Maturidism

History

The history of the Maturidi School is characterized by three phases. The phase 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 is Abū Salama al-Samarqandī, who gave us the summary of Al- Maturidi's Kitab Al Tawhid namely the Jumal usul al-dīn.

Qur‘anic hermeneutics

Al-Maturidi distinguishes between exegesis (tafsir) and interpretation (ta‘wil). The exegesis deals with the question about the meaning of a Qur‘anic first as understood by the first audience (i.e. the sahaba). Because they were present during the revelation, so Maturidi, they knew the circumstances of the affairs.

Only then, the true meaning of the verse would be knowable. The task of the scholars is to formulate these ideas receivable for a new audience, which is the interpretation.

Beliefs and creed

Al-Maturidi, being a follower of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, based his theological opinions and epistemological perspectives on the teachings of the school's eponymous founder, Abu Hanifa (8th century CE).

The Maturidi school of Islamic theology holds that:

• All the attributes of God are eternal, distinct, and also inseparable from God.
• Ethics have an objective existence and humans are capable of recognizing it through reason alone.
• Although humans are intellectually capable of realizing God, they need revelations and guidance of prophets and messengers, because human desire can divert the intellect and because certain knowledge of God has been specially given to these prophets (e.g. the Quran was revealed to Muhammad according to Islam, who Muslims believe was given this special knowledge from God and only through Muhammad did this knowledge become accessible to others).
• 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.
• The Six articles of faith.
• Religious authorities need reasonable arguments to prove their claims.
• Support of science and falsafa (philosophy).
• The Maturidites state that imān (faith) does not increase nor decrease depending on one's deeds; it's rather taqwā (piety) which increases and decreases.
• The Maturidites emphasize the importance of monotheism and the transcendence of God (tanzih).

Regarding ʿaqīdah (creed), unlike many Mu'tazilites (free-will theology), al-Maturidi does not hold that angels are necessarily infallible. Pointing at surah al-Baqara, he notes that angels too, have been tested. Referring to surah al-Anbiyāʼ, he points out, angels who claim divinity for themselves are sentenced to hell. About Iblīs, otherwise known as Satan, he states, disputing whether he was an angel or a jinn before his fall is useless, as it is more important to know, that he has become a devil and enemy of humans.T.C. İSTANBUL ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ TEMEL İSLAM BİLİMLERİ ANABİLİM DALI YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ İMAM MÂTURİDÎ’NİN TE’VÎLÂTU’L-KUR’ÂN’DA GAYBÎ KONULARA YAKLAŞIMI ELİF ERDOĞAN 2501171277 DANIŞMAN Prof. Dr. Yaşar DÜZENLİ İstanbul-202

Maturidism holds that humans are creatures endowed with reason, which differentiates them from animals. The relationship between people and God differs from that of nature and God; humans are endowed with free-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 the aḥādīth to be unreliable when they are at odds with reason. Furthermore, Maturidi theology opposes anthropomorphism and similitude, but simultaneously does not deny the divine attributes.

Maturidism defends the idea that paradise and hell are coexisting with the temporal world, against the assertion of some Muʿtazila that paradise and hell will be created only after the Day of Judgement. The attributes of paradise and hell would already take effect on this 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.

Concept of faith

Al-Maturidi's doctrine, primarily based on Ḥanafī theology and jurisprudence, 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 in Central Asia from the 10th century onwards.

According to Maturidism, belief (ʾīmān) does neither increase nor decrease depending on observation of religious law. Instead, deeds follow from faith. Based on Surah Ṭā Hā (verse 112), if a Muslim does not perform the deeds prescribed by the Islamic law (sharīʿa), he is not considered an apostate as long as he doesn't deny his obligations. According to al-Maturidi, faith isn't based on actions or confession, but comes from the heart. He supports his doctrine by referring to Surah al-ʿImrān (verse 3:22): "They are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world and the 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. Maturidism is known for its reserved position regarding takfir: Based on Surah 2:30, Kitāb al-ʿĀlim states that neither humans nor angels can know what is in the heart 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. One who is committing sins isn't necessarily a disbeliever, but someone who explicitly dissociates themselves from God is.

Similarly, it is argued that the obedience to God observed by angels and prophets derives from their insights to God's nature and doesn't result from their creation. Abū al-Qāsim Ishaq ibn Muhammad al Maturidi (9th to 10th centuries CE) drew an analogy on Harut and Marut, who are regarded as sinful yet not unbelievers (Kuffār) in the Islamic tradition. Al-Samarqandī further stated that children cannot be considered unbelievers and all of them go to paradise. According to al-Maturidi, human rationality is supposed to acknowledge the existence of a creator deity (bāriʾ) solely based on rational thought and independently from divine revelation. He shared this conviction with his teacher and predecessor Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān (8th century CE), whereas the 10th-century Muslim scholar and theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī never held such a view. Although Māturīdism adhers, like the Mu'tazilites, to ethical 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.

Yohei Matsuyama points to al-Maturidi's wording about faith, referring to the only obligation to believe in a creator (bāriʾ) or maker (sanī), not specifically in Allah, and concludes, it is only necessary for salvation to construct a belief in a creator, not necessarily accepting the theological or doctrinal formulations of Islam. 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.

Yet, al-Maturidi did not view all religions as equal. He criticized Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and atheists or materialists (Dahrīya). However, he drew a distinction between other Abrahamic monotheistic religions and non-Abrahamic non-monotheistic religions, criticizing Judaism and Christianity on the matter of prophecy and individual prophets, not about God. Dualistic religions faced criticism by al-Maturidi regarding their conception of God, arguing that an omnibenevolent deity, who creates only good, opposed to a devil, who is responsible for everything evil, implies a deficit in God's omnipotence and is incompatible with God's nature.

