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Atharism (Arabic:الأثرية,romanized: al-ʾAthariyya /al-aṯariyyah[ælʔæθæˈrɪj.jæ], "ofathar") is aschool of theology inSunni Islam which developed from circles of theAhl al-Hadith, a group that rejected rationalistictheology in favor of stricttextualism in interpretation theQuran and thehadith.
Adherents of Athari theology believe thezahir (apparent) meaning of the Quran and the hadith are the sole authorities in matters ofaqida andIslamic jurisprudence;[1] and that the use of rational disputation is forbidden, even if in verifying the truth.[2] Atharis oppose the use of metaphorical interpretation regarding theanthropomorphic descriptions andattributes of God (ta'wil) and do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Quran by using philosophical principles since they believe that their realities should be consigned to God and Muhammad alone (tafwid).[3] In essence, they assert that the literal meaning of the Quran and theḥadīth must be accepted without a "how" (i.e. "Bi-la kayfa").
Athari theology emerged among hadith scholars who eventually coalesced into a movement calledAhl al-Ḥadīth under the leadership ofAhmad ibn Hanbal (780–855). In matters of faith, they were pitted againstMu'tazilites and other theological Islamic currents and condemned many points of their doctrine as well as the extreme philosophical methods they used.
Ashʿarism andMāturīdism is often called the Sunni creed. But the originalAhl al-Hadith, early Sunni creed after which Ash'arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it.[4] In themodern era it has had a grand impact on Islamic theology.[5]
Several terms are used to refer to Athari theology or Atharism. They are used inconsistently, and some of them have been subject to criticism.
The designation Traditionalist Theology is derived from the word "tradition" in its technical meaning as translation of the Arabic termḥadīth.[1][6] This term is found in a number of reference works.[1][7] It has been criticized byMarshall Hodgson (who preferred the termHadith folk)[8] for its potential for confusion between the technical and common meanings of the word "tradition".[9]Oliver Leaman also cautions against misinterpreting the terms "traditionalists" and "rationalists" as implying that the former favored irrationality or that the latter did not use theḥadīth.[10] Some authors reject the use of these terms as labels for groups of scholars and prefer to speak of "traditionalist" and "rationalist" tendencies instead.[11] Racha el Omari has applied the designationtraditionalist theology in a way that includes bothAshʿarism andMāturīdism.[12]
Athari (from the Arabic wordathar, meaning "remnant" or "effect") is another term that has been used for traditionalist theology.[13] The term Traditionism has also been used in the same sense,[14] although Binyamin Abrahamov reserves the term "traditionists" for scholars of the Hadith, distinguishing it from traditionalism as a theological current.[1] The term "Ahl al-Ḥadīth" ("People of the Tradition") is used by some authors in the same sense asAthari,[15] while others restrict it to the early stages of this movement,[16] or use it in a broader sense to denote particular enthusiasm towards theḥadīth literature.[17]
Since the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars in theHanbalischool of jurisprudence has adhered to the Athari creed (ʿaqīdah), many sources refer to it as "Hanbali theology", although Western scholars ofIslamic studies remark that it would be incorrect to consider Atharism and Hanbalism as synonymous, since there have been Hanbalite scholars who have explicitly rejected and opposed the Athari theology.[18] However, others note that someShafiʽi scholars also belonged to this theological school, while some Hanbalites in law adopted a more rationalist school in theology.[19] Moreover, extreme forms of traditionalism had not been confined within Hanbalism, and is also part ofMaliki,Shafi'i andHanafi schools.[20] Some authors refer to traditionalist theology as "classical Salafism" or "classic Salafiyyah" (fromsalaf, meaning "(pious) ancestors").[21] Henri Lauzière has argued that, while the majority Hanbali creed was sometimes identified as "Salafi" in classical-era sources, using the corresponding nouns in this context is anachronistic.[22]
