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Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (; 874–936 CE) was an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
Muslim theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of kalam in Sunnism. Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically opposed schools of Islamic theology prevalent at the time: Atharism and Mu'tazilism. He primarily opposed the Mu'tazili theologians on God's eternal attributes and Quranic createdness. On the other hand, the
Hanbalis The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradi ...
and traditionists were opposed to the use of
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
or speculative theology, and condemned any theological debate altogether. Al-Ash'ari established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on theological rationalism (''kalam'') and the interpretation of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and Sunna. His school eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunni Islam.Abdullah Saeed ''Islamic Thought: An Introduction'' Routledge 2006 chapter 5 By contrast, Shia Muslims do not accept his theological beliefs, as his works also involved refuting Shia Islam.


Biography

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
,John L. Esposito, The Islamic World: Abbasid-Historian, p 54.
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and was a descendant of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī, who belonged to the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions (''ṣaḥāba'').I.M.N. Al-Jubouri, History of Islamic Philosophy: With View of Greek Philosophy and Early History of Islam, p 182. As a young man he studied under al-Jubba'i, a renowned teacher of Muʿtazilite theology and
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. According to the traditional account, al-Ashʿarī remained a Muʿtazilite theologian until his 40th year, when he allegedly saw the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
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''). 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''. 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. 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. 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.


Views

After leaving the Muʿtazila school, and joining the side of traditionalist theologians al-Ash'ari formulated the theology of
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Islam through Kalam and the usage of the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
and
Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...
, following in the footsteps of Ibn Kullab and confirming the methods of other traditionalists such as Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal a century earlier. He was followed in this by a large number of distinguished scholars of Sunni Islam, many of whom belonged to the
Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...
school of law. The most famous of these are , al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni, al-Nawawi, al-Ghazali and al-Razi. Thus Al-Ash'ari's school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah. He is also known to have directly taught the Sufi Ibn Khafif. In line with Sunni tradition (''Ahl us-Sunnah wal Jama’ah''), 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 The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenge ...
.Jeffry R. Halverson, Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism, p 77. 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. 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 through their direct creation of them. 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 the creation. He was also noted for his teachings on
atomism Atomism () is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its Atom, atoms appeared in both Ancient Greek philosophy, ancien ...
.


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. Earlier major scholars also held positive views of al-Ash'ari and his efforts, among them Qadi Iyad and Taj al-Din al-Subki. 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." According to Brown this competing orthodoxy exists in the form of the " Hanbali über-Sunni orthodoxy".


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; 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: * ''
Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam Al-Hath 'ala al-Bahth (), better known as Risalat Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam () is a brief treatise written by the Sunni theologian Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324/935), in which he defends the use of kalam (speculative or dialectical the ...
'' (Treatise on the Appropriateness of Inquiry in the Science of Kalam) * '' Risalat Ila Ahl Ath Taghr'' (Letter in which he confirmed the consensus of the pious predecessors) * '' Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin'' (The Treatises/Teachings of the Muslims and the Differences of the Prayerful/Worshippers), an encyclopaedia of deviated Islamic sects.ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1929-30 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 Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Muʿtaziltes. * ''Al-Luma # ''Al-Luma' fi al-Radd 'ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Bida (The Gleams/Illuminations on the Refutation of the People of Deviation/Perversity and Heresies), a slim volume. # ''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. # ''Al-Luma' al-Saghir'' (The Minor Book of Sparks)'', a preliminary to al-Luma' al-Kabir.ed. and tr. R.C. McCarthy, Beirut, 1953 * ' (The Elucidation of the Fundamentals of Religion),tr. W.C. Klein, New Haven, 1940 though the authenticity of this book has been disputed by several scholars.Jackson, Sherman A. “Ibn Taymiyyah on Trial in Damascus.” Journal of Semitic Studies 39 (Spring 1994): 41–85.


See also

* Abi al-Hasan al-Ash'ari Center for Theological Studies and Research * Abu Musa al-Ash'ari * Ibn Kullab * Al-Tahawi * Abu Mansur al-Maturidi * Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi * List of Ash'aris and Maturidis * List of Muslim theologians * List of Muslim comparative religionists * 2016 international conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny


Early Islam scholars


References


Notes


Citations


External links


Imam Abu‘l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari by Shaykh Gibril HaddadImam Ash’ari Repudiating Asha’rism? by Shaykh Nuh Keller


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Ashari, Abu Al-Hasan 870s births 936 deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century Muslim theologians 10th-century Arab people 10th-century Muslim theologians Arab Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Asharis Atomists Hadith scholars Kullabis Maliki fiqh scholars Mujaddid Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence Mu'tazilites People from Basra Quranic exegesis scholars Salaf Scholars from the Abbasid Caliphate Sunni imams Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Shafi'i fiqh scholars Shaykh al-Islāms