Sunni Islamic

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 disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad left no successor and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr as the next-in-line (the first caliph). This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor.

The adherents of Sunni Islam are referred to in Arabic as ("the people of the Sunnah and the community") or for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called ''Sunnism'', while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites and Ahlus Sunnah. Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "orthodox Islam", though some scholars view this translation as inappropriate.

The Quran, together with hadith (especially those collected in Kutub al-Sittah) and binding juristic consensus, form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning, consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools. In matters of creed, the Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of '' imān'' (faith) and comprises the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of Kalam (theology) as well as the textualist school known as traditionalist theology.

Terminology

Sunna

The Arabic term ''Sunna'', according to which Sunnis are named, is old and roots in pre-Islamic language. It was used for traditions which a majority of people followed. The term got greater political significance after the murder of the third Sunni Caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān. It is said Mālik al-Aschtar, a famous follower of ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, encouraged during the battle of Siffin with the expression, Ali's enemy Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān kills the ''Sunna''. After the battle, it was agreed that "the righteous '' Sunnah'', the unifying, not the divisive" ("''as-sunna al-ʿādila al-ǧāmiʿa ġair al-mufarriqa''") should be consulted to resolve the conflict. The time when the term ''sunna'' became the short form for " sunnah of the prophet" (''sunnat an-nabī'') is still unknown. During the Umayyad Caliphate, several political movements, amongst them the Shia and the Kharijites who rebelled against the formation of the state; led their battles in the name of "the book of God (''Qur'an'') and the ''Sunnah'' of his Prophet". During the second Civil War (680–92) the Sunna-term received connotations critical of Shi'i doctrines (''Tashayyu). It is recorded by Masrūq ibn al-Adschdaʿ (d. 683), who was a ''Mufti'' in Kufa, a need to love the first two caliphs Abū Bakr and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and acknowledge their priority (Fadā'il). A disciple of Masrūq, the scholar ash-Shaʿbī (d. between 721 und 729), who first sided with the Shia in Kufa during Civil War, but turned away in disgust by their fanaticism and finally decided to join the umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, popularized the concept of ''sunnah''. It is also passed down by asch-Shaʿbī, that he took offensive at the hatred on ʿĀʾiša bint Abī Bakr and considered it a violation of the '' sunnah''.

The term ''Sunna'' instead of the longer expression ''ahl as-sunna'' or ''ahl as-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa'' as a group-name for Sunnis is a relatively young phenomenon. It was probably Ibn Taymiyyah, who used the short-term for the first time. It was later popularized by pan-Islamic scholars such as Muhammad Rashid Rida in his treatise ''as-Sunna wa-š-šiʿa au al-Wahhābīya wa-r-Rāfiḍa: Ḥaqāʾiq dīnīya taʾrīḫīya iǧtimaʿīya iṣlaḥīya'' ("The Sunna and the Shia, Or Wahhabism and '' Rāfidism'': religious history, sociological und reformoriented facts“) published in 1928–29. The term "''sunna''" is usually used in Arabic discourse as designation for Sunni Muslims, when they are intended to be contrasted with Shias. The word pair "Sunnah-Shia" is also used on Western research literature to denote the Sunni-Shia contrast.

Ahl as-Sunna

One of the earliest supporting documents for ''ahl as-sunna'' derives from the Basric scholar Muhammad Ibn Siri (d. 728). His is mentioned in the ''Sahih'' of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj quoted with: "Formerly one did not aksed about the Isnad. But when the '' fitna'' started, one said: 'Name us your informants'. One would then respond to them: if they were Sunnah people, you accept their hadith. But if they are people of the Innovations, the hadith was rejected." G.H.A. Juynboll assumed, the term ''fitna'' in this statement is not related to the first Civil War (665–661) after murder of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, but the second Civil War (680–692) in which the Islamic community was split into four parties ( Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, the Umayyads, the Shia under al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbaid and the Kharijites). The term ''ahl sunna'' designated in this situation whose, who stayed away from heretic teachings of the different warring parties.

The term ''ahl as-sunna'' was always a laudatory designation. Abu Hanifa (d. 769), who sympathized with Murdshia, insisted that this were "righteous people and people of the Sunnah" (''ahl al-ʿadl wa-ahl as-sunna''). According to Josef van Ess this term did not mean more than "honorable and righteous believing people". Among Hanafits the designation ''ahl as-sunna'' and ''ahl al-ʿadl'' (people of the righteous) remained interchangeable for a long time. Thus the Hanafite Abū l-Qāsim as-Samarqandī (d. 953), who composed a catechism for the Samanides, used sometimes one expression and sometimes another for his own group.Ulrich Rudolph: ''Al-Māturīdī und die sunnitische Theologie in Samarkand.'' Brill, Leiden 1997. S. 66.

