Asharism

Ash’arism (; Arabic: الأشعرية, romanized: al-Ashʿariyya) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (mujaddid), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on scriptural authority, rationality, and theological rationalism. It is one of the three main schools alongside Maturidism and Atharism.

Al-Ash’aris Knowledge was based both on reliance on the sacred scriptures of Islam and theological rationalism concerning the agency and attributes of God. Ashʿarism eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunnī Islam, and is regarded as the single most important school of Islamic theology in the history of Islam.

The disciples of the Ash’ari school are known as Ashʿarites, and the school is also referred to as the Ashʿarite school, which became one of the dominant theological schools within Sunnī Islam. Ash’ari theology is considered one of the orthodox creeds of Sunnī Islam, alongside the Atharī and Māturīdī.

Amongst the most famous Ashʿarite theologians are al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Ghazali, al-Suyuti, Izz al-Din ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Ibn ‘Asakir, al-Subki, al-Taftazani, al-Baqillani, and al-Bayhaqi. Scholars and scientists who were affiliated with the Ash’ari school included al-Biruni, Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn al-Nafis, Ibn Battuta, and Ibn Khaldun.

wikipedia/en/Ash'arism

Ashʿarism is a dominant theological school in Sunni Islam, founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari. It seeks to balance scriptural authority and rational thought, using kalām (theology) to defend Sunni orthodoxy. Ashʿarism refutes Muʿtazilite rationalism but also opposes the extreme literalism of the Athari school. It upholds divine transcendence while affirming Allah’s attributes in a way that avoids anthropomorphism. Key theological points include divine omnipotence, the uncreated nature of the Quran, and the doctrine of acquisition (kasb) in reconciling free will and predestination.

Many major Islamic scholars and scientists adhered to Ashʿarism, including Al-Ghazali, Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Al-Nawawi, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. Over time, Ashʿari thought became the predominant theological school in Sunni Islam, influencing religious, philosophical, and even scientific discourse.

Ashʿarism acts as a mediator between the Muʿtazilite reliance on pure reason and the Athari rejection of rational theology. A useful analogy: If Islamic theology were a court case, Ashʿarism would be the judge balancing textual evidence (Quran and Hadith) with logical reasoning.

Al-Ghazali (Ihya Ulum al-Din), Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb), and al-Baqillani (Tamhid).

❝Reason alone cannot determine all aspects of faith, but it is a tool that leads to certainty in divine revelation.❞
— Imam al-Ghazali

❝God is beyond human comprehension, yet His attributes are affirmed in a manner befitting His majesty, without likening Him to creation.❞
— Al-Ashʿari

❝We do not interpret Allah’s attributes in a manner that resembles created beings, nor do we reject them altogether.❞
— Fakhr al-Din al-Razi

Athari, Maturidi, Mu’tazila, Kalām, Divine Attributes Debate, Qadar vs. Free Will

