Māturīdīya

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Māturīdiyya or Maturidi School ( Arabic الماتريدية, DMG al-Maatreediyyah ) is a theological direction of Sunni Islam , which as well as their theological views in its methodology the Asch'arismus similar. It was founded by Maturidi - the famous Hanafi scholar of the 10th century from Samarkand - and sees herself as the heir to the teaching established by the Hanafi legal scholar Abu Dscha Dfar at-Tahawi . Maturidi turned against the views of the Muʿtazilites but also the Qarmatians and the Shia . Maturidi always emphasized that Islamic jurisprudence limits the area of ​​theological debate to what is absolutely necessary.

It was the direction of this school that the Hanafis generally followed on questions of faith over the centuries .

Today it can be found in Turkey , the Balkans , Central Asia , China , India , Pakistan and Eritrea .

Teaching

Principles

According to the Maturidiyya, every Muslim is obliged to unconditionally believe in 6 principles:

  • belief in God ( Allah ) and that he is the only God ( Tawheed )
  • belief in al-Mala'ika ( angel )
  • belief in the prophets of Islam
  • the belief in the "books" - whereby only the Koran is considered unchanged and flawless
  • belief in Judgment Day
  • belief in fate.

Question of faith

The Hanafi-Maturidic doctrine الإيمان لا يزيد ولا ينقص / al-īmān lā yazīd wa-lā yanquṣ  / 'Faith neither increases nor decreases' is a specially elaborated teaching and is based on sources up to Abu Hanifa .

The scholars of the Maturidiyya were of the opinion that the Īmān (belief) can neither decrease nor increase, but can only become weaker or stronger, and that the Īmān of all Muslims was and is the same. Since all beliefs (see sieheAqīda ) are the same and their number is the same, Abu Hanifa concluded that Iman cannot increase or decrease because one who denies even a single belief or rejects something that is of religion (i.e., from God ) is commanded to become a kaafir (unbeliever). Or to put it another way: One could not have more mān, since the number of belief bases and the number of obligatory commandments (fard) are fixed. So you can't believe in more than what religion says. According to Abu Hanifa, the āmān content is therefore the same for every Muslim , angel , prophet etc. and only differs in the strength of faith and has an effect on actions. If someone does not do the salāt out of laziness, for example , it is due to his weaker Īmān (belief), but not due to a lack of Īmān - no one has “more” or “less” (meaning content) in Īmān.

The teaching is viewed with skepticism by most Salafi circles.

Takfir

The Hanafis are generally considered cautious and cautious in the area of takfir ( declaring someone to be an unbeliever, kafir ), based on this teaching, among other things. Nobody who does not commit a “great sin” (e.g. Shirk , Kufr , Ridda ) can in principle be declared an unbeliever.

Abu Hanifa expresses himself in the work of al-Fiqh al-Akbar, which is ascribed to him : “We do not declare any [Muslim] to be unbelievers because of a sin and we do not deny any faith. We encourage what is good and keep from doing bad. Know that what happens to you could not fail you, and what fails you could not happen to you! We do not renounce any of the Prophet's Companions, nor do we turn to any [of them] to the exclusion of another. "

Essence of God

The anthropomorphism (humanization) applies to the Maturidiyyah as severe unbelief ( shirk , kufr ), which contradicts the Tawheed . No one and nothing equals or can be compared to God.

The following verse from the Koran is considered to be one of the proofs for the opinion ( Sura 42 : 11):

“[He is] the Creator of heaven and earth. He [God] made you [men] and [also] the herd animals in pairs and thereby caused you to spread [on earth]. There is nothing like him [God]. He [God] is the one who hears and sees [everything]. "

- Translation by Rudi Paret

Based on this, Maturidi strictly refused to make an interpretation ( Tafsīr ) of certain Quranic verses. He considered the Taīwīl (exposition; interpretation; interpretation) to be possible if it did not violate the principles of faith and Sharia .