It is also known as Traditionalist theology or Scripturalist theology.[a] it emerged as a school of theology in the late 8th century CE from the scholarly circles ofAhl al-Hadith, an earlyIslamic religious movement that rejected the formulation of Islamic doctrine derived from rationalistic Islamic theology (kalām) in favor of stricttextualism in interpreting theQuran and theḥadīth.[1][23] The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as a translation of the Arabic wordathar.[1] Its adherents are referred to byseveral names such as "Ahl al-Athar", "Ahl al-Hadith", etc.[24][25][26]
Muslim historians andjurists theorized that the companionZubayr ibn al-Awwam was one of the earliest traditionalist and textualist scholars who influenced later Athari scholasticism.[27] Zubair's method of proto-textualism[28] precedently influenced the scholars ofAhl al-Ḥadīth. This was characterized by their approach to literal adherence to the texts of the Quran andḥadīth, while largely rejecting theQiyas (analogy) methodology ofAhl al-Ra'y (scholars of logic).[27] This strict view expressed by az-Zubayr regarding theexegetical interpretation of the Quran was recorded in his primary biographies compiled by Islamic scholars. These include the statements of az-Zubayr such as his advice to one of his children to never argue about thetext of the Quran with logic. According to az-Zubayr, the interpretations of the Quran should be strictly bound with the traditional understanding of theḥadīth andsunnah. Such anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic, andḥadīth-oriented views were also shared by many influential scholars in history that reached the rank ofmujtahid mūtlaq (advanced scholars who founded their ownmadhhab) such as the Shafiʽite scholarIbn Kathir, Hanbalite scholarIbn Taymiyyah,[29][30]Ibn Hazm,Bukhari-independent school,[31] and also scholars from theJariri andZahiri schools.[32]
Another companion who was known to hold this textualist stance was'Abdullah ibn Umar. When enquired by a group of hisTabi'in disciples regarding his views on theQadariyah, Ibn 'Umar responded with subtletakfīr (excommunication from Islam) towards the Qadariyah for their rejection ofqadar (predestination). He also condemned their usage of analogical method (Qiyas). According to contemporary scholars, the reason for the condemnation of the Qadariyah by Ibn 'Umar was the similarity between their doctrines and those ofZoroastrianism andManichaeism due to their respectivedualistic cosmologies, which are in line with oneḥadīth that recites: "Qadariyah wereMagi of thisUmmah".
Another notable early Atharist isAmir al-Sha'bi, who unlike his colleagueIbrahim al-Nakha'i, who relied primarily onQiyas (analogic deduction) in his scholastic method, al-Shaʿbī strongly relied primarily on scriptural traditions (Atharism).[33] He also tried to convince other scholars that Qiyās was not a valid argument.[34] 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."[35]
Atharism materialized as a formal distinct school of thought towards the end of the 8th century CE among Muslim scholars of theḥadīth who held the Quran and the authenticḥadīth to be the only acceptable sources in matters of law and creed.[36] AlongsideMalik ibn Anas, Islamic scholarIbn Idris al-Shafi'i is widely regarded among the earliest leaders of the Athari school. In the debates between rationalists and the traditionalists, al-Shafi'i was able to successfully uphold the superiority of theḥadīth over other devices (such as rational arguments, local traditions, customs,ra'y, etc. ) as the source of theological knowledge and Quranic interpretation.[37] From this school would emerge a vigorous traditionalist movement against theAhl al-Ra'y and its various manifestations.[38][39] The doctrines of these early Shafi'ite theologians would be revived in the treatises of later Hanbali scholars.[40]
At first these scholars formed minorities within existing religious study circles, but by the early 9th century CE they coalesced into a separate traditionalist scholastic movement, commonly calledAhl al-Ḥadīth, under the leadership ofAhmad ibn Hanbal.[36][41][b] Another major leader of the traditionalist camp during this era wasDawud ibn Khalaf, the founder of theZahirite (literalist) school. Under the leadership of these two scholars, the Atharite camp gained ascendancy.[42] In legal matters, these traditionalists criticized the use of personal opinion (ra'y) common among theHanafite jurists of Iraq as well as the reliance on living local traditions byMalikite jurists ofMedina.[36] They emphasised the superiority of Scriptural proofs, denouncing the role of'Aql (human intellect) and also rejected methods of jurisprudence not based on literal reading of scriptures. Unlike mainstream traditionalists, Dawud would go as far as to declare all forms ofQiyas (analogical reasoning) to be completely invalid.[36][42] In matters of faith, traditionalists were pitted againstMu'tazilites and other theological currents, condemning many points of their doctrines as well as the rationalistic methods they used in defending them.[36]
