Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari
Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari (Arabic: أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ, romanized: Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī; 874–936 CE) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist of the Shafi'i school, exegete, reformer, and scholastic theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of Islamic theology.
Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari | |
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أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ | |
| Title |
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| Personal | |
| Born | 874 CE (260 AH) Basra, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | 936 CE (324 AH; aged 62–63) Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Religion | Islam |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era) |
| Region | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| School | Shafi'i |
| Main interest(s) | |
| Notable idea(s) | Ash'arism |
| Notable work(s) |
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| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | ʿAlī عَلِيّ |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | Ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq ٱبْن إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | Abū al-Ḥasan أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | Al-Ashʿarī ٱلْأَشْعَرِيّ |
| Muslim leader | |
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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. He primarily opposed the Mu'tazili theologians who advocated the use of rationalism in theological debate and believed the Quran was created, as opposed to uncreated. On the other hand, the Hanbalis and traditionists were opposed to the use of philosophy or speculative theology, and condemned any theological debate altogether.
Al-Ash'ari established a middle way between the doctrines of the aforementioned schools, based both on reliance on the sacred scriptures of Islam and theological rationalism concerning free will and attributes of God. 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.