Malikis

• Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 386 AH)
• Al-Baqillani (d. 403 AH)
• Abu Imran al-Fasi (d. 430 AH)
• Abu Dharr al-Harawi (d. 434 AH)
• Ibn Battal (d. 449 AH)
• Ibn Sidah (d. 458 AH)
• Abu al-Walid al-Baji (d. 474 AH)
• Abu Bakr al-Turtushi (d. 520 AH)
• Al-Maziri (d. 536 AH)
• Ibn Barrajan (d. 536 AH)
• Ibn ‘Atiyya (d. 541 AH)
• Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (d. 543 AH)
• Al-Qadi ‘Ayyad (d. 544 AH)
• Al-Suhayli (d. 581 AH)
• Ibn al-Qattan (d. 628 AH)
• Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH)
• Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH)
• Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (d. 684 AH)
• Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709 AH)
• Ibn Manzur (d. 711-12 AH)
• Ibn Adjurrum (d. 723 AH)
• Ibn al-Hajj al-‘Abdari (d. 737 AH)
• Ibn Juzayy (d. 741 AH)
• Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi (d. 776 AH)
• Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH)
• Ibn ‘Arafa (d. 803 AH)
• Ibn Khaldun (d. 808 AH)
• Taqi al-Din al-Fasi (d. 832 AH)
• Abd al-Rahman al-Tha’alibi (d. 876 AH)
• Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899 AH)
• Muhammad al-Maghili (d. 909 AH)
• Ahmad al-Wansharisi (d. 914 AH)
• Al-Akhdari (d. 953 AH)
• Al-Hattab (d. 954 AH)
• Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti (d. 1036 AH)
• Al-Maqqari al-Tilimsani (d. 1041 AH)
• Ibrahim al-Laqani (d. 1041 AH)
• Muhammad Mayyara (d. 1072 AH)
• Ibn ‘Ashir (d. 1090 AH)
• Al-Hasan al-Yusi (d. 1102 AH)
• Muhammad al-Zurqani (d. 1122 AH)
• Ahmad al-Dardir (d. 1201 AH)
• Ahmad ibn ‘Ajiba (d. 1224 AH)
• Ahmad al-Tijani (d. 1230 AH)
• Muhammad Arafa al-Desouki (d. 1230 AH)
• Muhammad al-‘Arabi al-Darqawi (d. 1239 AH)
• Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Sanusi (d. 1276 AH)
• Muhammad ‘Ilish (d. 1299 AH)
• Ahmad al-Ghumari (d. 1380 AH)
• Muhammad al-‘Arabi al-Tabbani (d. 1390 AH)
• Muhammad al-Tahir ibn ‘Ashur (d. 1393 AH)
• Abdel-Halim Mahmoud (d. 1397 AH)
• ‘Abdullah al-Ghumari (d. 1413 AH)
• Muhammad Metwalli al-Sha’rawi (d. 1419 AH)
• Muhammad ‘Alawi al-Maliki (d. 1425 AH)
• Ahmad al-Tayyeb
• Ahmad Karima
• Hamza Yusuf
• Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
• Ahmed Saad Al-Azhari

