Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, who was a leading theologian and jurist of his time in Transoxiana (Ma Wara' al-Nahr) in Central Asia, was the founder of the Māturīdiyya theological school. This was one of the two principal Sunni schools of Islamic theology (kalam).[1] Māturīdi based his theological opinions and epistemological perspectives on the teachings of the school's eponymous founder, Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān (8th century CE).[2] Therefore, unlike Ash'arism, Māturīdite theology has generally remained associated exclusively with only one Sunni school of law (madhhab), that Hanafites.[3]

According to Māturīdism, 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.[4]

Māturīdism 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 don't need prophetic guidance. Al-Māturīdī also considered the ḥadīth to be unreliable when they are at odds with reason.[5] Because of that, Māturīdism has been associated with rationalistic theology.[6]

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References

  1. ^ Cenap Çakmak (2017). Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 1013. ISBN 9781610692175.
  2. ^ Akimkhanov, Askar Bolatbekovich, et al. "Principles of Abu Mansur al-Māturīdi, 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.
  3. ^ Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1989). The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Fascicules 111-112 : Masrah Mawlid. Brill Publishers. pp. 847–848. ISBN 9789004092396.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Rico Isaacs, Alessandro Frigerio Theorizing Central Asian Politics: The State, Ideology and Power Springer, 2018 ISBN 9783319973555 p. 108
  6. ^ Tabyshalieva, A., Palat, M. K. (1992). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Italien: Unesco. p. 112
  7. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam. Pelgrave Macmillan. p. 152.
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