Singular to ''ahl as-sunna'' was ''ṣāḥib sunna'' (adherent to the sunnah). This expression was used for example by ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Mubārak (d. 797) for a person, who distances himself from the teachings of shia, kharijites, qadarites and murdajites. In addition, the Nisba adjective ''sunnī'' was also used for the individual person. Thus it has been recorded, the Kufic scholar of the Quran Abu Bakr ibn'auyash (d. 809) was asked, how he was a "sunni". He responded the following: „The one who, when the heresies are mentioned, doesn't get excited about any of them.“ The andalisian scholar ibn Hazm (d. 1064) taught later, that whose who confess to Islam can be divided into four groups: ''ahl as-sunna'', Mutazilites, Murdschiiten, Schiiten und Charidschiten. The Muʿtazilites replaced the Qadarites here.

In the 9th Century, one started to extent the term ''ahl as-sunna'' with further positive additions. Abu l-Hasan al-Ashari used for his own group expressions like ''ahl as-sunna wa-l-istiqāma'' („people of Sunna and Straightness“), ''ahl as-sunna wa-l-ḥadīṯ'' („people of Sunnah and of the Hadith“) or ''ahl al-ḥaqq wa-s-sunna''So al-Ašʿarī: ''Kitāb al-Ibāna ʿan uṣūl ad-diyāna''. S. 8. – Engl. Übers. S. 49. („people of truth and of the Sunnah“).

Ahl as-Sunna wa-l-jama

When the expression 'ahl as-sunna wal-jama' appeared for the first time, is not entirely clear. The Abbasite Caliph Al-Ma'mūn (reigned 813–33) criticized in his Miha-edict a group of people, who related themselves to the sunnah (''nasabū anfusa-hum ilā s-sunna'') and claimed, they are the "people of truth, religion and community" (''ahl al-ḥaqq wa-d-dīn wa-l-ǧamāʿa''). ''Sunna'' and ''jama'' are already connected here. As a pair, these terms already appear in the 9th Century. It is recorded that the disciple of Ahmad ibn Hanbal Harb ibn Ismail as Sirjdshani (d. 893) created a writing with the title ''as-Sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa'', to which the Mutazilite Abu l-Qasim al-Balchi wrote a refutation later. Al-Jubba'i (d. 916) tells in his ''Kitāb al-Maqālāt'', that Ahmad ibn Hanbal attributed to his students the predicate ''sunnī jama'' („Jammatic Sunnite“). This indicates that the Hanbalis were the first to use the phrase ''ahl as-sunna wal-ǧamāʿa'' as a self-designation.Ess: ''Der Eine und das Andere''. 2011, Bd. II, S. 1276.

But also the Karramiyya founded by Muhammad ibn Karram (d. 859) referred to the sunnah and community. They passed down for praise of their schoolfounder a hadith, according to which the prophet Muhammad predicted that at the end of times a man named Muhammad ibn Karram will appear, who will restore the sunna and the community (''as-sunna wal-ǧamāʿa'') and take Hidraj from Chorasan to Jerusalem, just how Muhammad himself took a Hidraj from Mecca to Medina. According to the testimony of the transoxanian scholar Abu l-Yusr al-Bazdawi (d. 1099) the Kullabites (followers of the Basrian scholar ibn Kullab (d. 855)) dayed about themselves, that they are among the ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' too.al-Bazdawī: ''Kitāb Uṣūl ad-Dīn.'' 2003, S. 250.

Abu l-Hasan al-Ashari used the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' rarely, and preferred another combination. Later Asharites like al-Isfaranini (d. 1027) nad Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 1078) used the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' too and used them in their works to designate the teachings of their own school. According to al-Bazdawi all Asharites in his time said they belong to the ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama''. During this time, the term has been used as a self-designation by the hanafite Maturidites in Transoxiania, used frequently by Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi (d. 983), Abu Schakur as Salimi (d. 1086) and al-Bazdawi himself. They used the term as a contrast from their enemies among them Hanafites in the West, who have been followers of the Mutazilites. Al-Bazdawī also contrasted the ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama with ''ahl-al-ḥadīṯ'', "because they would adhere to teachings contrary to the Quran".

