ULUM (Aug 2019)
The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period (PhD. Dissertation)
Abstract
In the historical process, the science of Kalām has become more interacted with the two disciplines. The first is philosophy and the other is Sufism. Its relationship with both disciplines has been a decisive factor in shaping the agenda and interest of the Kalām in favour of the disciplines in question. Therefore, when trying to determine the historical trajectory of Kalām science, it is necessary to consider its relationship and interaction with these disciplines. Here, taking into consideration the perspectives of Sufis and Sufis will provide a better holistic point of view on the concept of Ahl al-Sunna in order to understand the thought structures of both Ash’arī and Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām systems. In this context, the relationship between Ḥanafī- Māturīdī kalām system from the early periods to zuhd and Sufism has been important in terms of shedding light on modern times for the early periods.Because in the early stages of Islamic thought, a scholar had multiple qualities in a process where disciplines were not yet divided into sections, in modern times it is necessary to look at them from a holistic perspective without longing for a certain pattern of thought. In this context, the most victimized from the reductive and discriminatory point of view of modern times are Māturīdī and the thought structure devoted to it. On the one hand, while trying to get closer to the rationalism of Mu‘tazila through Kitāb al-Tawḥīd, on the one hand, al-Māturīdī and his thought structure were turned into a guarantee of the legitimacy of Sufism and Sufis. The point to be mentioned in particular is the distance between Sufism and Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theologians’ views on inspiration. Therefore he and his thought system have been sacrificed from the context of his time and sacrificed to construction activity in line with the needs of modern times. In this case, starting from Abū Ḥanīfa, it is necessary to look at the Holistic-Sufism relationship from a holistic point of view by evaluating the Ḥanafī-Mâtürîdî kalām system in its own time and context. Starting from the historical background and background of the issue, the study of Kalām and Sufism in terms of topics of interest leads us to different conclusions from the building activities of modern times.In these factors, the relationship between the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām system and Sufism in the early period (h. Ⅴ. Century) was tried to be evaluated in its own time and context. It should be noted that the aim of this study (The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period, PhD Thesis, Gaziantep University Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Basic Islamic Sciences, Gaziantep, Turkey, 2019) is not to introduce the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theologians, especially Abū Ḥanīfa and al-Māturīdī, to a Sufi-style as opposed to the rational identity assigned to them. On the contrary, by positioning the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām system somewhere in the middle of rational and mystical poles, it is to reveal its distance to both poles.In this context, our study consists of four chapters. In the first chapter, the common aspects of the theological and sufi movements which are present in the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī culture basin are tried to be put forward by referring to the historical background of the issue. However, no Sufi movement and formation have been considered as the equivalent and projection of the Ḥanafī- Māturīdī kalām system in Sufism. Anyway, evaluating both the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām system and any Sufi school as branches of the same mentality in different disciplines and the equivalent of each other does not benefit from repeating the misconceptions that have fallen into the perspective of modern times.In the second part, the issue has been cross-evaluated in terms of the subjects of interest of both disciplines in the context of theology and the most important subject of Sufism. In particular, in the subjects of Sufism, the competencies of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theologians, and especially their mastery of Sufism, have been emphasized. In the third chapter, the subjects of prophethood in which the relationship between theology and Sufism are put forward have been discussed in the context of sainthood, inspiration, ismah and dignity (al-Karamat). In this section, it is seen that the criticisms of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theological system are aimed more at Shiite-Bātınī thought than Sufism and sufi. In the fourth chapter, the most important subject of early theological science of esmâ and ahkâm issues have been evaluated in terms of kalām and Sufism and the social dimension of the issue has been tried to be put forward.In the conclusion part, it is emphasized that it is difficult to define the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām system as anti-Sufi or faraway from to Sufism, considering the mystical infrastructure and historical background of the region, although it is not engaged in a Sufi thought and lifestyle. In addition, the necessity of placing him in a conciliatory position in the middle of rational and mystical ends has been brought to the fore despite the pure rational role that was given to him in modern times.
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