The Ahl al-Sunnah’s Schools
HARUN YAHYA
Schools in Terms of Conviction
In terms of conviction, there are two schools:
The Maturidis, founded by Imam Maturidi
The Ash`aris, founded by Imam Ash`ari
These two schools are essentially one. However, they differ in terms of about forty matters. These differences, however, consist only matters of detail.
The Maturidi School
The founder of the Maturidi school is Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Maturidi al-Samarkandi, who is commonly known as Imam Maturidi. He was born in Samarkand in 238 AH.
He was of Turkish origin and was taught by students of al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa. He established a fine link between reason and communication in his works and erected an immovable wall against heretical ideas by training students who were highly devoted to the Ahl al-Sunnah’s beliefs. He made a considerable contribution to transmitting the Ahl al-Sunnah’s convictions to subsequent generations.
Imam Maturidi is the teacher on matters of faith to all Hanafi Muslims. His school is recognized by many Muslims, especially the Turks. Some of his books have survived to the present day, among them his Kitab al-Tawhid, Ta’wilat al-Qur’an, and Kitab al-Jadal.
Some of his views that constitute the essence of the Ahl al-Sunnah’s belief are:
- Allah’s (swt) existence and oneness. We are responsible for having faith in Allah (swt), Whose work is one with His Being. Allah (swt) has attributes that are part of His Divine essence. Allah’s attribute of Kalam exists together with His Being. The Qur’an was not created; only the letters therein were created.
- Faith consists of confessing belief verbally and accepting in one’s heart. Nobody who confesses verbally but rejects this faith in his heart can be considered a believer. The place of faith is the heart, and no one can overcome it once it is fully established therein.
- Just as it is impossible to say that someone who has faith is not a Muslim, it is equally impossible to say that anyone who fulfils all of Islam’s tenets is not a believer. Deeds are not part of faith.
- When a person decides to do something, Allah (swt) creates the power for this physical action to be carried out. Thus, the creation of this power accompanies the action. When a person carries out an action, whether he gains credit or deserves punishment depends on the intention.
- Such serious sins as adultery, murder, or drinking alcohol do not remove a Muslim from the fold of Islam. Whoever commits such sins will be forgiven if he repents.
- Our Prophet (saas) will intercede for those people who belong to his community, even for those who have committed serious sins. This is a grace from Allah (swt).
The Ash`ariyyah School
Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari, the founder of this school, was born in Basra in 260 AH. He studied with Abu `Ali al-Jubba'i, a Mu’tazili scholar, until he was forty years old.
Imam al-Ash’ari wrote several books aimed at Mu’tazilah, who were Ahl al-Bid`ah (people of [un-Islamic] innovation), philosophers, naturalists, atheists, Jews, and Christians. The first two of his works that come to mind are the Risalat al-Iman and the Maqalat al-Islamiyyin. Some twenty of his works have come down to us. It is said that he performed the morning prayer for twenty years while in the same state of ablution with which he had performed the night prayer. He died in Baghdad in 324 AH.
Some members of the Shafi`i and Maliki schools of thought are linked to the Ash`ariyyah in terms of creed. The Ash’ari school is widely accepted, especially in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt.
The views of Imam al-Ash`ari are very important in forming the Ahl al-Sunnah’s creed. Apart from the subject of free will, there was no great difference of opinion with al-Maturidi. Some of al-Ash`ari’s tenets are as follows:
- The reckoning in the grave (adhab al-qadr), the gathering of humanity on the Day of Resurrection (hashr), and as-sirat (bridge) and al-mizan (just balance) are true. The Qur’an is a miracle in terms of its literary style. No one can compose an equivalent document.
- It is essential that the Prophet (saas) performs miracles. Awliya can also exhibit wonders (karamat). Prophets perform their miracles to draw the people toward their superior nature. A wali, on the other hand, must not attain superiority and must conceal his karamat.
- Anyone who received Allah’s (swt) revelation through an angel and performs miracles that seem to violate the laws of nature is a nabi.
- By the will of Allah (swt), the Prophet (saas) will intercede on the believers’ behalf. Also, it is permissible for believers to see Allah (swt), the One and Incomparable, in the Hereafter. He sends good and evil to humanity, creates the deeds that they perform, and bestows upon people the necessary power to perform an action.
The Schools in Terms of Deeds
The Ahl al-Sunnah school contains four schools of thought on deeds:
The Hanafi school, founded by Imam Abu Hanifah
The Shafi`i school, founded by Imam al-Shafi`i
The Hanbali school, founded by Imam Hanbal
The Maliki school, founded by Imam Malik
In this section, we shall concentrate on these four imams and their views.
The Hanafi School and al-Imam al-A`zam Abu Hanifah
Al-Imam al-A`zam Abu Hanifah was born in Kufa in 80 AH. His given name was an-Nu`man ibn Thabit. Some historical accounts say that he was of Turkish origin. His father, a wealthy merchant, had presented himself to Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra), who gave him his blessing and prayed for his offspring.
Abu Hanifah memorized the Qur’an at an early age and taught himself Arabic language and literature, jurisprudence (fiqh), the hadiths, and theology (kalam). He debated people in the region who held heretical views and persuaded most of them. As a result, his reputation began to spread.