According to Schams ad-Dīn al-Maqdisī (end of the 10the Century) was the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' a laudatory term during his time, similar to ''ahl al-ʿadl wa-t-tauḥīd'' („people of righteousness and Divine Unity“), which was used for Mutazilites or generally designations like Mu'minūn („Believer“) or''aṣḥāb al-hudā'' („people of guidance“) for Muslims, who has been seen as rightoues believers. Since the expression ''ahl as-sunna wa-l-jama'' was used with a demand on rightoues belief, it was used in academic researches translated as "orthodox".

There are different opinions regarding what the term ''jama'' in the phrase ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' actually means, among Muslim scholars. In the Sunni Creed by at-Tahawi (d. 933), the term ''jama'' contrasts several times the Arabic term ''furqa'' ("Division, sectarianism").
Thus at-Tahāwī explains that ''jama'' is considered as true or right (''ḥaqq wa-ṣawāb'') and ''furqa'' as aberration and punishment (''zaiġ wa-ʿaḏāb''). Ibn Taymiyyah argues, that ''jama'' as opposite term to ''furqa'' inherents the meaning of ''iǧtimāʿ'' ("Coming together, being together, agreement"). Furthermore he connects it with the principle of Ijma, a third juridical source after the Book (= Quran), and the Sunnah. The Ottoman scholar Muslih ad Din al-Qastallani (d. 1495) held the opinnion that ''jama'' means „Path of the Sahaba“ (''ṭarīqat aṣ-ṣaḥāba''). The modern Indonesian theologican Nurcholish Madjid (d. 2005) interpreted ''jama'' as an inclusivistic concept: It means a society open for pluralism and dialogue but does not emphasize that much.

History

One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammad's death, and that Sufism and Shi'ism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is partly due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works, and also because the vast majority of the population is Sunni. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of several centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines.

The first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rāshidun or "Rightly-Guided Ones". Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar as the second, Uthman as the third, and Ali as the fourth. Sunnis recognised different rulers as the caliph, though they did not include anyone in the list of the rightly guided ones or ''Rāshidun'' after the murder of Ali, until the caliphate was constitutionally abolished in Turkey on 3 March 1924.

Transition of caliphate into dynastic monarchy of Banu Umayya

The seeds of metamorphosis of caliphate into kingship were sown, as the second caliph Umar had feared, as early as the regime of the third caliph Uthman, who appointed many of his kinsmen from his clan Banu Umayya, including Marwān and Walid bin Uqba on important government positions, becoming the main cause of turmoil resulting in his murder and the ensuing infighting during Ali's time and rebellion by Muāwiya, another of Uthman's kinsman. This ultimately resulted in the establishment of firm dynastic rule of Banu Umayya after Husain, the younger son of Ali from Fātima, was killed at the Battle of Karbalā. The rise to power of Banu Umayya, the Meccan tribe of elites who had vehemently opposed Muhammad under the leadership of Abu Sufyān, Muāwiya's father, right up to the conquest of Mecca by Muhammad, as his successors with the accession of Uthman to caliphate, replaced the egalitarian society formed as a result of Muhammad's revolution to a society stratified between haves and have-nots as a result of nepotism, and in the words of El-Hibri through "the use of religious charity revenues (''zakāt'') to subsidise family interests, which Uthman justified as al-sila''' (pious filial support)". Ali, during his rather brief regime after Uthman maintained austere life style and tried hard to bring back the egalitarian system and supremacy of law over the ruler idealised in Muhammad's message, but faced continued opposition, and wars one after another by Aisha- Talhah-Zubair, by Muāwiya and finally by the Khārjites. After he was murdered his followers immediately elected Hasan ibn Ali his elder son from Fātima to succeed him. Hasan shortly afterward signed a treaty with Muāwiya relinquishing power in favour of the latter, with a condition inter alia, that one of the two who will outlive the other will be the caliph, and that this caliph will not appoint a successor but will leave the matter of selection of the caliph to the public. Subsequently, Hasan was poisoned to death and Muawiya enjoyed unchallenged power. Dishonouring his treaty with Hasan, he nominated his son Yazid to succeed him. Upon Muāwiya's death, Yazid asked Husain, the younger brother of Hasan, Ali's son and Muhammad's grandson, to give his allegiance to Yazid, which he plainly refused. His caravan was cordoned by Yazid's army at Karbalā and he was killed with all his male companions – total 72 people, in a day long battle after which Yazid established himself as a sovereign, though strong public uprising erupted after his death against his dynasty to avenge the massacre of Karbalā, but Banu Umayya were able to quickly suppress them all and ruled the Muslim world, till they were finally overthrown by Banu Abbās.

