The Differences between the Ashʿaris & Maturidis | Sh. Ibn Kamal Pasha & Sh. Saʿid Foudah

The Differences between the Ashʿaris & Maturidis is a concise study of the subtle theological differences between the two great schools of Sunni kalām: the Ashʿari and Maturidi traditions.

The original treatise was written by the eminent Ottoman scholar and Shaykh al-Islam Shams al-Din Ahmad ibn Sulayman Ibn Kamal Pasha (Kemalpaşazade). In it, he identifies twelve theological questions in which Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari and Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and their respective schools differed.

Rather than presenting the two traditions as opposing creeds, the work examines precise points of disagreement within the broader theological tradition of Ahl al-Sunna.

Twelve theological differences

Among the questions examined are:

* the Divine attribute of takwīn (creation)
* hearing the Speech of Allah
* the attribute of Divine Wisdom
* Allah’s pleasure in relation to obedience and disobedience
* human capacity and responsibility
* good and evil and the role of human reason
* the condition of the wretched and the felicitous
* the possibility of pardoning disbelief
* punishment and reward and the role of the intellect
* the relationship between the name, the named and the act of naming
* prophethood
* the actions of the Creator and the actions of creation

These discussions offer the reader an insight into how sophisticated classical Sunni theological discourse could become even where scholars shared the same fundamental framework of belief.

Commentary by Shaykh Saʿid Foudah

A particularly valuable feature of this edition is the commentary of contemporary theologian Shaykh Saʿid Foudah.

His commentary explains the background and causes of the disagreements and helps distinguish between different levels of theological disagreement. This makes Ibn Kamal Pasha’s concise original treatise considerably more accessible to the contemporary student.

The volume also contains an introduction to Ahl al-Sunna and its salient features, as well as a biography of Ibn Kamal Pasha.

Bilingual text

Another major advantage of this edition is the inclusion of the bilingual text of Ibn Kamal Pasha’s essay, making it particularly useful for students wishing to engage with the original Arabic alongside the English translation.

This is a compact book, but its subject matter is specialised. It is therefore especially valuable for readers who already possess some grounding in ʿaqidah and wish to progress into comparative Ashʿari-Maturidi theology and ʿilm al-kalām.

Recommended for students of:

* Ashʿari theology
* Maturidi theology
* ʿAqidah
* ʿIlm al-Kalām
* Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jamaʿa
* Ottoman Islamic scholarship
* comparative Sunni theology
* classical Islamic intellectual history

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Book details

Title: The Differences between the Ashʿaris & Maturidis
Original author: Imam Ibn Kamal Pasha
Full name: Shams al-Din Ahmad ibn Sulayman Ibn Kamal Pasha
Commentary: Shaykh Saʿid Foudah
Translator: Abdul Aziz Suraqah
Publisher: Sunni Publications
Place: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Edition: First Edition
Publication year: 2018
Language: English with bilingual Arabic-English source text
Subject: ʿAqidah / Islamic Theology / ʿIlm al-Kalām
Pages: 96
Binding: Paperback
Weight: 135 g
ISBN: 978-90-79294-2-99
ISBN-13: 9789079294299
Condition: New

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Nederlands

De verschillen tussen de Ashʿarīs en Māturīdīs

Een compacte maar inhoudelijk diepgaande studie over de klassieke theologische verschillen tussen de Ashʿarī- en Māturīdī-school, de twee belangrijkste kalāmtradities binnen Ahl al-Sunna.

De Ottomaanse Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Kamāl Pāshā behandelt twaalf specifieke verschilpunten, waaronder takwīn, de goddelijke eigenschappen, goed en kwaad, de rol van het verstand, menselijke verantwoordelijkheid en profeetschap.

De hedendaagse theoloog Shaykh Saʿid Foudah voorziet de verhandeling van commentaar en verduidelijkt de aard en het niveau van deze verschillen.

Een bijzonder nuttig studieboek voor studenten van ʿaqīdah en ʿilm al-kalām die zich verder willen verdiepen in de verhouding tussen de Ashʿarī- en Māturīdī-tradities.

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العربية

الاختلافات بين الأشاعرة والماتريدية

رسالة مختصرة للإمام ابن كمال باشا في بيان اثنتي عشرة مسألة وقع فيها الاختلاف بين مدرستي الإمام أبي الحسن الأشعري والإمام أبي منصور الماتريدي رحمهما الله.

تتناول الرسالة مسائل دقيقة في علم الكلام، منها التكوين، وصفات الله تعالى وأفعاله، والحسن والقبح، ودور العقل، وأفعال العباد، والنبوة.

وتتميز هذه الطبعة بتعليقات الشيخ سعيد فودة التي توضح أسباب هذه الاختلافات ومراتبها، مع النص العربي والترجمة الإنجليزية.

كتاب مهم للمتخصصين وطلاب العقيدة وعلم الكلام والمذهبين الأشعري والماتريدي.

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