Māturīdiyyah

Māturīdiyyah, Muslim orthodox school of theology named after its founder Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad al-Māturīdī (died 944). The Māturīdiyyah is similar in basic outlook to another orthodox school, that of al-Ashʿarī (died 935), the Ashʿariyyah, that has received more attention and praise as the champion of the true faith. The Māturīdiyyah claims more popularity in the area known historically as Transoxania, where it was founded.

The Māturīdī school is characterized by its reliance on the Qurʾān (Islamic scripture) without reasoning or free interpretation. Its members argued that since Muhammad himself had not used reason in this respect, it is an innovation (bidʿah) to do so, and every innovation is a heresy according to a well-known prophetic saying. The later Māturīdiyyah, however, acknowledged the possibility of fresh problems for which there was no precedent in either the Qurʾān or Hadīth (accounts of sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and modified this rigid rule, allowing for rational inferences when necessary.

The Māturīdiyyah entered the discussion of “compulsion” and “free will,” which was at its peak in theological circles at the time of its founding. They followed a doctrine similar to that of the Ashʿariyyah, emphasizing the absolute omnipotence of God and at the same time allowing man a minimum of freedom to act so that he may be justly punished or rewarded. In the later stages of its development, however, the Māturīdiyyah took an independent course and stated unequivocally that man has the utmost freedom to act, a point of view derived directly from many verses in the Qurʾān and the Hadīth.

The Māturīdiyyah differed also from the Ashʿariyyah on the question of the “assurance of salvation.” They held that a Muslim who sincerely performed his religious duties as prescribed by God in the Qurʾān, and as explained and taught by his prophet, is assured of a place in heaven. The Ashʿariyyah maintained that one is not saved unless God wills him to be saved, and that no one knows whether he is a believer or not, for only God can make such a decision.