Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin ( ar, مقالات الإسلاميين واختلاف المصلين, lit=The Treatises/Teachings of the Muslims and the Differences of the Prayerful/Worshippers) is one of the main
heresiographical works of early
Islamic sects
Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or ''ʿaqīdah'' (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves ...
written by the
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
scholar
Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324/935), the eponym of the
Ash'ari theological school.
Most likely, al-Ash'ari wrote this book following the
Mu'tazili
Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...
theologian (d. 319/931) in his book with the same title (Maqalat al-Islamiyyin). Therefore, it was probably written during his Mu'tazili period and then modified;
thus it may incorporate parts which he wrote earlier when he was still a Mu'tazili.
However, according to
al-Dhahabi (d.748/1348), this book was written in his last years, which indicates
tolerance
Tolerance or toleration is the state of tolerating, or putting up with, conditionally.
Economics, business, and politics
* Toleration Party, a historic political party active in Connecticut
* Tolerant Systems, the former name of Veritas Software ...
with Islamic sects, because Islam contains them.
Content
Al-Ash'ari first gives an objective account of the views of the Muslim sects; then he gives the views of non-Muslim sects and of the philosophers; and finally he gives a critical discussion of the attributes and Names of God in Islam, the names of God.
It is in two parts, the first a short account of the historical origins of schism in Islam and a long patient listing of the major groups of his day, and the second a thematic tabulation of the various questions debated among Muslim intellectuals.
Al-Ash'ari's Maqalat does not contain criticism to any notable degree. As its title indicates, all those who are included in the work are regarded as Muslims and 'those who pray', and so the work is a somewhat impartial survey rather than an appraisal of correct and incorrect doctrines. It serves as a handbook of theological views that might aid the reader in knowing what particular sects and individuals thought, and then what range of opinions was offered on the various questions debated within theology.
Reception and influence
This work became a model for similar works produced afterward, such as ''al-Farq bayna al-Firaq'' by 'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 429/1037), ' by (d. 471/1078), ''al-Milal wa al-Nihal'' by al-Shahrastani (d. 548/1153), and ''I'tiqadat Firaq al-Muslimin wa al-Mushrikin'' by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210).
Ahmad al-Tayyib, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, highly praised the book by saying that it has several words that deserve to be written in gold water.
Notes
* Al-Ash'ari also composed a lost and little-known work, entitled ''Maqalat Ghayr al-Islamiyyin'' (The Teachings of Non-Muslims).
See also
* Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam
* Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari
* Mujarrad Maqalat al-Ash'ari
* Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat
* List of Sunni books
References
External links
Maqālāt al-Islāmīyīn— Encyclopedia Britannica
Maqalat al-Islamiyyin— Goodreads.com
MAKĀLÂTÜ’l-İSLÂMİYYÎN— İslâm Ansiklopedisi
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Books by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari
Sunni literature
Ash'ari literature
Heresy
Historiography of Islam
Islamic belief and doctrine
Islamic studies books