Caliphate and the dynastic monarchy of Banu Abbās

The rule of and "caliphate" of Banu Umayya came to an end at the hands of Banu Abbās a branch of Banu Hāshim, the tribe of Muhammad, only to usher another dynastic monarchy styled as caliphate from 750 CE. This period is seen formative in Sunni Islam as the founders of the four schools viz, Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, Shāfi'i and Ahmad bin Hanbal all practised during this time, so also did Jafar al Sādiq who elaborated the doctrine of imāmate, the basis for the Shi'a religious thought. There was no clearly accepted formula for determining succession in the Abbasid caliphate. Two or three sons or other relatives of the dying caliph emerged as candidates to the throne, each supported by his own party of supporters. A trial of strength ensued and the most powerful party won and expected favours of the caliph they supported once he ascended the throne. The caliphate of this dynasty ended with the death of the Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE, when the period of Turkish domination began.

Sunni Islam in the contemporary era

The fall, at the end of World War I of the Ottoman Empire, the biggest Sunni empire for six centuries, brought the caliphate to an end. This resulted in Sunni protests in far off places including the Khilafat Movement in India, which was later on upon gaining independence from Britain divided into Sunni dominated Pakistan and secular India. Pakistan, the most populous Sunni state at its dawn, was later partitioned into Pakistan and Bangladesh. The demise of Ottoman caliphate also resulted in the emergence of Saudi Arabia, a dynastic absolute monarchy that championed the reformist doctrines of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab; the eponym of the Wahhabi movement. This was followed by a considerable rise in the influence of the Wahhabi, ''Salafiyya'', Islamist and Jihadist movements that revived the doctrines of the Hanbali theologian Taqi Al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328 C.E/ 661–728 A.H), a fervent advocate of the traditions of the Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The expediencies of cold war resulted in the radicalisation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who fought the communist regime backed by USSR forces in Afghanistan giving birth to the Taliban movement. After the fall of communist regime in Afghanistan and the ensuing civil war, Taliban wrestled power from the various Mujahidin factions in Afghanistan and formed a government under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, who was addressed as the Emir of the faithful, an honorific way of addressing the caliph. The Taliban regime was recognised by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia till after 9/11, perpetrated by Osama bin Laden – a Saudi national by birth and harboured by the Taliban – took place, resulting in a war on terror launched against the Taliban.

The sequence of events of the 20th century has led to resentment in some quarters of the Sunni community due to the loss of pre-eminence in several previously Sunni-dominated regions such as the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Balkans, the North Caucasus and the Indian sub continent. The latest attempt by a radical wing of Salafi-Jihadists to re-establish a Sunni caliphate was seen in the emergence of the militant group ISIL, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is known among his followers as caliph and ''Amir-al-mu'mineen'', "The Commander of the Faithful". Jihadism is opposed from within the Muslim community (known as the ''ummah'' in Arabic) in all quarters of the world as evidenced by turnout of almost 2% of the Muslim population in London protesting against ISIL.

Following the puritan approach of Ibn Kathir, Muhammad Rashid Rida, etc. many contemporary ''Tafsir'' (exegetic treatises) downplay the earlier significance of Biblical material (''Isrā'iliyyāt''). Half of the Arab commentaries reject ''Isrā'iliyyāt'' in general, while Turkish tafsir usually partly allow referring to Biblical material. Nevertheless, most non-Arabic commentators regard them as useless or not applicable.Johanna Pink (2010). ''Sunnitischer Tafsīr in der modernen islamischen Welt: Akademische Traditionen, Popularisierung und nationalstaatliche Interessen''. Brill, , pp. 114–116. A direct reference to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict could not be found. It remains unclear whether the refusal of ''Isrā'iliyyāt'' is motivated by political discourse or by traditionalist thought alone. The usage of ''tafsir'ilmi'' is another notable characteristic of modern Sunni tafsir. ''Tafsir'ilmi'' stands for alleged scientific miracles found in the Qur'an. In short, the idea is that the Qur'an contains knowledge about subjects an author of the 7th century could not possibly have. Such interpretations are popular among many commentators. Some scholars, such as the Commentators of Al-Azhar University, reject this approach, arguing the Qur'an is a text for religious guidance, not for science and scientific theories that may be disproved later; thus ''tafsir'ilmi'' might lead to interpreting Qur'anic passages as falsehoods.Johanna Pink (2010). ''Sunnitischer Tafsīr in der modernen islamischen Welt: Akademische Traditionen, Popularisierung und nationalstaatliche Interessen''. Brill, , pp. 120–121. Modern trends of Islamic interpretation are usually seen as adjusting to a modern audience and purifying Islam from alleged alterings, some of which are believed to be intentional corruptions brought into Islam to undermine and corrupt its message.