Geographical spread

Particularly and inextricably, Maturidism is closely linked to the Hanafi school of law. Therefore, where there are Hanafis, there are Maturidis. Maturidism was initially spread in the Eastern realms of the Islamic world, particularly in Samarqand and Transoxiana. It became widespread among Turkic peoples in Central Asia and was introduced into the Middle East with the coming of the Seljuks. It was popular among the Arabicized Persians of eastern Khurasan and was the preferred school of the Central Asian and Ottoman Turks. From its central Asian origins, it spread all over the lands of Islam, from Egypt in the west to China and India in the east. In this capacity, at least during the High Middle Ages. Wilferd Madelung explains the connection between the earlier Seljuk Turks, Hanafi law, and Maturidi theology: Currently, Maturidis are widespread in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Balkans (especially Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and Skopje), northwestern China, the Levant (especially Syria, Lebanon and Palestine), the Caucasus, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan.

References

References

1. (2000). "History of Civilizations of Central Asia". [[UNESCO Publishing]].
2. (2012). "Forbidding Wrong in Islam: An Introduction". [[Cambridge University Press]].
3. (2016). "The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology". [[Oxford University Press]].
4. (2012). "Māturīdī". [[Brill Publishers]].
5. (28 November 2016). "Māturīdī". [[Oxford University Press]].
6. (2015). "Al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand". [[Brill Publishers]].
7. Henderson, John B.. (1998). "The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns". [[SUNY Press]].
8. (2021). "Transcendent God, Rational World: A Māturīdī Theology". [[Edinburgh University Press]].
9. Bruckmayr, Philipp. (January 2009). "The Spread and Persistence of Māturīdi Kalām and Underlying Dynamics". [[Brill Publishers]].
10. (September 2019). "Epistemological Reform and Embracement of Human Rights. What Can be Inferred from Islamic Rationalistic Maturidite Theology?". [[De Gruyter]].
11. 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'"
12. 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).
13. Pierret, Thomas. (25 March 2013). "Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution". Cambridge University Press.
14. Rudolph, Ulrich. (2008-07-01). "Abū Salama al-Samarqandī". Brill.
15. Mira Sievers „Zwischen Koran und Kalam Ansätze einer Koranischen Theologie“ Islam Diskurs Band 8 Ömer Özsoy 2019 EB Verlag, S. 40-41
16. Akimkhanov, 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.
17. Cenap Çakmak Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia [4 volumes] ABC-CLIO 2017 {{ISBN. 978-1-610-69217-5 page 1014
18. Oliver Leaman ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy'' Bloomsbury Publishing 2015 {{ISBN. 978-1-472-56945-5 page 311
19. Oliver Leaman ''The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia'' Taylor & Francis 2006 {{ISBN. 978-0-415-32639-1 page 41
20. Ulli Roth, Armin Kreiner, Gunther Wenz, Friedo Ricken, Mahmut Ay, Roderich Barth, Halis Albayrak, Muammer Esen, Engin Erdem, Hikmet Yaman ''Glaube und Vernunft in Christentum und Islam''. Stuttgart: [[Kohlhammer Verlag]] 2017 {{ISBN. 978-3-170-31526-6 page 83
21. Ulli Roth, Armin Kreiner, Gunther Wenz, Friedo Ricken, Mahmut Ay, Roderich Barth, Halis Albayrak, Muammer Esen, Engin Erdem, Hikmet Yaman ''Glaube und Vernunft in Christentum und Islam'' Kohlhammer Verlag 2017 {{ISBN. 978-3-170-31526-6 page 83
22. Cenap Çakmak Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia [4 volumes] ABC-CLIO 2017 {{ISBN. 978-1-610-69217-5 page 1015
23. (2015). "Al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand". [[Brill Publishers]].
24. Yüksek Lisans Tezi Imam Maturidi'nin Te'vilatu'l-kur'an'da gaybi konulara İstanbul-2020 2501171277
25. Rico Isaacs, Alessandro Frigerio Theorizing C''entral Asian Politics: The State, Ideology and Power'' Springer, 2018 {{ISBN. 9783319973555 p. 108
26. Lange, Christian. (2016). "Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions". Cambridge University Press.
27. (2016). "The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology". [[Oxford University Press]].
28. Marlène Laruelle ''Being Muslim in Central Asia: Practices, Politics, and Identities'' [[Brill Publishers]], 11.01.2018 {{ISBN. 978-90-04-35724-2 p. 21
29. 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.
30. Rudolph, Ulrich. al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand. Brill, 2014.
31. Tritton, 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.
32. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy. (2015). Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 311
33. 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
34. 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
35. (2015). "Al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand". [[Brill Publishers]].
36. 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
37. Bürgel, J. Christoph. "Zoroastrianism as Viewed in Medieval Islamic Sources." Muslim Perceptions of Other Religions (1999): 202-212.
38. "MÂTÜRÎDİYYE". [[İslâm Ansiklopedisi]].
39. (2003). "The Oxford Dictionary of Islam". [[Oxford University Press]].
40. [[Sherman A. Jackson]]. (2009). "Islam and the Problem of Black Suffering". [[Oxford University Press]].
41. Suleiman A. Mourad. (2021). "Ibn 'Asakir of Damascus: Champion of Sunni Islam in the Time of the Crusades". [[Simon and Schuster]].
42. (12 May 2020). "من هم "الماتريدية" وهل يعدون من أهل السنة وما موقف "الأزهر" منهم؟". [[Youm7]].
43. Taraneh R. Wilkinson. (2019). "Dialectical Encounters: Contemporary Turkish Muslim Thought in Dialogue". [[Edinburgh University Press]].
44. (March 2022). "Ideological Doctrine and History of Moturidism". Academic Research in Educational Sciences.