Maturidi's statement too الرحمن على العرش استوى / ar-Raḥmān ʿāla al-ʿarš Istawāʾ  / 'He, the Most Merciful, rose above the throne' (Sura 20 : 5), represented by the Hanafis:

"For us, the real thing in this matter is that Allah has rejected any resemblance to his creation from his being ( dhat ) by saying, 'No thing is like him.' We mentioned earlier that he is unequal in his deeds and qualities. It follows that the verse: 'He who made Istiva on the throne' is to be understood as he means it in his Revelation, without being equated with his creation. Because this (that he is nothing like) was confirmed with the revelation and supported the understanding. With this we do not give any final validity to any interpretation about Istiwa; the interpretations can also be correct in that no similarity to creation is mentioned, but about which we have no knowledge and which have not reached us. We convince ( Iman ) what Allah means by Istiwa. Just as one has to believe in the topics like the vision of Allah, since there are divine revelations about it, but one has to deny any resemblance to the creatures and one of the possibilities (of the interpretation) does not give a final validity ... "

- Kitab at-Tauhid, p. 94, Isam Yayinlari, 2003

Maturidi explained the difference between Tafsīr (explanation) and Taʾwīl (interpretation) as follows:

“Tafsir is the categorical conclusion that the meaning of a term in question is this, and it is the testimony before God that this is what He meant. Taʾwīl, on the other hand, is preferring one of several possibilities without any categorical conclusion or testimony. "

- Maturidi in "Kitab Taʾwīlāt al-Qurʾān"

Because of this, God's existence is not to be ascribed to a “place”, but also not to “everywhere”. God exists beyond time, space, place and physical as well as physical direction. According to the Maturidi, the “how?” Of God's existence eludes the human mind. Hence the “how?” Of God's existence cannot be grasped by a human being. It says in “Fiqul-Absat”: God has existed for eternity and there was no place. He existed before he created creation. He existed and there was no place, creation, or other things; and he is the creator of everything.

Maʿrifat Allah (knowledge of the existence of God)

A peculiarity of the maturidic view is the opinion about معرفة الله / maʿrifat Allaah .

For the Maturidi, someone is forced to know Allah even if he has not been told about Islam . Because according to Maturidi, the mind is able to recognize Allah.

For the Asharites, someone who has not heard of Islam is not responsible for anything. According to the Maturidi, non-Muslims are forever punished with hell after their death . Even non-Muslims who have never heard of Islam are destined for the eternal hellfire.

Maturidic Hanafite scholars on this:

“In our view, ignorance is not an excuse. Mind promotes everyone to knowledge. "

- Ahmed Ziyauddin in "Aqida of the Ahlus Sunnah"

“Today not a single people can be excused for ignorance. For Allah has sent messengers to men and the hujah (the proof) is finished; nobody can say: 'What should I do, I did not know Allah, I could not find any knowledge about Him.' "

- Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen in "Ilmihal"

“All over the world today, ignorance is no excuse; be it in the knowledge of Iman and Kufr , or be it in the correct execution of the worship services. Those who do not know the religion and therefore lose their way will not be able to escape from hell. Allah has made His religion heard all over the world; it is very easy to learn halāl , harām , iman and the duties. It is a duty to learn these things as much as is necessary. "

- Hilmi Isik in "Saadet-i Abadiya"

Prophet Parents

With regard to the problem of the prophet's parents, the Maturiddiyya takes the position: "The parents of the Messenger of God died as unbelievers".