Adherents

Sunnis believe the companions of Muhammad to be reliable transmitters of Islam, since God and Muhammad accepted their integrity. Medieval sources even prohibit cursing or vilifying them. This belief is based upon prophetic traditions such as one narrated by Abdullah, son of Masud, in which Muhammad said: "The best of the people are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them." Support for this view is also found in the Qur'an, according to Sunnis. Therefore, narratives of companions are also reliably taken into account for knowledge of the Islamic faith. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Qur'an.

Sunni Islam does not have a formal hierarchy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law ('' sharia'') or Islamic theology (''Kalām''). Both religious and political leadership are in principle open to all Muslims. According to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a well-educated person to lead the service, known as a Khateeb (one who speaks).

A study conducted by the '' Pew Research Center'' in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, and it is estimated over 85–90% are Sunni.See:

Eastern Europe Russia and Central Asia
"some 80% of the worlds Muslims are Sunni"
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Sue Hellett;U.S. should focus on sanctions against Iran
"Sunnis make up over 75 percent of the world's Muslim population"

Iran, Israel and the United States
"Sunni, accounts for over 75% of the Islamic population"

A dictionary of modern politics
"probably 80% of the worlds Muslims are Sunni"
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Sunni Islam: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide
"Sunni Islam is the dominant division of the global Muslim community, and throughout history it has made up a substantial majority (85 to 90 percent) of that community."

Three group doctrines

Regarding the question which dogmatic tendencies are to be assigned to Sunnism, there is no agreement among Muslim scholars. Since the early modern period, is the idea that a total of three groups belong to the Sunnis: 1. those named after Abu l-Hasan al-Aschʿari (d. 935) Ashʿarites, 2. those named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 941) named Maturidites and 3. a differently named third group, which is traditionalistic-oriented and rejects the rational discourse of Kalām advocated by the Maturidites and Ashʿarites. The Syrian scholar ʿAbd al-Baqi Ibn Faqih Fussa (d. 1661) calls this third traditionalist group the Hanbalites. The late Ottoman thinker İsmail Hakkı İzmirli (d. 1946), who agreed to dividing Sunnis into these three groups, called the traditionalist group Salafiyya, but also used ''Athariyya'' as an alternative term. For the Maturidiyya he gives ''Nasafīya'' as a possible alternative name.İsmail Hakkı İzmirli: ''Muḥaṣṣalü l-kelâm ve-l-ḥikme''. Istanbul 1336h (= 1917/18 n.Chr.). S. 75
Digitalisat
/ref> Another used for the traditionalist-oriented group is "people of Hadith" (''ahl al-ḥadīṯ''). It is used, for example, in the final document of the Grozny Conference. Only those "people of the Hadith" are assigned to Sunnism who practice ''tafwīḍ'', i.e. who refrain from interpreting the ambiguous statements of the Quran.Abschlussdokument der Grosny-Konferenz von 2016
arabisches Original
un
deutsche Übersetzung

Ash'ari

Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (873–935). This theological school of Aqeedah was embraced by many Muslim scholars and developed in parts of the Islamic world throughout history; al-Ghazali wrote on the creed discussing it and agreeing upon some of its principles.

Ash'ari theology stresses divine revelation over human reason. Contrary to the Mu'tazilites, they say that ethics cannot be derived from human reason, but that God's commands, as revealed in the ''Quran'' and the ''Sunnah'' (the practices of Muhammad and his companions as recorded in the traditions, or hadith), are the sole source of all morality and ethics.

Regarding the nature of God and the divine attributes, the Ash'ari rejected the Mu'tazili position that all Quranic references to God as having real attributes were metaphorical. The Ash'aris insisted that these attributes were as they "best befit His Majesty". The Arabic language is a wide language in which one word can have 15 different meanings, so the Ash'aris endeavor to find the meaning that best befits God and is not contradicted by the Quran. Therefore, when God states in the Quran, "He who does not resemble any of His creation", this clearly means that God cannot be attributed with body parts because He created body parts. Ash'aris tend to stress divine omnipotence over human free will and they believe that the Quran is eternal and uncreated.