Traditionalists were also characterized by their avoidance of all state patronage and by their social activism.[36] They attempted to follow the injunction of "commanding good and forbidding evil" by preachingasceticism and launchingvigilante attacks to break wine bottles, musical instruments and chessboards.[36] In 833, the caliphal-Ma'mun tried to impose Mu'tazilite theology on all religious scholars and instituted an inquisition (mihna) which required them to accept the Mu'tazilite doctrine that theQuran was created and therefore not co-eternal with God, which implicitly made it subject to interpretation by caliphs and scholars.[43] Ibn Hanbal led traditionalist resistance to this policy, affirming under torture that the Quran was uncreated and hence co-eternal with God.[44] Although Mu'tazilism remained state doctrine until 851, the efforts to impose it only served to politicize and harden the theological controversy.[45] The failure of theMihna campaign symbolised the total defeat of theMu'tazilites and the doctrinal triumph of the persecuted traditionalists, who had gained popular support. Apart from the universal condemnation of the doctrine ofQur'anic createdness;'Aql (human intellect) was denied any independent role in religious interpretations and driven compliant toWahy (Revelation) in Sunni hermeneutical paradigm.[46]
The next two centuries saw an emergence of broad compromises in both law and creed within Sunni Islam. In jurisprudence, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools all gradually came to accept both the traditionalist reliance on the Quran andḥadīth and the use of controlled reasoning in the form ofqiyas.[47] In theology,al-Ashʿarī (874–936) found a middle ground between Mu'tazilite rationalism and Hanbalite literalism, using the rationalistic methods championed by Mu'tazilites to defend most tenets of the traditionalist doctrine.[48] A rival compromise between rationalism and traditionalism emerged from the work ofal-Māturīdī (d. c. 944), and one of these two schools of theology was accepted by members of all the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, with the exception of most Hanbalite and some Maliki and Shafi'i scholars, who ostensibly persisted in their rejection ofkalām, although they often resorted to rationalistic arguments themselves, even while claiming to rely on the literal text of the Islamic scriptures.[48]
Although the traditionalist scholars who rejected theAshʿarī-Māturīdī synthesis were in the minority, their emotive, narrative-based approach to faith remained influential among the urban masses in some areas, particularly inAbbasidBaghdad.[49][50] Its popularity manifested itself repeatedly from the late 9th to 11th centuries, when crowds shouted down preachers who publicly expounded rationalistic theology.[50] After the caliphal-Mutawakkil suspended the rationalist inquisition, Abbasid caliphs came to rely on an alliance with traditionalists to buttress popular support.[50] In the early 11th century, the caliphal-Qadir made a series of proclamations that sought to prevent public preaching of rationalistic theology.[51] In turn, theSeljuq vizierNizam al-Mulk in the late 11th century encouraged Ashʿarite theologians in order to counterbalance caliphal traditionalism, inviting a number of them to preach in Baghdad over the years. One such occasion led to five months of rioting in the city in 1077.[51]
While Ashʿarism and Māturīdism are often called the Sunni "orthodoxy", Athari theology has thrived alongside it, laying rival claims to be the orthodox Sunni faith.[4] In themodern era it has had a disproportionate impact on Islamic theology, having been appropriated byWahhabi and other traditionalistSalafi currents and spread well beyond the confines of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence.[5] The works of 19th century SunniYemeni theologianMuhammad Al-Shawkani (d. 1839 C.E/ 1255 A.H) has contributed heavily to the revival of traditionalist theology in the contemporary era.[52][53]