Shafi’is

• Ibn Hibban (d. 354 AH)
• Ibn Khafif (d. 371 AH)
• Al-Daraqutni (d. 385 AH)
• Al-Khattabi (d. 388 AH)
• Al-Halimi (d. 403 AH)
• Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (d. 405 AH)
• Ibn Furak (d. 406 AH)
• Al-Sulami (d. 414 AH)
• Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini (d. 418 AH)
• Al-Tha’labi (d. 427 AH)
• Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d.429 AH)
• Abu Nu’aym al-Isfahani (d.430 AH)
• Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (d. 438 AH)
• Abu Uthman al-Sabuni (d. 449 AH)
• Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari (d. 450 AH)
• Al-Mawardi (d. 450 AH)
• Al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH)
• Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH)
• Al-Qushayri (d. 465 AH)
• Al-Wahidi (d. 468 AH)
• Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (d. 471 AH)
• Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (d. 476 AH)
• Al-Juwayni (d. 478 AH)
• Al-Raghib al-Isfahani (d. 502 AH)
• Al-Kiya al-Harrasi (d. 504 AH)
• Al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH)
• Abu al-Qasim al-Ansari (d. 512 AH)
• Al-Baghawi (d.516 AH)
• Al-Shahrastani (d. 548 AH)
• Diya’ al-Din al-Makki (d. 550 AH)
• Ibn al-Sam’ani (d. 562 AH)
• Ibn ‘Asakir (d. 571 AH)
• Abu Tahir al-Silafi (d. 576 AH)
• Ahmad al-Rifa’i (d. 578 AH)
• Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606 AH)
• Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi’i (d. 623 AH)
• Ibn al-Athir (d. 630 AH)
• Ibn al-Dubaythi (d. 637 AH)
• Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH)
• Ibn al-Najjar (d. 643 AH)
• Al-Mundhiri (d. 656 AH)
• Izz al-Din ibn ‘Abd al-Salam (d. 660 AH)
• Al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)
• Ibn Khallikan (d. 681 AH)
• Al-Baydawi (d. 685 AH)
• Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id (d. 702 AH)
• Al-Dimyati (d. 705 AH)
• Ibn al-Rif’ah (d. 710 AH)
• ‘Ala al-Din al-Baji (d. 714 AH)
• Safi al-Din al-Hindi (d. 715 AH)
• Nizam al-Din al-Nisapuri (d. 728 AH)
• Adud al-Din al-Iji (d. 756 AH)
• Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756 AH)
• Al-Safadi (d. 764 AH)
• Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771 AH)
• Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi (d. 772 AH)
• Shams al-Din al-Kirmani (d. 786 AH)
• Al-Zarkashi (d. 794 AH)
• Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH)
• Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (d. 805 AH)
• Zain al-Din al-‘Iraqi (d. 806 AH)
• Nur al-Din al-Haythami (d. 807 AH)
• Al-Damiri (d. 808 AH)
• Firuzabadi (d. 817 AH)
• Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH)
• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH)
• Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi (d. 885 AH)
• Al-Sakhawi (d. 902 AH)
• Al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH)
• Nur al-Din al-Samhudi (d. 911 AH)
• Jalal al-Din al-Dawani (d. 918 AH)
• Al-Qastallani (d. 923 AH)
• Zakariyya al-Ansari (d. 926 AH)
• Shihab al-Din al-Ramli (d. 957 AH)
• Al-Sha’rani (d. 973 AH)
• Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH)
• Al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH)
• Shams al-Din al-Ramli (d. 1004 AH)
• Al-Munawi (d. 1031 AH)
• ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad (d. 1132 AH)
• Hasan al-Attar (d. 1230 AH)
• Ibrahim al-Bajuri (d. 1276 AH)
• Ahmad Zayni Dahlan (d. 1304 AH)
• Yusuf al-Nabhani (d. 1350 AH)
• Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1379 AH)
• Ahmad Kaftaru (d. 1425 AH)
• Noah al-Qudah (d. 1432 AH)
• ‘Abdallah al-Harari (d. 1432 AH)
• Muhammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti (d. 1434 AH)
• Wahbah al-Zuhayli (d. 1436 AH)
• Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun
• Ali Gomaa
• Ali al-Jifri
• Umar bin Hafiz
• Gibril Fouad Haddad
• Nuh Ha Mim Keller
• Sa’id Foudah

Hanbalis

• Ibn ‘Aqil (d. 508 AH)
• Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 534 AH)

Zahiris

• Ibn Tumart (d. 524 AH)
• Ibn Mada’ (d. 592 AH)
• Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi (d. 745 AH)

Hanafi School

Some of the Hanafis follow the Ash’ari school of thought, such as:

• Al-Taftazani (d. 792 AH)
• Al-Sharif al-Jurjani (d. 816 AH)
• Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (d. 1176 AH)
• Mohammed al-Ghazali (d. 1416 AH)

Ash’ari leaders

• Nizam al-Mulk (d. 485 AH)
• ‘Abd al-Mu’min ibn ‘Ali (d. 558 AH)
• Saladin (d. 589 AH)
• Abu Bakr ibn Ayyub (d. 615 AH)
• Al-Kamil (d. 635 AH)
• Al-Ashraf Musa (d. 635 AH)
• Qutuz (d. 658 AH)
• Al-Nasir ibn Qalawun (d. 741 AH)
• Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairi (d. 1300 AH)
• Omar al-Mukhtar (d. 1350 AH)
• Abd el-Krim al-Khattabi (d. 1382 AH)
• Al-Muwahhidun
• Ayyubid dynasty
• Wali Sanga
• Lumpang Basih or Seven Ba ‘Alawi sada that brought Islam to the Philippines
• Sharif ul-Hāshim of Sulu
• Sultanate of Sulu
• Sultanate of Maguindanao

Classical Ash’ari Atomism

Classical Ash’ari atomism is a key framework in the Ash’ari school of Islamic theology for understanding the fundamental nature of reality and God’s relationship to it.  

