Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī
TitleImām al-Mutakallimūn, Imām Ahl as-Sunnah wa l-Jamāʿah
Personal
BornAH 260 (873/874)
Basra, Abbasid Caliphate
DiedAH 324 (935/936) (aged 64)
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
ReligionIslam
EraIslamic golden age
DenominationSunnī
SchoolShāfiʿī
Main interest(s)Creed (ʿaqīdah),[1] Islamic scholastic theology (kalām)[2]
Notable work(s)Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallīn ("Doctrines of the Muslims"),[1] Kitāb al-Lumaʻ fī al-Radd ʻalá Ahl al-Zaygh wa-al-Bidaʻ ("The Book of Light on the Refutation to Heresy"),[1] al-Ibānah 'an Usūl ad-Diyānah ("Elucidation concerning the Principles of Religion"),[1] Risālat ilā Ahl al-Thaghr ("Epistle to the People of the Frontier")
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (الأشعري; full name: Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ashʿarī; c. 874–936 CE/260–324 AH), often reverently referred to as Imām al-Ashʿarī by Sunnī Muslims, was a Muslim scholar of Shafi jurisprudence, scriptural exegete, reformer (mujaddid), and scholastic theologian (mutakallim), renowned for being the eponymous founder of the Ashʿarite school of Islamic theology.[1][2][3][4][5]

Al-Ashʿarī was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically opposed schools of Islamic theology prevalent at the time: Aṯharī and Muʿtazila.[1][2][4] He primarily opposed the Muʿtazilite theologians, who advocated the use of rationalism in theological debate and believed that the Quran was created (makhlūq), as opposed to it being uncreated.[1][4] On the other hand, the Ḥanbalites and Muḥaddithīn were opposed to the use of philosophy or kalām (dialectical theology), and condemned any theological debate altogether.[1][4][6]

Al-Ashʿarī established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on reliance on the sacred scriptures of Islam and theological rationalism concerning the agency and attributes of God.[1][2][4][7] The Ashʿarite school of Islamic theology eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunnī Islam.[3][4][8][9][10] By contrast, Shīʿa Muslim scholars don't accept his theological beliefs, as al-Ashʿarī's works also involved refuting Shīʿīsm. Al-Ashʿarī wrote more than 90 works during his lifetime, little of which have survived to the present day.[1]

Biography

A depiction of Baghdad from 1808, taken from the print collection in Travels in Asia and Africa, etc. (ed. J. P. Berjew, British Library); al-Ashʿarī spent his entire life in this city in the tenth-century

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in Basra,[11] Iraq, and was a descendant of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī, who belonged to the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba).[12] As a young man he studied under al-Jubba'i, a renowned teacher of Muʿtazilite theology and philosophy.[13][14]

According to the traditional account, al-Ashʿarī remained a Muʿtazilite theologian until his 40th year, when he allegedly saw the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his dreams three times during the month of Ramaḍān. The first time, Muhammad told him to support what was narrated from himself, that is, the prophetic traditions (ḥadīth).[15][16][17] Al-Ashʿarī became worried, as he had numerous strong proofs contradictory to the prophetic traditions. After 10 days, he saw Muhammad again: Muhammad reiterated that he should support the ḥadīth.[16][17] Subsequently, al-Ashʿarī forsook kalām (dialectical theology) and started following the ḥadīth alone. On the 27th night of Ramaḍān, he saw Muhammad for the last time. Muhammad told him that he had not commanded him to forsake kalām, but only to support the traditions narrated from himself. Thereupon, al-Ashʿarī started to advocate in favor of the authority of the ḥadīth reports, finding proofs for these that he said he had not read in any books.[16][17]

After this experience, he left the Muʿtazilite school and became one of its most distinguished opponents, using the philosophical methods he had learned from them in order to refute their theological doctrine.[11] Then, al-Ashʿarī spent the remaining years of his life engaged in developing his views and in composing polemics and arguments against his former Muʿtazilite colleagues. Al-Ashʿarī wrote more than 90 works during his lifetime, little of which have survived to the present day.[1]

Views

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Ash'arism
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Institutions
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Classic
Modern

After leaving the Muʿtazila school, and joining the side of traditionalist theologians[18] al-Ash'ari formulated the theology of Sunni Islam through Kalam, following in the footsteps of Ibn Kullab a century earlier.[19] He was followed in this by a large number of distinguished scholars of Sunni Islam, many of whom belonged to the Shafi'i school of law.[20] The most famous of these are Abul-Hassan Al-Bahili, Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, Al-Juwayni, Al-Razi and Al-Ghazali. Thus Al-Ash'ari's school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah.[20] He is also known to have directly taught the Sufi Ibn Khafif.