Feeling the presence of a large gap in knowledge concerning fiqh, he abandoned commerce and devoted himself to studying jurisprudential matters. At the same time, he continued his study of the Qur’an and the Sunnah and began deriving rulings from them. He also began researching the hadiths and examining those matters over which the Companions disagreed.
During his thirty years in the madrassah, he taught more than 4,000 students, among them such future mujtahids (a scholar who derives legal rulings) as Abu Yusuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, and Hasan ibn Ziyad.
He told his students that their knowledge would be based on solid foundations as long as they adhered to the following basic tenets:
Attend a knowledge circle and assembly, whenever one is held, and understand its general line.
Spend time with people of knowledge and have contact with all of the intellectual movements of the age.
Stay with the teacher instructing them in important matters.
After spending time with several Islamic scholars, he attached himself to Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, one of the greatest scholars of that time. Following his death, all eyes turned in Abu Hanifah’s direction.
The Umayyads were not pleased that the number of his followers continued to increase. Thus the governor of Iraq, Yazid ibn Amr, offered him the post of qadi (religious judge) to sever his influence over the public. When Abu Hanifah rejected this proposition, he was tortured for days and then imprisoned. However, he was soon released due to the government’s fear of the public’s reaction.
Abu Hanifah lived for many years in the Hijaz, and returned to Kufa after the Abbasids came to power. However, little changed under Abbasid rule. His response to Caliph al-Mansur’s request that he become qadi of Baghdad was: “If I am threatened with drowning in the River Euphrates in the event that I decline this proposal, then I prefer to drown. There are many around you who stand in need.” At this, al-Mansur had him tortured for several days. This event ruined his health, and he died in Baghdad in 150 AH. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims still visit his tomb every year.
Following al-Imam al-A`zam’s death, his students produced books by collecting the hadiths he had related and presenting them in a systematic form. Deriving new rulings in the light of their teacher’s views, they spread his ideas throughout the Islamic world. As a result, his teachings gradually became the Hanafi school, which still has many active followers in Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Siberia, China, Pakistan, Albania, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Iraq.
Some of al-Imam al-A`zam’s works that have come down to the present day are the Kitabul Rad `ala al-Khawarij, Kitab al-Rad `ala al-Qaadiriyah, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar and Al-Fiqh al-Absat.
Some noteworthy extracts from his works are given below:
“Show people as much love as you can. Greet everyone, even the very lowly. If you gather with others in an assembly and discuss various problems, during which someone expresses an idea to which you are opposed, do not oppose them. If they ask you, give your opinion, speak what is in your heart, and say that there are such and such opinions on this subject and the proof is as follows. Thus, they will listen to you and understand the degree of your knowledge.
Show some degree of knowledge to all who approach you and let each one learn something from you. Give them important things, not trivial ones. Be like a friend to them, even make witty remarks by way of jokes, because friendship and sincerity ensure the continuation of knowledge.
Treat them gently and be tolerant. Show no boredom or weariness to anyone. Comport yourself as like one of them.
Trust no one’s friendship until it has been proven. Do not be friends with anyone low or vulgar. Be virtuous, generous, and deep of heart. Your clothes should be clean and new. Have a good horse to ride. Use pleasant scents. Be generous when you give people food to eat and satisfy everyone. Whenever you hear of any strife or corruption, hasten to resolve it. Visit those who visit you and those who do not. Always do good, whether others wish you good or ill. Forgive and turn a blind eye to some things. Abandon those things that distress you and try to do what is right. Visit those of your companions who fall ill, and ask after those you do not see. Take an interest in those who do not come to you.” (From Abu Hanifah’s bequest to his student Abu Yusuf.)
“Know that deeds go along with knowledge, just as the limbs move thanks to the vision of the eyes. A few good deeds with knowledge are better than much labor with ignorance. This resembles the following proverb: even if a man has little food with him, he will be saved if he knows the right path. That man is still in a better position than someone who has much food but does not know the way. As Allah (swt) tells us: ‘Are they the same – those who know and those who do not know? It is only people of intelligence who pay heed.’” (Osman Keskioglu, Abu Hanifah, M. Abu Zehra, p. 177)
Some of al-Imam al-A`zam’s advice to Abu Yusuf appears in Ibrahim Haqqi of Erzurum's Ma’rifetname, from which the following extracts have been taken:
“Wish good on other people and give them advice. Go and converse with people when they see and approve of your behavior and wish to talk with you, so that you can discuss knowledge in their circles.
May each student consider him your son. Let labor directed toward [acquiring] knowledge increase every day. Do not chat with those who do not listen to you and people in the markets. Have no fear of speaking the truth to anyone. Perform more, not fewer, religious observances than the masses. Do not sit and talk with deniers and Ahl al-Bid`ah, but invite them to the religion when the circumstances are appropriate. I bequeath these things to you and to everyone. May you follow this path and lead the people to the true path.”
The Shafi`i School and Imam al-Shafi`i
Imam al-Shafi`i was born in Gaza in 150 AH. Islamic scholars have considered it significant that he was born in the same year that Abu Hanifah died. Imam al-Shafi`i lost his father at an early age and spent much of his childhood in poverty.
He moved to Makkah and began studying the hadiths. He memorized the Qur’an at an early age.
