modicum of secularism and tolerance in society". On the other hand, Al-Assad "declared the Alawites to be nothing but Twelver Shiites".[151] In a paper, "Islamic Education in Syria", Landis wrote that "no mention" is made in Syrian textbooks (controlled by the Al-Assad regime) ofAlawites,Druze,Ismailis or Shia Islam; Islam was presented as a monolithic religion.[152] Ali Sulayman al-Ahmad, chief judge of the Baathist Syrian state, has said:
We are‘AlawiMuslims. Our book is theQur'an. Our prophet isMuhammad. TheKa`ba is ourqibla, and ourDīn(religion) isIslam.[136]
Qizilbash andBektashitariqah shared common religious beliefs and practices becoming intermingled asAlevis in spite of many local variations. Isolated from both theSunniOttomans and theTwelverShi`aSafavids,Qizilbash andBektashi developed traditions, practices, and doctrines by the early 17th century which marked them as a closed autonomous religious community. As a result of the immense pressures to conform to Sunni Islam, all members ofAlevism developed a tradition of opposition(ibāḥa) to all forms of external religion.[citation needed]
The doctrine ofQizilbashism is well explained in the following poem written by theShaykh ofSafaviyyatariqahShāh Ismāʿīl Khaṭāʾī:
من داها نسنه بيلمه زه م / Men daha nesne bilmezem,(I don't know any other object)
١ّللَه بير محممد على́دير /Allah birMuhammad-Ali'dir.(Allah is unique Muhammad-Ali)
اؤزوم غوربتده سالمازام / Özüm gurbette salmazam,(I can't let out my own essence to places far from my homeland)
١ّللَه بير محممد على́دير /Allah birMuhammad-Ali'dir.(Allah is unique Muhammad-Ali)
اونلار بيردير، بير اولوبدور / Onlar birdir, bir oluştur,(They are unique, a single one, i.e.Haqq-Muhammad-Ali)
يئردن گؤيه نور اولوبدور /Yerdengöğenûr oluştur,(It's anūr fromEarth toSky)
دؤرد گوشه ده سيرر اولوبدور، / Dört guşede sır oluştur,(It's a mysteriousoccultsecret in every corner of the square)
١ّللَه بير محممد على́دير /Allah birMuhammad-Ali'dir.(Allah is unique Muhammad-Ali)
ختايى بو يولدا سردير /Khaṭāʾī buyoldasırdır,(Khaṭāʾī in thistariqah is a mysteriousoccultsecret)
سرين وئره نلر ده اردير /Sırın verenler deerdir,(Those reveal their ownsecret areprivate as well)
آيدا سيردير، گونده نوردور /Aydasırdır,gündenûrdur,(Secret onMoon,nūr onday)
١ّللَه بير محممد على́دير /Allah birMuhammad-Ali'dir.(Allah is uniqueMuhammad-Ali)
The lines of poetry above may easily be judged as an act of "Shirk"(polytheism) by theSunniUlama, but they have abāṭenī[123] taʾwīl(inner explanation) inQizilbashism.
Anthropomorphic-Anthropopathic Karram’iyyah was founded by Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Karrām.[153] Ibn Karram considered that God was a substance and that He had a body (jism) finite in certain directions when He comes into contact with the Throne.[154][108][155]
The belief ofIncarnation was first emerged inSabaʾiyya, and later some personages likeMuhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah,Abu Muslim,Sunpadh,Ishaq al-Turk,Al-Muqanna,Babak Khorramdin,Maziar andIsmail I had become the subject ofGod incarnates.
| Part ofa series on Ahmadiyya |
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Distinct views |
Days of remembrance |
Miscellaneous |
TheAhmadis' beliefs are more aligned with the Sunni tradition, such asThe Five Pillars of Islam andThe Six articles of Islamic Faith. Likewise, Ahmadis accept theQur'an as their holy text, face theKaaba during prayer, accept the authority ofHadiths (reported sayings of and stories about Muhammad) and practice theSunnah (traditions) of Muhammad.[156] However, Many Muslims consider Ahmadis asheretics.[157][158][159][160]
Ahmadi teachings state that the founders of all the major world religions had divine origins. God was working towards the establishment of Islam as the final religion, because it was the most complete and included all the previous teachings of other religion[161] (but they believe that all other religions have gone astray in their present form). The completion and consummation of the development of religion came about with the coming of Muhammad; and that the perfection of the ‘manifestation’ of Muhammad's prophethood and of the conveyance of his message was destined to occur with the coming of theMahdi.[162]
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community regardMirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the promisedMessiah ("Second Coming ofChrist") theMahdi awaited by the Muslims and a'subordinate' prophet to Muhammad whose job was to restore the Sharia given to Muhammad by guiding or rallying disenchantedUmmah back to Islam and thwart attacks onIslam by its opponents, as the "Promised One" of all religions fulfilling eschatological prophecies found in the scriptures of theAbrahamic religions, as well asZoroastrianism, theIndian religions,Native American traditions and others.[163] Ahmadi Muslims believe that Ahmad was divinely commissioned as a true reflection of Muhammad's prophethood to establish the unity of God and to remind mankind of their duties towards God and God's creation.[164][165]
The Atharis can thus be described as a school or movement led by typically theHanbalites which retained influence, or at the very least a shared sentiment and conception of piety, well beyond the limited range of Hanbalite communities. This body of scholars continued to reject theology in favor of strict textualism well after Ash'arism had infiltrated the Sunni schools of law. It is for these reasons that we must delineate the existence of a distinctly traditionalist, anti-theological movement, which defies strict identification with any particularmadhhab, and therefore cannot be described as Hanbalite.
The term Atharis is derived from athar, which implied transmitted content (rather than rationally derived content).
Footnote 13
Almost all authorities agree that the speculation of the Muʿtazilah centeres around the two crucial concepts of divine justice and unity, of which they claim to be the exclusive, genuine exponents.
Of the total Muslim population, 11–12% are Shia Muslims and 87–88% are Sunni Muslims. Seven to Eleven MillionAlevis and Three to Four MillionAlawis constitute nearly 10% ofShi'ites.
In their mountainous corner of Syria, the 'Alawī claim to represent the furthest extension of Twelver Shi'ism.
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