Others
31-444: Shahrastani may refer to: al-Shahrastani (1086–1153), Persian historian Shahrastani (horse) (1983–2011), Thoroughbred racehorse See also [ edit ] Al-Shahristani family Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Shahrastani . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
62-420: A Shafi’i in terms of law, as can be seen in his books, Al-Milal wa al-Nihal , and Nihayat al-Iqdam fi 'Ilm al-Kalam , a few of his contemporaries accused him of covertly being an Isma'ili , and modern scholars believe that he was actually an Isma’ili practicing taqiya , or dissimulation, based on statements throughout his writings that correspond strongly with Isma’ili mysticism and its central doctrine of
93-612: A "how" (modality) and without a meaning (meaning, he consigned the meaning to God), a practice known as tafwid . He also allowed another orthodox way of dealing with the ambiguous verses in the Qur'an called ta'wil (interpretation based on the Arabic language and revelation). A section of the people (i.e., the Zahirites and others) made capital out of their own ignorance; discussions and rational thinking about matters of faith became
124-417: A heavy burden for them, and, therefore, they became inclined to blind faith and blind following (taqlid). They condemned those who tried to rationalize the principles of religion as ' innovators '. They considered discussion about motion , rest , body , accident , colour , space , atom , the leaping of atoms, and Attributes of God , to be an innovation and a sin . They said that had such discussions been
155-576: A method that combined reason and revelation. This is in contrast to the assertion by some Ash'arites that those who believe without thinking ( muqallidoon ) cannot be true believers. This view indicates that believing in religion without using reason and thought is considered invalid according to them. The later period some Ash'arites prioritized reason and relegated revelation to a secondary position, stating that revelation could never contradict reason. Examples of these include al-Juwayni , al-Ghazali, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and Qadi Baydawi . The majority of
186-592: A monumental work, which presents the doctrinal points of view of all the religions and philosophies which existed up to his time. The book was one of the earliest systematic studies of religion , and is noted for its non-polemical style and scientific approach. A French translation of the book by Gimaret, Monnot and Jolivet was sponsored by UNESCO ( Livre des religions et des sectes. Peeters: 1986, 1993). Al-Shahrastani's philosophical and theological thoughts manifested in his other major works, which include: Although self-identified as an Ash'ari in terms of theology and
217-479: A secret, but it was revealed by his student Al-Sam'ani. His works include a Quranic commentary that is infused with Isma’ili terminology, in which he hinted at his conversion by a "pious servant of God" who taught him how to find the esoteric ( batin ) meaning of the Quran. In his Kitab Al-musara'ah (Book of the wrestling match), al-Shahrastani criticizes Avicenna's belief that God is the involuntary necessitating cause of
248-493: Is one of the three main schools alongside Maturidism . 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
279-516: The Imamate . Al-Shahrastani was amongst those attracted by the "new preaching" (da'wah jadidah) which Hasan-i Sabbāh , the Isma'ili da'i and founder of the medieval Nizari Isma'ili state , initiated. This preaching sought to spread the idea that humanity is always in need of infallible and divine teaching, which can only be provided by a divinely appointed guide. Al-Shahrastani tried to keep this
310-475: The muthbita ("those who make firm") by the Muʿtazilites. Two popular sources for Ash'ari creeds are Maqalat al-Islamiyyin and Ibana'an Usul al-Diyana . Ashʿarites also hold beliefs about God's attributes that are unique to them, such as: The Ashʿarī school of Islamic theology holds that: Ashʿarites further affirm that Muslims beliefs include: It is said that in the early period, Ash'arites followed
341-577: The 12th century onwards. Theologians such as al-Taftāzānī and al-Jurjānī argued that the Islamic sacred scriptures (the Quran and the ḥadīth ) "must be proven to be true by rational arguments" before being "accepted as the basis of the religion". Educated Muslims "must be convinced on the basis of rational arguments". A series of rational proofs were developed by these Ashʿarite theologians, including proofs for "the following doctrines or propositions": The medieval Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah criticised
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#1732783058908372-767: 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
403-467: The Ash'ari school included al-Biruni , Ibn al-Haytham , Ibn al-Nafis , Ibn Battuta , and Ibn Khaldun . Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in Basra , Iraq , and was a descendant of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī , which belonged to the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions ( ṣaḥāba ). As a young man he studied under al-Jubba'i , a renowned teacher of Muʿtazilite theology and philosophy . He
434-731: The Ash'arites went further, stating that only reason provides certain knowledge, while revelation is merely a matter of conjecture and cannot provide knowledge or certainty. Because of these views, they were criticized by the Salafis. Contrary to this, some within the school, such as al-Taftazani , have sometimes stated that revelation also represents knowledge, while Ibn al-Tilimsanī criticized al-Razī, asking what grounds legal rulings if all revelation were mere conjecture, stating that revelation cannot entirely be based on conjecture. Nicholas Heer writes that later Ashʿarite theologians "increasingly attempted to rationalize Islamic doctrine" from about
465-530: The Ashʿarite view was that comprehension of the unique nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability. The solution proposed by al-Ashʿarī to solve the problems of tashbih and ta'til concedes that the Supreme Being possesses in a real sense the divine attributes and names mentioned in the Quran. In so far as these names and attributes have a positive reality, they are distinct from
496-696: The Ashʿarī theology and its biggest defender, al-Ghazali , was too literal and responsible for the decline of Islamic science starting in the 10th century. Sachau stated that the two clerics were the only obstacle to the Muslim world becoming a nation of " Galileos , Keplers , and Newtons ". Ziauddin Sardar states that some of the greatest Muslim scientists of the Islamic Golden Age , such as Ibn al-Haytham and Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī , who were pioneers of