One of the differences between the Ash'arite and hanafitisch-māturīditischen theory was that former the vastness of divine grace stressed while the latter based on mu'tazilitische positions the non-observance of the divine Drohverheißung ( chulf al-wa'īd excluded) with unbelievers and so that the parents of the prophet would also be denied a posthumous divine pardon. How important this doctrine was for the Hanafi-Māturiditic self-understanding is shown, among other things, in the fact that it was devoted to a separate doctrine in the popular Hanafi-Māturiditic confession, the so-called Fiqh akbar II. It can be found at the very end of the scripture and reads: "The parents of the Messenger of God died as unbelievers." ( Wa-wālidā rasūli Llāhi (s) mātā ʿalā l-kufr )

Opponents and counter arguments

Notable opponents are the Shiites , Muʿtazila , non-Muslim philosophers (e.g. Aristotle ) and the Qarmatians . The Salafis are also considered opponents. Contemporary Salafist scholars such as Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid refer to the Maturidi as a “misguided group”, but not as a sect or unbelievers.

The Hanbalit Ibn Taimiyya , on whose ideas the Salafi currents orient themselves, passed a judgment on the Maturidiyya in a fatwa, which leaves the question of “guidance” open: “The Maturidiyyah belong to a group that for the most part has correct, but also incorrect views represented. They are closer to the path of the righteous than to that of the misguided […] Most of their faith is right […] They fought false views of the Muʿtazila, but overstepped the curve through renewals ( Bidʿa ) on their part, so that they had a greater and slowed down more serious renewal with a minor and minor renewal. They refuted a big lie with a little one, that is the case with most of the philosophers ( Mutakallimūn ) who claim to belong to the Ahl al-sunna wa-l-Jama'a (rightly guided). ”(Ibn Taymiyah, al- Fataawa, 1/348)

School representative

literature

  • Ulrich Rudolph: Al-Maturidi and Sunni theology in Samarkand . Brill. 1996. ISBN 9789004100237

Web links

References and footnotes

  1. mb-soft.com: Maturidiyyah Theology, Maturidi - Advanced Information
  2. ↑ The subtleties of Islamic belief: Islamic Catechism. Astec, o. O. o. J. (Bochum 2004), ISBN 3-00-015510-4 .
  3. Abu Hanifa, quoted in "Menaqib-i Imami-Azam k.II, p. 141." Ibn Bezzazi: The belief of the inhabitants of heaven and earth is one. From then until now, from the origin of faith, the faith of all prophets is the same. Because we all believed in the same God and confirmed him. But the duties are different, and the kufr is also the same, because the kafir have many properties. We all believed in what the prophets believed. However, their beliefs were superior, and in every one of their actions their good actions were superior to ours. For as they were preferred in their followers, so were they preferred to us in their affairs. Our Lord has done us no wrong in this case, for God has neither diminished nor diminished our rights. Perhaps God gave them a great deal more in invitation and entertainment for they were guides for humanity. They were the trustworthy messengers of Allah. Nobody can be equal to their rank. For people have achieved virtue because of them [the prophets]. Those who will enter Paradise will enter through their supplications and invitations.
  4. Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani quoted in "Nadhm Al-Fawa`id fi Silsilati Al-Albani min Al-Fawa`id": And the truth is that this hadeeth itself, although it needs explanation, is evidence against the Hanafis , those who persist stubbornly in opposing us by saying that Iman is neither increasing nor decreasing. Faith, in their view, is only one level [one unit]. And consequently, they cannot imagine a defective Iman. This is why al-Kawthari [a Hanafi scholar] rejected this hadeeth.
  5. On the main differences between Ash'ariyya and Māturīdiyya cf. Montgomery Watt et al. Michael Marmura: Islam II. Political developments and theological concepts. Translated from English by S. Höfer. Stuttgart u. a. 1985. pp. 315-318, on the question of ḫulf al-waʿīd cf. the monographic treatise of ʿAlī al-Qārī: al-Qawl as-sadīd fī ḫulf al-waʿīd . Tanta 1412/1992.
  6. See the Engl. Translation by AJ Wensinck: The Muslim Creed. Its Genesis ans Historical Development. Cambridge 1932. p. 197. Wensinck only mentions the theorem in a footnote because it is not contained in all textual references in Scripture. See the explanations below.
  7. islam-qa.com:Are Deobandis part of Ahlus Sunnah? Are they within the folds of Islam?