Maturidism

Maturidism (Arabic: المَاتُريدِيَّةُ, romanized: al-Māturīdiyya) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. It is one of the three creeds of Sunni Islam alongside Ash'arism and Atharism, and prevails in the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.

Al-Maturidi codified and systematized the theological Islamic beliefs already present among the Ḥanafite Muslim theologians of Balkh and Transoxiana under one school of systematic theology (kalām); Abu Hanifa emphasized the use of rationality and theological rationalism regarding the interpretation of the sacred scriptures of Islam.

Maturidism was originally circumscribed to the region of Transoxiana in Central Asia but it became the predominant theological orientation amongst the Sunnī Muslims of Persia before the Safavid conversion to Shīʿīsm in the 16th century, and the Ahl al-Ra'y (people of reason). It enjoyed a preeminent status in the Ottoman Empire and Mughal India. Outside the old Ottoman and Mughal empires, most Turkic tribes, Hui people, Central Asian, and South Asian Muslims also follow the Maturidi theology. There have also been Arab Maturidi scholars.

The history of the Maturidi School is characterized by three phases. The phase^[which?] lasted until the end of the 10th century, and is characterized by the fact that nothing of importance happened for the development of the school. Al-Maturidi had many followers; of them the most important is Abū Salama al-Samarqandī, who gave us the summary of Al- Maturidi's Kitab Al Tawhid namely the Jumal usul al-dīn.

Al-Maturidi, being a follower of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, based his theological opinions and epistemological perspectives on the teachings of the school's eponymous founder, Abu Hanifa (8th century CE).

The Maturidi school of Islamic theology holds that:

Regarding ʿaqīdah (creed), unlike many Mu'tazilites (free-will theology), al-Maturidi does not hold that angels are necessarily infallible. Pointing at surah al-Baqara, he notes that angels too, have been tested. Referring to surah al-Anbiyāʼ, he points out, angels who claim divinity for themselves are sentenced to hell. About Iblīs, otherwise known as Satan, he states, disputing whether he was an angel or a jinn before his fall is useless, as it is more important to know, that he has become a devil and enemy of humans.

Maturidism holds that humans are creatures endowed with reason, which differentiates them from animals. The relationship between people and God differs from that of nature and God; humans are endowed with free-will, but due to God's sovereignty, God creates the acts the humans choose, so humans can perform them. Ethics can be understood just by rational thought and do not require prophetic guidance. Al-Maturidi also considered the aḥādīth to be unreliable when they are at odds with reason. Furthermore, Maturidi theology opposes anthropomorphism and similitude, but simultaneously does not deny the divine attributes.