527-415: The Ashʿarī theology as (in the words of one historian, Jonathan A. C. Brown ) "a Greek solution to Greek problems" that should "never" have concerned Muslims. Both Ibn Taymiyyah and Shah Waliullah Dehlawi rejected the lack of literalism in Ashʿarī "speculative theology" and advocated "literal acceptance of God's description of Himself". In contrast, German orientalist scholar Eduard Sachau affirms that
558-528: The Creator (may he be exalted) is one substance ( jawhar ), meaning by this what is self-subsistent ( al-qa'im bi-n-nafs ), not (what is characterized by) spatial location and physical magnitude; and he is one in substantiality, three in hypostaticity ( uqnumiyya ). By the hypostases they mean the attributes ( sifat ), such as existence, life and knowledge, and the father, the son and the holy spirit ( ruh al-qudus ). The (hypostasis of) knowledge clothes itself and
589-447: The chancellery for Sanjar , the Saljūq ruler of Khurāsān . At the end of his life, al-Shahrastānī went back to live in his native town, where he died in the year 1153. Al-Shahrastani distinguished himself by his desire to describe in the most objective way the universal religious history of humanity. This is reflected in his Kitab al-Milal wa al-Nihal (The Book of Sects and Creeds),
620-456: The essence, but nevertheless they don't have either existence or reality apart from it. The inspiration of al-Ashʿarī in this matter was on the one hand to distinguish essence and attribute as concepts, and on the other hand to see that the duality between essence and attribute should be situated not on the quantitative but on the qualitative level—something which Muʿtazilite thinking had failed to grasp. Ashʿarite theologians were referred to as
651-557: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shahrastani&oldid=1183256261 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Al-Shahrastani Tāj al-Dīn Abū al-Fath Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Karīm ash-Shahrastānī ( Arabic : تاج الدين أبو الفتح محمد بن عبد الكريم الشهرستاني ; 1086–1153 CE ), also known as Muhammad al-Shahrastānī ,
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#1732783058908682-599: The main school of early Islamic philosophy whereby it was initially based on the foundations laid down by al-Ashʿarī, who founded the Ashʿarite school in the 10th century based on the methodology taught to him by the Kullabi movement that used rational argumentation to defend Sunni creed. However, the Ashʿarite school underwent many developments throughout history, resulting in the term Ashʿarī being extremely broad in its modern usage (e.g., differences between Ibn Furak (d. AH 406) and al-Bayhaqi (d. AH 384)). For example,
713-558: The right thing, the Prophet and his Companions would have definitely done so; they further pointed out that the Prophet, before his death, discussed and fully explained all those matters which were necessary from the religious point of view, leaving none of them to be discussed by his followers; and since he did not discuss the problems mentioned above, it was evident that to discuss them must be regarded as an innovation. Ashʿarism became
744-548: The town of Shahristān, ( Khorasan , province of Persia) where he acquired his early traditional education. Later, he was sent to Nīshāpūr where he studied under different masters who were all disciples of the Ash`ari theologian al-Juwaynī (d. 1085). At the age of thirty, al-Shahrastānī went to Baghdad to pursue theological studies and taught for three years at the prestigious Ash`ari school, al-Nizāmiyya . Afterwards, he returned to Persia where he worked as Nā’ib (Deputy) of
775-460: The views of the rival Muʿtazilite school , he was also opposed to the view which rejected all debate , held by certain schools such as the Zahiri ("literalist"), Mujassimite ( anthropotheist ), schools for their over-emphasis on taqlid (imitation) in his Istihsan al‑Khaud : But instead, Imam Al-Ash'ari affirmed the ambiguous verses in the Qur'an (such as those about the hand and eyes) without
806-624: The world, and he also provides support for the Ismaili thesis that God is beyond being and nonbeing. In Kitab al-Milal wa al-Nihal , al-Shahrastani records a portrayal of Christianity very close to the orthodox tenets while continuing the Islamic narrative: “The Christians. (They are) the community ( umma ) of the Christ, Jesus , son of Mary (peace upon him). He it is who was truly sent (as prophet; mab'uth ) after Moses (peace upon him), and who
837-399: Was an influential Persian historian of religions, a historiographer , Islamic scholar , philosopher and theologian. His book, Kitab al–Milal wa al-Nihal (lit. The Book of Sects and Creeds ) was one of the pioneers in developing an objective and philosophical approach to the study of religions . Very few things are known about al-Shahrastānī's life. He was born in 1086 CE A.H. , in
868-518: Was announced in the Torah. To him were (granted) manifest signs and notable evidences, such as the reviving of the dead and the curing of the blind and the leper. His very nature and innate disposition ( fitra ) are a perfect sign of his truthfulness; that is, his coming without previous seed and his speaking without prior teaching. For all the (other) prophets the arrival of their revelation was at (the age of) forty years, but revelation came to him when he
899-568: Was incarnated, but not the other hypostases." Ash%27ari In terms of Ihsan : Ash'arism ( / æ ʃ ə ˈ r iː / ; 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
930-486: Was made to speak in the cradle, and revelation came to him when he conveyed (the divine message) at (the age of) thirty. The duration of his (prophetic) mission ( da'wa ) was three years and three months and three days." Al-Shahrastani also explains the differences between Christians in Kitab al-Milal wa al-Nihal regarding the incarnation ( tajassud ): "They affirmed that God has three hypostases ( aqanim ). They said that
961-441: Was noted for his teachings on atomism , among the earliest Islamic philosophies , and for al-Ashʿarī this was the basis for propagating the view that God created every moment in time and every particle of matter . He nonetheless believed in free will and predestination, elaborating the thoughts of Dirar ibn 'Amr and Abu Hanifa into a "dual agent" or "acquisition" ( iktisab ) account of free will. While Al-Ashʿarī opposed