Core Concepts:

• Atoms (Jawāhir): The world is composed of indivisible atoms, which are considered the only truly enduring things in the physical world.
• Accidents (A’rād): Everything else besides the atom is considered an “accident”, meaning it only lasts for a brief instant.
• Continuous Recreation: A key Ash’ari principle is that “No accident can last two successive instances of time”. This means God must continually recreate atoms and accidents at each successive moment for any appearance of continuity to exist.
• Denial of Natural Causality: Because accidents only exist for an instant, there is no inherent causal relationship between them. What appears to be causality (like fire causing burning) is merely God’s habitual pattern of creation (ʿādah). God is the only true agent causing events.
• Occasionalism: This denial of natural causality led to the Ash’ari theory of occasionalism, which states that events are not caused by natural processes but by God’s direct intervention at each moment. 

Key Features and Implications:

• Finite and Perishable Atoms: Unlike some other forms of atomism, Ash’ari atoms are seen as finite in number and perishable, existing only momentarily through God’s sustenance.
• Space and Time as Atomic: Ash’arites extended atomism to time and space, seeing them as composed of discrete units, not as physical constructs.
• Support for Divine Sovereignty: The continuous creation and lack of secondary causation emphasizes God’s absolute sovereignty and continuous involvement in the world.
• Basis for Theological Proofs: Ash’arite atomism provided a foundation for sophisticated proofs for God’s existence and unity, such as the “Proof from accidents and temporality of bodies” and the “Proof from mutual exclusion”.
• Theology of Kasb (Acquisition): It was used to support their theory of kasb, where God creates human actions, but humans “acquire” the responsibility for them.
• Foundation for Spirituality: The concept of continuous creation and God’s constant activity formed a basis for Sufi practices like recognizing God’s presence in all things and fostering trust in divine providence. 

Comparison to Other Atomistic Systems:

• Distinct from Greek Atomism: Ash’ari atomism differs from Greek atomism (like that of Democritus) which posited eternal and infinite atoms.
• Contrast with Philosophical Hylomorphism: It also stood in contrast to the Aristotelian-Avicennan hylomorphism, which emphasized inherent causal principles in nature. 

In essence, Classical Ash’ari atomism is a comprehensive metaphysical framework that aimed to reconcile the world’s apparent regularity with the absolute sovereignty and omnipotence of God by asserting that all existence and change are a result of God’s moment-by-moment creation.

Ash’arī Occasionalism

Ash’arī occasionalism is a theological concept within the Ash’arite school of Islamic theology that asserts that all events in the universe are directly caused by God, and that created beings are not independent, efficient causes. In essence, it posits that God directly intervenes in every event, rather than allowing created beings to cause events in a continuous chain.

• God as the Sole Cause: The core belief is that all events, both natural and human actions, are directly caused by God’s will.
• Created Beings as Instruments: Created beings (humans, etc.) are not considered independent causes, but rather as instruments or occasions for God’s actions.
• Divine Sovereignty: Occasionalism is seen as upholding God’s absolute sovereignty and omnipotence, as He directly controls all events.
• No Natural Causality: The belief is that there is no inherent, natural causality between events, as God directly creates and connects them.
• Free Will (within Limits): While humans possess free will, it’s not absolute. They have the freedom to choose between possibilities that God has created.

Origins and Influence: Al-Ash’ari (founder of Ash’arite school) and Al-Ghazali (major proponent): Al-Ash’ari is considered one of the earliest proponents of occasionalism, and Al-Ghazali, in his work “The Incoherence of the Philosophers,” further developed and defended the doctrine.

Influence on Western Philosophy:

Occasionalism, as a philosophical concept, has also been discussed and developed by philosophers like Cartesian thinkers like Louis de La Forge and Géraud De Cordemoy, who were influenced by the Ash’arite concept of occasionalism.

In essence, Ash’arī occasionalism is a theological view that emphasizes God’s direct and constant intervention in all events, denying the existence of an independent chain of cause and effect in the natural world.

Reflective Questions

• How does Ashʿarism reconcile faith and reason in a way that is distinct from Muʿtazilism and Atharism?
• Why did Ashʿarism become the dominant theological school in Sunni Islam?
• What are the consequences of rejecting rational theology in matters of creed?