Traditionalist scripturalism also exerts significant influence within theHanafi school of jurisprudence, such as the Hanafite scholarIbn Abi al-Izz'ssharh on al-Tahawi's creedal treatiseAl-Aqida al-Tahawiyya. This treatise would become popular amongst the adherents of the laterSalafiyya movement, who regard it as a true representation of the Hanafi creed free from the influence ofMāturīdī theology. Numerous contemporary Salafi scholars have produced supercommentaries and annotations on thesharh, includingAbd al-Aziz ibn Baz,Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, andSaleh al-Fawzan, and it is taught as a standard text at theIslamic University of Madinah.[54]
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Athari doctrine is grounded on the following propositions:
The traditionalists' attitudes towards religious principles led them to differentiate two similar terms:Taqlid andIttiba.Taqlid which was the practice of blindly following scholars and their opinions (ra'y) without scriptural proofs, was harshly condemned. On the other hand, Atharis understoodIttiba as following the prophetic teachings by using the scriptural evidences supplied by the scholars. Many traditionalists likeAhmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), a major scholar who articulatedIjtihad and rejectedTaqlid, would use scriptural proofs from the Quran andsunnah but also in some cases rational proofs.[1][56]
The Athari denunciations ofTaqlid would reach its zenith in the writings of the 8th/14th-century theologiansIbn Taymiyya (d. 1328 C.E/ 728 A.H) andIbn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350 C.E/751 A.H). According to Ibn Taymiyya, those who depart from the clear texts ofQur'an andHadith to prefer the opinions of other individuals belong to the "Age of Ignorance" (Jahiliyyah) and deserve to be punished.[57] In one of hisfatwas sternly condemning the practice of blindTaqlid, Ibn Taymiyya declares:
One who requirestaqlīd of a particularimām must be asked to repent, and if he refuses, he is to be killed.[58]
While they promoted strict adherence to the Quran, theḥadīth, thesunnah, andijma, and consensus Atharis did not neglect the use ofreason. According to the traditionalists, rational arguments serve as proofs of thedivine revelation. Despite the traditionalist criticism of the rationalist Islamic theologians, reason plays an important role in Athari theology.[59]
According to the medieval Sunni theologian and Hanbalite scholarIbn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), straying away from tradition and adopting rationalist approaches creates disputes among Muslims. Hence, Ibn Taymiyyah advocated the doctrine of early Athari theologians, which emphasizes the stability of the tradition.[60] Summing up the traditionalist attitude toward rational argumentation, Ibn Taymiyyah wrote:
The preference of rational arguments over traditional ones is impossible and unsound. As for the preference of the traditional proofs, it is possible and sound... that is on account of the fact that being known through reason or not is not an inherent attribute (ṣifa lāzima) of a thing but rather a relative one (min al-umūr al-nisbiyya al-iḍāfiyya), for Zayd may know through his reason what Bakr does not know, and a man may know at a certain time through his reason what he will not know at another time.[60]
Athari theologians believe that every part of the Quran is uncreated (ghair makhluq).[61][62] It is reported thatAhmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855) said: "The Qur'an is God's Speech, which He expressed; it is uncreated. He who claims the opposite is aJahmite, aninfidel. And he who says, 'The Qur'an is God's Speech,' and stops there without adding 'uncreated,' speaks even more abominably than the former."[63]
For Atharis, the validity of human reason is limited, and rational proofs cannot be trusted or relied upon in matters of belief, which makeskalām a blameworthy innovation.[2] Rational proofs, unless they are Qur'anic in origin, are considered nonexistent and wholly invalid.[64] However, that was not always the case since a number of Atharis delved intokalām, whether or not they described it as such.[65]
