Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (; 874–936 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of kalam in Sunnism.

Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically opposed schools of Islamic theology prevalent at the time: Atharism and Mu'tazilism.

Al-Ash'ari established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on theological rationalism (kalam) and the interpretation of the Quran and Sunna. His school eventually became the predominant school of theological thought within Sunni Islam. By contrast, Shia Muslims do not accept his theological beliefs, as his works also involved refuting Shia Islam.

Biography A depiction of Baghdad from 1808, taken from the print collection in Travels in Asia and Africa, etc. (ed. J. P. Berjew, British Library); al-Ashʿarī spent his entire life in the tenth-century in this city. Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī was born in Basra, Iraq, and was a descendant of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī, who 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.

According to the traditional account, al-Ashʿarī remained a Muʿtazilite theologian until his 40th year, when he allegedly saw the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his dreams three times during the month of Ramaḍān. The first time, Muhammad told him to support what was narrated from himself, that is, the prophetic traditions (ḥadīth). Al-Ashʿarī became worried, as he had numerous strong proofs contradictory to the prophetic traditions. After 10 days, he saw Muhammad again: Muhammad reiterated that he should support the ḥadīth. al-Ash'ari formulated the theology of Sunni Islam through Kalam and the usage of the Qur'an and Sunnah, following in the footsteps of Ibn Kullab and confirming the methods of other traditionalists such as Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal a century earlier. He was followed in this by a large number of distinguished scholars of Sunni Islam, many of whom belonged to the Shafi'i school of law. The most famous of these are , al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni, al-Nawawi, al-Ghazali and al-Razi. Thus Al-Ash'ari's school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah.

Al-Ash'ari spent much of his works opposing the views of the Muʿtazila school. In particular, he rebutted them for believing that the Qur'an was created and that deeds are done by people of their own accord through their direct creation of them.

Legacy The 18th century Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah stated: A Mujadid appears at the end of every century: The Mujadid of the first century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz. The Mujadid of the second century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Muhammad Idrees Shaafi. The Mujadid of the third century was the Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari. The Mujadid of the fourth century was Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri.

Earlier major scholars also held positive views of al-Ash'ari and his efforts, among them Qadi Iyad and Taj al-Din al-Subki.

According to scholar Jonathan A.C. Brown, although "the Ash'ari school of theology is often called the Sunni 'orthodoxy,' "the original Ahl al-Hadith, early Sunni creed from which Ash'arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it as a rival Sunni 'orthodoxy' as well." According to Brown this competing orthodoxy exists in the form of the "Hanbali über-Sunni orthodoxy".

Works The Ash'ari scholar Ibn Furak numbers Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari's works at 300, and the biographer Ibn Khallikan at 55; Ibn Asāker gives the titles of 93 of them, but only a handful of these works, in the fields of heresiography and theology, have survived. The five main ones are: Istihsan al-Khawd fi 'Ilm al-Kalam (Treatise on the Appropriateness of Inquiry in the Science of Kalam) Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (The Treatises/Teachings of the Muslims and the Differences of the Prayerful/Worshippers), an encyclopaedia of deviated Islamic sects. It comprises not only an account of the Islamic sects but also an examination of problems in kalām, or scholastic theology, and the Names and Attributes of Allah; the greater part of this works seems to have been completed before his conversion from the Muʿtaziltes. Al-Luma''' Al-Luma' fi al-Radd 'ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Bida' (The Gleams/Illuminations on the Refutation of the People of Deviation/Perversity and Heresies), a slim volume. Al-Luma' al-Kabir (The Major Book of Sparks), a preliminary to Idah al-Burhan and, together with the Luma' al-Saghir, the last work composed by al-Ash'ari according to Shaykh 'Isa al-Humyari. Al-Luma' al-Saghir (The Minor Book of Sparks), a preliminary to al-Luma' al-Kabir. Al-Ibana 'an Usul al-Diyana (The Elucidation of the Fundamentals of Religion), though the authenticity of this book has been disputed by several scholars. ''