Maturidi

Founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 944), the Maturidiyyah was the major tradition in Central Asia based on Hanafi-law. It is more influenced by Persian interpretations of Islam and less on the traditions established within Arabian culture. In contrast to the traditionalistic approach, Maturidism allows to reject hadiths based on reason alone. Nevertheless, revelation remains important to inform humans about that is beyond their intellectual limits, such as the concept of an afterlife. Ethics on the other hand, do not need prophecy or revelation, but can be understood by reason alone. One of the tribes, the Seljuk Turks, migrated to Turkey, where later the Ottoman Empire was established. Their preferred school of law achieved a new prominence throughout their whole empire although it continued to be followed almost exclusively by followers of the Hanafi school while followers of the Shafi and Maliki schools within the empire followed the Ash'ari and Athari schools of thought. Thus, wherever can be found Hanafi followers, there can be found the Maturidi creed.

Traditionalist

Traditionalist or Athari theology is a movement of Islamic scholars who reject rationalistic Islamic theology (''kalam'') in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the ''Qur'an'' and '' sunnah''. The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as translation of the Arabic word ''hadith''. It is also sometimes referred to as ''athari'' as by several other names.

Adherents of traditionalist theology believe that the '' zahir'' (literal, apparent) meaning of the ''Qur'an'' and the hadith have sole authority in matters of belief and law; and that the use of rational disputation is forbidden even if it verifies the truth. They engage in a literal reading of the ''Qur'an'', as opposed to one engaged in '' ta'wil'' (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the ''Qur'an'' rationally, and believe that their realities should be consigned to God alone (''tafwid''). In essence, the text of the Qur'an and Hadith is accepted without asking "how" or " Bi-la kaifa".

Traditionalist theology emerged among scholars of hadith who eventually coalesced into a movement called ''ahl al-hadith'' under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. In matters of faith, they were pitted against Mu'tazilites and other theological currents, condemning many points of their doctrine as well as the rationalistic methods they used in defending them. In the tenth century al-Ash'ari and al-Maturidi found a middle ground between Mu'tazilite rationalism and Hanbalite literalism, using the rationalistic methods championed by Mu'tazilites to defend most tenets of the traditionalist doctrine. Although the mainly Hanbali scholars who rejected this synthesis were in the minority, their emotive, narrative-based approach to faith remained influential among the urban masses in some areas, particularly in Abbasid Baghdad.

While Ash'arism and Maturidism are often called the Sunni "orthodoxy", traditionalist theology has thrived alongside it, laying rival claims to be the orthodox Sunni faith. In the modern era, it has had a disproportionate impact on Islamic theology, having been appropriated by Wahhabi and other traditionalist Salafi currents and have spread well beyond the confines of the Hanbali school of law.

Narrow definition

There were also Muslim scholars who wanted to limit the Sunni term to the ''Ash'arites'' and '' Māturīdites'' alone. For example, Murtadā az-Zabīdī (d. 1790) wrote in his commentary on al-Ghazalis "Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn": "When (sc. The term)" ''ahl as-sunna wal jamaʿa'' is used, the Ashʿarites and Māturīdites are meant.Murtaḍā az-Zabīdī: ''Itḥāf as-sāda al-muttaqīn bi-šarḥ Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. Muʾassasat at-taʾrīḫ al-ʿArabī, Beirut, 1994. Bd. II, S.
Digitalisat
/ref> This position was also taken over by the Egyptian Fatwa Office in July 2013.''al-Murād bi-ahl as-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa''
Fatwa Nr. 2366 des ägyptischen Fatwa-Amtes vom 24. Juli 2013. In Ottoman times, many efforts were made to establish a good harmony between the teachings of the Ashʿarīya and the Māturīdīya. Finally, there were also scholars who regarded the Ashʿarites alone as Sunnis. For example, the Moroccan Sufi Ahmad ibn ʿAdschiba (d. 1809) stated in his commentary on Fatiha: “As far as the Sunnis are concerned, it is the Ashʿarites and those who follow in their correct belief.“

Conversely, there were also scholars who excluded the Ashʿarites from Sunnism. The Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) said that Abu l-Hasan al-Ashʿarī belonged to the Murji'a, namely those who were particularly far removed from the Sunnis in terms of faith.Ibn Ḥazm: ''al-Faṣl fi-l-milal wa-l-ahwāʾ wa-n-niḥal.'' Ed. Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Naṣr; ʿAbd-ar-Raḥmān ʿUmaira. 5 Bde. Dār al-Jīl, Beirut 1985. Bd. II, pp. 265ff. Syrian- Albanian Athari theologian Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani rejected extremism in excluding Ash'aris from Sunni Islam. He believed that despite that their fundamental differences from Atharis, not every Ash'ari is to be excluded from ''Ahl al-Sunna wal Jama'ah'', unless they openly disapprove of the doctrines of the ''Salaf'' (''mad'hab as-Salaf''). According to Albani:

"I do not share he view ofsome of the noble scholars of the past and present that we say about a group from the anyIslamic groups that it is not from ''Ahlus-Sunnah'' due to its deviation in one issue or another... as for whether the Ash’aris or the Maaturidis are from ''Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah'', I say that they are from ''Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah'' in many things related to ''aqidah'' but in other ''aqidah'' issues they have deviated away from ''Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah..'' I don’t hold that we should say that they are not from ''Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah'' whatsoever"

Sunnism in general and in a specific sense

The Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) distinguished in his work ''Minhāj as-sunna'' between Sunnis in the general sense (''ahl as-unna al-ʿāmma'') and Sunnis in the special sense (''ahl as-sunna al-ḫāṣṣa''). Sunnis in the general sense are all Muslims who recognize the caliphate of the three caliphs ( Abū Bakr, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān). In his opinion, this includes all Islamic groups except the Shiite Rafidites. Sunnis in the special sense are only the "people of the hadith" (''ahl al-ḥadīṯ'').

İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, who took over the distinction between a broader and narrower circle of Sunnis from Ibn Taimiya, said that Kullabiyya and the Ashʿarīyya are Sunnis in the general sense, while the Salafiyya represent Sunnis in the specific sense. About the Maturidiyya he only says that they are closer to the Salafiyya than the Ashʿariyya because they excel more in Fiqh than in Kalām. The Saudi scholar Muhammad Ibn al-ʿUthaimin (d. 2001), who like Ibn Taimiya differentiated between Sunnis in general and special senses, also excluded the Asharites from the circle of Sunnis in the special sense and took the view that only the pious ancestors (''as-salaf aṣ-ṣāliḥ'') who have agreed on the Sunnah belonged to this circle.Muḥammad ibn ʿUṯaimīn: ''Aš-Šarḥ al-mumtiʿ ʿalā Zād al-mustaqniʿ''. Dār Ibn al-Ǧauzī, Dammam, 2006. Bd. XI, S. 30
Digitalized
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Classification of the Muʿtazila

The Muʿtazilites are usually not regarded as Sunnis. Ibn Hazm, for example, contrasted them with the Sunnis as a separate group in his heresiographic work ''al-Faṣl fi-l-milal wa-l-ahwāʾ wa-n-niḥal''. In many medieval texts from the Islamic East, the ''Ahl as-Sunna'' are also differentiated to the Muʿtazilites. In 2010 the Jordanian '' fatwa'' office ruled out in a fatwa that the Muʿtazilites, like the Kharijites, represent a doctrine that is contrary to Sunnism. Ibn Taymiyya argued that the Muʿtazilites belong to the Sunnis in the general sense because they recognize the caliphate of the first three caliphs.

Mysticism

There is broad agreement that the Sufis are also part of Sunnism. This view can already be found in the Shafi'ite scholar Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037). In his heresiographical work '' al-Farq baina l-firaq '' he divided the Sunnis into eight different categories ('' aṣnāf '') of people: 1. the theologians and Kalam Scholars, 2. the Fiqh scholars, 3. the traditional and Hadith scholars, 4. the Adab and language scholars, 5. the Koran – Scholars, 6. the Sufi ascetics ('' az-zuhhād aṣ-ṣūfīya ''), 7. those who perform the ''ribat'' and '' jihad'' against the enemies of Islam, 8. the general crowd. According to this classification, the Sufis are one of a total of eight groups within Sunnism, defined according to their religious specialization.

The Tunisian scholar Muhammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Bakkī (d. 1510) also included the Sufis in Sunnism. He divided the Sunnis into the following three groups according to their knowledge ('' istiqrāʾ ''):
# the people of Hadith ('' ahl al-ḥadīṯh ''): Their principles are based on the hearing-based evidence, namely the Book (''Qur'an''), the '' Sunnah'' and the '' Ijmāʿ'' (consensus).
# The people of theory and the intellectual trade ('' ahl an-naẓar wa-ṣ-ṣināʿa al-fikrīya ''): They include the Ashʿarites and the Hanafis, the latter of whom consider Abū Mansūr al-Māturīdī as their master. They agree in the rational principles on all questions where there is no hearing-based evidence, in the hearing-based principles in everything that reason conceives as possible, and in the rational as well as the hearing-based principles in all other questions. They also agree on all dogmatic questions, except for the question of creation ('' takwīn '') and the question of '' Taqlīd''.
# the people of feeling and revelation ('' ahl al-wiǧdān wa-l-kašf ''): These are the Sufis. Its principles correspond in the initial stage to the principles of the other two groups, but in the final stage they rely on revelation (''kašf'') and inspiration (''ilhām'').
Similarly, Murtadā az-Zabīdī stated elsewhere in his commentary on Ghazzali's '' Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn'' '' that the Sunnis consisted of four groups (firaq''), namely the hadith scholars (''muḥaddiṯhūn), the Sufis, the Ashʿarites and the Māturīdites.''