Examples of Atharis who wrote books against the use ofkalām[66] and human reason include the HanbaliteSufi scholarKhwaja Abdullah Ansari and the Hanbalite juristIbn Qudama.[67] Ibn Qudama harshly rebukedkalām as one of the worst of all heresies. He characterized its theologians, themutakallimūn, as innovators and heretics who had betrayed and deviated from the simple and pious faith of the early Muslims. He wrote, "The theologians are intensely hated in this world, and they will be tortured in the next. None among them will prosper, nor will he succeed in following the right direction..."[68]
Atharis staunchly affirm the existence of theattributes of God and consider all of them to be equally eternal. They accept the relevant verses of the Quran and theḥadīth as they are without subjecting them to rational analysis or elaboration.[69] According to Atharis, the real meanings of the attributes of God should be consigned to God alone (tafwid).[3] According to this method, one should adhere to the text of the Quran and believe that it is the truth, without trying to explain it through a figurative explanation.[70]
Ahmad ibn Hanbal reportedly stated: "His Attributes proceed from Him and are His own, we do not go beyond the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet and his Companions; nor do we know the how of these, save by the acknowledgment of the Apostle and the confirmation of the Qur'an."[71]
Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi stated: "For we have no need to know the meaning which Allah intended by His attributes; no course of action is intended by them, nor is there any obligation attached to them. It is possible to believe in them without the knowledge of their intended sense."[72]
Anthropomorphism was commonly alleged against Athari theologians by their critics,[73] including the Hanbalite scholar and theologianIbn al-Jawzi. In some cases, Athari scholars espoused extreme anthropomorphic views,[73] but they do not generally represent the Athari theology as a whole.[74]
The Atharis hold thatiman (faith) increases and decreases in correlation with the performance of prescribed rituals and duties, such as thefive daily prayers.[75][76] They believe thatiman resides in the heart, in the utterance of the tongue, and in the action of the limbs.[63]
Ibn Taymiyyah seems to have been the first to introduce this distinction.[77][78]
Not all adherents of the Athari school support the splitting of Tawhid into three parts, as done byMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and thus believe it is an innovation.[79]
The 16th-century Ash'arite scholarIbn Hajar al-Haytami denounced Athari theological views as associated with the doctrine ofIbn Taymiyyah.[80]
The Atharis are often erroneously subsumed under the Hanbalite school of law.. The Hanbalite madhhab, in contrast, largely maintained the traditionalist or Athari position.. the imaginative, narrative-centered, emotive piety of the Atharis must have retained broad appeal in the Sunni Muslim world, albeit within a range of gradations and accompanied by a good deal of religio-cultural accretions or retentions as well.
In the writings of the early generations of Hanbalis in the tenth and eleventh centuries CE, they commonly referred to themselves as Ahl al-Athar (People of Narration). The close association of this term with the Hanbali school meant that the Hanbalis themselves came to be known as Aṣḥāb al-Āthār or Athariyyūn (Narrativists). The Athariyyūn followed the example of al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (the righteous ancestors), namely the companions of the Prophet and the following generations of ("sincere" or "faithful") successors
.. pure or extreme traditionalism does not belong exclusively to the Hanbalites, but also to the Shaf'iite, the Malikite and Hanafite scholars
The first two centuries of the Islamic era witnessed the struggle of four main approaches over the sources of knowledge and their authoritativeness, these being scripturalism, ancient or local traditions, prophetic traditions, and personal or rationalist argumentation. This debate reached its climax by the time of al-Shāfiʿī, who succeeded in persuading his co-religionists to hold the superiority of the prophetic traditions over other devices as a source of legal and theological knowledge and of interpretation of the Qurʾān.
...apart from the services of Malik b. Anas, Muslims rightfully consider Imam al-Shafi'i as the vindicator of traditionalism. It is from this school, too, that the last vigorous reaction of traditionalism against al-ra'y and against its consequences has arisen...
Ibn Hanbal articulated ijtihad in rejection of taqlid..
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