Atharism

Atharism (Arabic: الأثرية, romanized: al-ʾAthariyya / al-aṯariyyah [æl ʔæθæˈrɪj.jæ], “archeological”) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam which developed from circles of the Ahl al-Hadith, a group that rejected rationalistic theology in favor of strict textualism in interpretation the Quran and the hadith.

Adherents of Athari theology believe the zahir (apparent) meaning of the Quran and the hadith are the sole authorities in matters of aqida and Islamic jurisprudence; and that the use of rational disputation is forbidden, even if in verifying the truth. Atharis oppose the use of metaphorical interpretation regarding the anthropomorphic descriptions and attributes of God (ta’wil) and do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Quran by using philosophical principles since they believe that their realities should be consigned to God and Muhammad alone (tafwid). In essence, they assert that the literal meaning of the Quran and the ḥadīth must be accepted without a “how” (i.e. “Bi-la kayfa”).

Athari theology emerged among hadith scholars who eventually coalesced into a movement called Ahl al-Ḥadīth under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855). In matters of faith, they were pitted against Mu’tazilites and other theological Islamic currents and condemned many points of their doctrine as well as the extreme philosophical methods they used.

Ashʿarism and Māturīdism is often called the Sunni creed. But the original Ahl al-Hadith, early Sunni creed after which Ash’arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it. In the modern era it has had a grand impact on Islamic theology.

wikipedia/en/Atharism

🧭 THREE ANGLES OF ANALYSIS:

1. Historical-Theological Classification:

• Ashʿarism and Māturīdism are systematic theological schools (madhāhib kalāmiyya) with structured principles (uṣūl) and formulated doctrines (masāʾil iʿtiqādiyyah), used as intellectual responses to the Muʿtazilites and other sects.

• Atharism (also called Salafī Creed by later adherents, or Ḥanbalī creed) is not a systematic theology but rather a methodological stance—a manhaj—that emphasizes:

  • affirming the Qur’an and Hadith bilā kayf (without asking “how”),

  • avoiding allegorical interpretation (ta’wīl),

  • and refraining from speculative theology (kalām).

2. Nature Of Atharism: Creed Vs Method:

• Atharism is better described as a traditionalist approach to theology, not a full-fledged scholastic school like the Ashʿarī or Māturīdī systems.

• It is grounded in the early teachings of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, but he never codified a complete theology like Imām al-Ashʿarī did.

• Later on, Hanbali theologians like Ibn Qudāmah, Ibn Bāṭṭah, and eventually Ibn Taymiyyah systematized some of its positions, but it still resisted formal theological structuring (taʿqīd).

3. Tawḥidic Ontology:

From a Tawḥidic epistemology, Atharism preserves a strong sense of taqdīs (transcendence) and taslīm (submission), which guards against the rationalist abstraction seen in kalām traditions. But it:

• does not offer the same detailed ontological framework for divine attributes, cosmology, or eschatology as the Ashʿarīs or Māturīdīs.

• resists theological philosophy (falsafah) and metaphysical synthesis, which leads to limited engagement with cross-disciplinary inquiry (e.g., epistemology, ethics, metaphysics).

• therefore, in the Tawḥidic paradigm, Atharism is more procedural than constructive—it doesn’t construct a full theology, but preserves revelation unaltered.

So, Atharism is not a systematic creed like Ashʿarism or Māturīdism, but a traditionalist methodology that rejects speculative theology and defers to the transmitted texts without elaboration.