As far as I understand, Ahlus-Sunnah are the Ashaa‘irah who are represented by the Maalikis and the Shaafi‘is, while the Maatureediyyah are represented by the Hanafis, and the Salafis are represented by the Hanbalis. Is this correct? Does this mean that both the Shaafi‘is and the Maalikis are scholastic theologians?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The term Ahlus-Sunnah is used to denote two different meanings, a general and a specific meaning. The general meaning is the opposite of the Shiites. In this sense, other sects that are related to Islam, such as the Ashaa‘irah and the Maatureediyyah, are counted as being from Ahlus-Sunnah. Thereupon, in this context it is correct to divide Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites. Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that the term Ahlus-Sunnah refers to whoever acknowledges the three rightly-guided caliphs; Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan . Accordingly, all sects, except the Raafidhah who are the Shiites, are counted as being from Ahlus-Sunnah.

The specific meaning of Ahlus-Sunnah is the antonym of the disbelieving innovators, like the Shiites as well as the Khawaarij, the Jahmiyyah, the Mu‘tazilah, the Murji’ah, the Ashaa‘irah, the Maatureediyyah and others. According to the specific meaning of the term, none of these groups belongs to Ahlus-Sunnah.

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah further explained that the term Ahlus-Sunnah may refer to the people of Hadeeth who adhere to the authentic Sunnah. Accordingly, this only includes those who acknowledge all the attributes of Allaah The Almighty and believe that the Quran is not created, and that Allaah The Almighty will be seen in the Hereafter. They also believe in fate and in other basic rules that are adopted by the followers of the Sunnah and Hadeeth.

Some of the basic fundamentals of the Ashaa‘irah and the Maatureediyyah that contradict the methodology of the righteous predecessors, Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa‘ah (the Sunni mainstream), are:

1- According to them the mind is the primary source of receiving and proving Sharee'ah rulings. Their leaders stated that logical proof is given priority over the textual proof of the Quran and Sunnah. However, the righteous predecessors gave priority to textual proof over logic and they believe that revelation is the source of receiving and proving Sharee'ah rulings.

2- According to them, Tawheed means negating the existence of more than one creator and negating the fact that Allaah The Almighty is formed of many parts or persons. They pay no attention to Tawheed as opposed to Shirk (polytheism) in the sense that was understood by the righteous predecessors.

3- According to them, faith means belief, and they hold different opinions regarding the utterance of the Two Testimonies of Faith. On the other hand, faith, according to the righteous predecessors, is comprised of belief, words, and actions.

4- They differentiated between the wording of the Quran and its meaning saying that its meaning is eternal and uncreated, whereas, its wording is created. Furthermore, they innovated what is called the self-speech of Allaah. This contradicts the creed of Ahlus-Sunnah who believe that the Quran is the speech of Allaah The Almighty, both in wording and meaning.

5- The Ashaa‘irah’s belief in divine decree and fate is almost like that of the Jabriyyah, which states that man has not been endowed with free will to choose his actions. This contradicts the belief of the righteous predecessors.

6- According to them, whoever states that fire burns in and of itself or that it is the cause of burning is a disbeliever. This is also contradictory to the belief of the righteous predecessors.

7- According to the Ashaa‘irah, exalting Allaah The Almighty implies that none of His actions has to be dependent on a wise reason. This contradicts the belief of the righteous predecessors.

8- They changed the meanings of the Sharee'ah texts that are related to faith, especially those affirming that one’s faith may increase or decrease. They also stripped the meanings of the verses referring to the Attributes of Allaah The Almighty and negated all the attributes of Allaah except seven, whereas, the Maatureediyyah acknowledged only eight.

These examples highlight that the Ashaa‘irah and the Maatureediyyah contradict the methodology of Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa‘ah.

If we count the points of difference between the Ashaa‘irah and the Maatureediyyah themselves, we will find that there are more than sixty, all of which are related to matters of creed and detailed issues. Then, how can we say that they belong to Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa‘ah? Moreover, the Ashaa‘irah themselves contradicted their leader Al-Ash‘ari and he refuted their claims in his famous books like Al-Ibaanah.

The classification that was mentioned by the questioner indicating that the Ashaa‘irah are represented by the Maalikis and the Shaafi‘is, the Maatureediyyah are represented by the Hanafis, and the Salaf are represented by the Hanbalis, is inaccurate. It may only have been true and applicable to the later generations from the Maaliki, Shaafi‘i and Hanafi scholars, but the early scholars of these schools adopted the beliefs of the righteous predecessors.

The Maalikis, Shaafi‘is, Hanbalis and Hanafis are the followers of the four famous Imaams. Some of them agreed with their Imaam in jurisprudence and creed, whereas, others deviated from the right path and followed other sects that contradict Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa‘ah. The following is an example of this:

Imaam Ash-Shaafi‘i mentioned that he and his companions, whom he saw and learnt from, like Sufyaan, Maalik and others believed that it is necessary for a Muslim to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah The Almighty and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam , is His Slave and Messenger, and that Allaah The Almighty is above His Throne above the Heaven and, that He draws nearer to His slaves in the way He wills and that He descends to the lowest Heaven.

Try to ponder, dear reader, on the words of Ash-Shaafi‘i and what he learnt from Maalik . He acknowledged the fact that Allaah The Almighty is above His Throne as well as acknowledging the attributes of Allaah The Almighty that are related to closeness and descending without mentioning how. Therefore, he is not like those Ashaa‘irah who follow the Shaafi‘i School of jurisprudence but at the same time negate that Allaah The Almighty is above His Throne and interpret Istiwaa’ as meaning to hold authority. They also strip the attributes of divine actions, such as drawing near and descending, of their real meanings and give them other meanings that are not the true meanings intended for them in Sharee'ah.

Imaam Al-Asbahaani mentioned that the evidence that proves that Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa‘ah is the correct group, is that when you read all their books, both old and recent, you will find that they follow the same methodology when explaining creed. They use the same words and quotations as if such books were written by one man only, when in fact they were written by different scholars who lived in different places and ages and, of course, there can be no stronger proof than this.

Allaah Knows best.