Some ''ulema'' wanted to exclude the Sufis from Sunnism. The Yemeni scholar ʿAbbās ibn Mansūr as-Saksakī (d. 1284) explained in his doxographic work '' al-Burhān fī maʿrifat ʿaqāʾid ahl al-adyān '' ("The evidence of knowledge of the beliefs of followers of different religions") about the Sufis: "They associate themselves with the Sunnis, but they do not belong to them, because they contradict them in their beliefs, actions and teachings." That is what distinguishes the Sufis from Sunnis according to as-Saksakī their orientation to the hidden inner meaning of the ''Qur'an'' and the ''Sunnah''. In this, he said, they resemble the Bātinites. According to the final document of the Grozny Conference, only those Sufis are to be regarded as Sunnis who are "people of pure Sufism" ('' ahl at-taṣauwuf aṣ-ṣāfī '') in the knowledge, ethics and purification of the interior, according to Method as practiced by al-Junaid Al- Baghdadi and the "Imams of Guidance" ('' aʾimma al-hudā '') who followed his path.

In the eleventh-century, Sufism, which had previously been a less "codified" trend in Islamic piety, began to be "ordered and crystallized"Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ''The Essential Seyyed Hossein Nasr'', ed. William C. Chittick (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2007), p. 76 into ''Tariqahs'' (orders) which have continued until the present day. All these orders were founded by a major Sunni Islamic saint, and some of the largest and most widespread included the Qadiriyya (after Abdul-Qadir Gilani . 1166, the Rifa'iyya (after Ahmed al-Rifa'i . 1182, the Chishtiyya (after Moinuddin Chishti . 1236, the Shadiliyya (after Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili . 1258, and the Naqshbandiyya (after Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari . 1389. Contrary to popular Orientalist depictions,Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p. 16 neither the founders of these orders nor their followers considered themselves to be anything other than orthodox Sunni Muslims, Many of the most eminent defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, such as 'Abd al-Qadir Jilani, Al-Ghazali, Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Al-Ayyubi (Saladin) were connected with Sufism." The Salafi and Wahhabi strands of Sunnism do not accept many mystical practices associated with the contemporary Sufi orders.

Jurisprudence

Interpreting Islamic law by deriving specific rulings – such as how to pray – is commonly known as Islamic jurisprudence. The schools of law all have their own particular tradition of interpreting this jurisprudence. As these schools represent clearly spelled out methodologies for interpreting Islamic law, there has been little change in the methodology with regard to each school. While conflict between the schools was often violent in the past, the four Sunni schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries.

Schools

There are many intellectual traditions within the field of '' Shari'ah'' (Islamic law), often referred to as '' Madh'habs'' (legal schools). These varied traditions reflect differing viewpoints on some laws and obligations within Islamic law. While one school may see a certain act as a religious obligation, another may see the same act as optional. These schools aren't regarded as sects; rather, they represent differing viewpoints on issues that are not considered the core of Islamic belief. Historians have differed regarding the exact delineation of the schools based on the underlying principles they follow.

Many traditional scholars saw Sunni Islam in two groups: ''Ahl al-Ra'y'', or "people of reason", due to their emphasis on scholarly judgment and discourse; and ''Ahl al-Hadith'', or "people of traditions", due to their emphasis on restricting juristic thought to only what is found in scripture. Ibn Khaldun defined the Sunni schools as three: the Hanafi school representing reason, the Ẓāhirīte school representing tradition, and a broader, middle school encompassing the Shafi'ite, Malikite and Hanbalite schools.

During the Middle Ages, the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt delineated the acceptable Sunni schools as only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, excluding the Ẓāhirī school. The Ottoman Empire later reaffirmed the official status of four schools as a reaction to the Shiite character of their ideological and political archrival, the Persian Safavids.Chibli Mallat, ''Introduction to Middle Eastern Law'', p. 116. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. In the contemporary era, former Prime Minister of Sudan Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, as well as the Amman Message

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