al-Maturidiyya
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- al-Maturidiyya
al-Maturidiyya is a theological treatise written by Abd al-Majid bin Muhammad al-Wa'lan that examines the origins, doctrines, and historical development of the Maturidi school of kalam .
Overview and Sources
The work is a concise study (baḥth mukhtaṣar) of the Maturidi theological school . The author drew its material primarily from modern critical monographs on the sect, notably al-Māturīdiyya wa-Mawqifuhum min Tawḥīd al-Asmāʾ wa-l-Ṣifāt by Shams al-Dīn al-Afghānī, al-Māturīdiyya: Dirāsa wa-Taqwīm by Aḥmad al-Ḥarbī, and al-Māturīdiyya by Muḥammad al-Khumayyis, along with minor additions .
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into an introduction, a preliminary chapter (tamhīd), five main chapters, and a conclusion :
- Preliminary Section (al-Tamhīd): Comprising three subsections, it introduces the Maturidiyya and its eponymous founder, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, outlines the historical emergence of the school in Samarkand amidst debates with the Mu'tazila, and explores the factors behind its spread, notably its adoption by Hanafi rulers and dynasties across Transoxiana, the Ottoman lands, and the Indian subcontinent .
- Chapter One: Epistemological Sources and Methodology of Proof (Maṣdar al-Talaqqī wa-Manhaj al-Istidlāl): Divided into five sections addressing the school's reliance on rational deduction (al-iʿtimād ʿalā al-ʿaql), the rejection of isolated hadiths (aḥādīth al-āḥād) as probative evidence in matters of creed, the acceptance of metaphorical language (al-majāz), figurative interpretation (al-taʾwīl) and consignment (al-tafwīḍ), and rational discernment of good and evil (al-taḥsīn wa-l-taqbīḥ al-ʿaqliyyayn) .
- Chapter Two: Faith in God (al-Īmān bi-Llāh): Covers five topics: the rational obligation of knowing God prior to revelation, the validity of faith based on conformism (īmān al-muqallid), the oneness of Lordship (tawḥīd al-rubūbiyya), the oneness of worship (tawḥīd al-ulūhiyya), and the divine names and attributes (tawḥīd al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt) .
- Chapter Three: The Remaining Articles of Faith (Baqiyyat Arkān al-Īmān): Encompasses belief in the prophets—including the criteria for establishing prophethood, miracles, and saintly charismata (al-karāmāt)—belief in the Last Day, and belief in divine decree and predestination (al-qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar), which treats human acts (afʿāl al-ʿibād), human capacity (al-istiṭāʿa), and imposition of the impossible (al-taklīf bimā lā yuṭāq) .
- Chapter Four: Issues of Faith (Masāʾil al-Īmān): Discusses the definition of faith (īmān), whether faith increases and decreases, qualifying one's faith (al-istithnāʾ fī al-īmān), the relationship between faith and Islam, and the status of the perpetrator of a grave sin (murtakib al-kabīra) .
- Chapter Five: Comparison Between the Maturidiyya and the Ash'ariyya (al-Muwāzana bayna al-Māturīdiyya wa-l-Ashāʿira): Analyzes the differences between the two schools across two sections: substantive theological disagreements (al-masāʾil al-khilāfiyya ḥaqīqatan) and nominal or verbal disagreements (al-masāʾil al-khilāfiyya lafẓan) .
The book ends with a conclusion summarising its principal findings .
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