In line with Sunni tradition, al-Ash'ari held the view that a Muslim should not be considered an unbeliever on account of a sin even if it were an enormity such as drinking wine or theft. This opposed the position held by the Khawarij.[21] Al-Ash'ari also believed it impermissible to violently oppose a leader even if he were openly disobedient to the commands of the sacred law.[21]

Al-Ash'ari spent much of his works opposing the views of the Muʿtazila school. In particular, he rebutted them for believing that the Qur'an was created and that deeds are done by people of their own accord.[20] He also rebutted the Muʿtazili school for denying that Allah can hear, see and has speech. Al-Ash’ari confirmed all these attributes stating that they differ from the hearing, seeing and speech of creatures, including man.[20]

He was also noted for his teachings on atomism.[22]

Legacy

The 18th century Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah stated:

A Mujadid appears at the end of every century: The Mujadid of the first century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz. The Mujadid of the second century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Muhammad Idrees Shaafi. The Mujadid of the third century was the Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari. The Mujadid of the fourth century was Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri.[23]

Earlier major scholars also held positive views of al-Ash'ari and his efforts, among them Qadi Iyad and Taj al-Din al-Subki.[24]

According to scholar Jonathan A.C. Brown, although "the Ash'ari school of theology is often called the Sunni 'orthodoxy,' "the original ahl al-hadith, early Sunni creed from which Ash'arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it as a rival Sunni 'orthodoxy' as well."[25] According to Brown this competing orthodoxy exists in the form of the "Hanbali über-Sunni orthodoxy".[26]

Works

The Ash'ari scholar Ibn Furak numbers Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari's works at 300, and the biographer Ibn Khallikan at 55;[27] Ibn Asāker gives the titles of 93 of them, but only a handful of these works, in the fields of heresiography and theology, have survived. The three main ones are:

  • Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin ("The Discourses of the Proponents of Islam and the Differences Among the Worshippers"), an encyclopaedia of deviated Islamic sects.[28] It comprises not only an account of the Islamic sects but also an examination of problems in kalām, or scholastic theology, and the Names and Attributes of Allah; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Muʿtaziltes.
  • Al-Luma`
  1. Al-Luma` fi-r-Radd `ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Bida` ("The Sparks: A Refutation of Heretics and Innovators"), a slim volume.
  2. Al-Luma` al-Kabir ("The Major Book of Sparks"), a preliminary to Idah al-Burhan and, together with the Luma` al-Saghir, the last work composed by al-Ash`ari according to Shaykh `Isa al-Humyari.
  3. Al-Luma` as-Saghir ("The Minor Book of Sparks"), a preliminary to al-Luma` al-Kabir.[29]
  • Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna,[30] though the authenticity of this book has been disputed by several scholars.[31][32][33][34][35]

See also

Early Islam scholars

Early Islamic scholars
Muhammad, The final Messenger of God(570–632 the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions
Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taughtAli (607–661) fourth caliph taughtAisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taughtAbd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taughtZayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taughtUmar (579–644) second caliph taughtAbu Hurairah (603–681) taught
Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taughtHusayn ibn Ali (626–680) taughtQasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by AishaUrwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taughtSaid ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taughtAbdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taughtAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught
Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taughtAli ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taughtHisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taughtIbn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taughtSalim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taughtUmar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar
Hammad bin ibi Sulman taughtMuhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taughtFarwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother
Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taughtZayd ibn Ali (695–740)Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taughtMalik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Sunni in Africa, Sunni Sufi and taughtAl-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn AnasAbu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas
Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqhMuhammad al-Shaybani (749–805)al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and taughtIsmail ibn IbrahimAli ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the CompanionsIbn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography
Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775)Musa al-Kadhim (745–799)Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and hadith booksMuhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith booksMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith booksDawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri schoolMuhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith booksAl-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles
Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith bookAbu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver ShiaMuhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-TabariAbu Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna
Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver ShiaSharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver ShiaNasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver ShiaAl-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on SufismRumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism
Key: Some of Muhammad's CompanionsKey: Taught in MedinaKey: Taught in IraqKey: Worked in SyriaKey: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadithKey: Worked in Persia

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2006). "Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History – Dimensions of the Islamic Intellectual Tradition: Kalām, Philosophy, and Spirituality". Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 124–126. ISBN 9780791468005. LCCN 2005023943.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frank, Richard M. (2020) [2007]. "Al-Ashʿarī's conception of the nature and role of speculative reasoning in theology". In Frank, Richard M.; Gutas, Dimitri (eds.). Early Islamic Theology: The Muʿtazilites and al-Ashʿarī – Texts and Studies on the Development and History of Kalām, Vol. II (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 136–154. doi:10.4324/9781003110385_8. ISBN 9780860789789. LCCN 2006935669.
  3. 1 2 Javad Anvari, Mohammad (2015). "al-Ashʿarī". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica. Translated by Melvin-Koushki, Matthew. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0300. ISSN 1875-9823.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thiele, Jan (2016) [2014]. "Part I: Islamic Theologies during the Formative and the Early Middle period – Between Cordoba and Nīsābūr: The Emergence and Consolidation of Ashʿarism (Fourth–Fifth/Tenth–Eleventh Century)". In Schmidtke, Sabine (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 225–241. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.013.45. ISBN 9780199696703. LCCN 2016935488.
  5. ↑ Hoover, John (2020). "Early Mamlūk Ashʿarism against Ibn Taymiyya on the Nonliteral Reinterpretation (taʾwīl) of God's Attributes". In Shihadeh, Ayman; Thiele, Jan (eds.). Philosophical Theology in Islam: Later Ashʿarism East and West. Islamicate Intellectual History. Vol. 5. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 195–230. doi:10.1163/9789004426610_009. ISBN 978-90-04-42661-0. ISSN 2212-8662. LCCN 2020008682.
  6. ↑ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). "The Doctrines of Sunni Theology". Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 12–31. doi:10.1057/9780230106581_2. ISBN 978-0-230-10658-1. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Frank, Richard M. (January–March 1989). "Knowledge and Taqlîd: The Foundations of Religious Belief in Classical Ashʿarism". Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 109 (1): 37–62. doi:10.2307/604336. ISSN 0003-0279. LCCN 12032032.
  8. ↑ Henderson, John B. (1998). "The Making of Orthodoxies". The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 55–58. ISBN 978-0-7914-3760-5.
  9. ↑ Abdullah Saeed Islamic Thought: An Introduction Routledge 2006 ISBN 978-1-134-22564-4 chapter 5
  10. ↑ Juan Eduardo Campo Encyclopedia of Islam New York, NY 2009 ISBN 978-1-438-12696-8 page 66
  11. 1 2 John L. Esposito, The Islamic World: Abbasid-Historian, p 54. ISBN 0195165209
  12. ↑ I.M.N. Al-Jubouri, History of Islamic Philosophy: With View of Greek Philosophy and Early History of Islam, p 182. ISBN 0755210115
  13. ↑ Marshall Cavendish Reference, Illustrated Dictionary of the Muslim World, p 87. ISBN 0761479295
  14. ↑ Allard, Michel. "Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, Muslim theologian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  15. ↑ William Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, p 84. ISBN 0202362728
  16. 1 2 3 Shaykh Rami Al Rifai (11 September 2015). "Significance of the Ash'ari Aqeedah".
  17. 1 2 3 Ibn ‘Asakir. Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari fima Nusiba ila al-Imam Abu'l Hasan al- Ash'ari. pp. 51–52.
  18. ↑ Anjum, Ovamir (2012). Politics, Law, and Community in Islamic Thought. Cambrdige University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9781107014060. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  19. ↑ John L. Esposito, The Oxford History of Islam, p 280. ISBN 0199880417
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Scholar of renown: Abul-Hassan Al-Ash'ari". 21 May 2001.
  21. 1 2 Jeffry R. Halverson, Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism, p 77. ISBN 0230106587
  22. ↑ Ash'ari - A History of Muslim Philosophy
  23. ↑ Izalat al-Khafa, p. 77, part 7.
  24. ↑ Fatwa No. 8001. Who are the Ash'arites? - Dar al-Ifta' al-Misriyyah
  25. ↑ Brown, Jonathan A.C. (2009). Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oneworld Publications (Kindle edition). p. 180.
  26. ↑ Brown, Jonathan (2007). The Canonization of al‐Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon. Leiden and Boston: Brill. p. 137. ISBN 9789004158399.
  27. ↑ Beirut, III, p.286, tr. de Slaine, II, p.228
  28. ↑ ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30
  29. ↑ ed. and tr. R.C. McCarthy, Beirut, 1953
  30. ↑ tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940
  31. ↑ McCarthy, Richard J. (1953). The Theology of Al-Ashari. Imprimerie Catholique. p. 232.
  32. ↑ Makdisi, George. 1962. Ash’ari and the Asharites and Islamic history I. Studia Islamica 17: 37–80
  33. ↑ Ignaz Goldziher, Vorlesungen uber den Islam, 2nd ed. Franz Babinger (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1925), 121;
  34. ↑ Richard M. Frank, Early Islamic Theology: The Mu'tazilites and al-Ash'ari, Texts and studies on the development and history of kalām, vol. 2, pg. 172. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9780860789789
  35. ↑ Jackson, Sherman A. “Ibn Taymiyyah on Trial in Damascus.” Journal of Semitic Studies 39 (Spring 1994): 41–85.

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