Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the ...

124 Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History
theological thought but also Shi‘ite thought and Islamic philosophy.
Furthermore, they provided the theological atmosphere in which early
Islamic philosophy was developed.
AL-ASH‘ARĪ AND EARLY ASH‘ARISM
During the third/ninth century, following Ma˘m¨n’s policy of making
Mu‘tazilism compulsory and introducing a test of faith in these doctrines
(mi÷nah), a strong reaction set in against the “rationalist” kalåm
of the Mu‘tazilites. The strict followers of the ¡ad¥th and the jurisprudents
(fuqahå˘), especially the followers of Imam A±mad ibn ¡anbal,
opposed all rational proofs of the tenets of the faith. Muslims were
asked to accept the doctrines of the faith without asking how (bilå
kayfa), but this extreme reaction against the rationalist tendencies of
the Mu‘tazilite kalåm could not last indefinitely. The emphasis of the
Quran on the use of the intellect (al-‘aql) necessitated the creation of a
theology that would use rational arguments and be at the same time
orthodox and acceptable to the Islamic community at large. It was to
this task that Ab¨˘l-¡asan al-Ash‘ar¥ addressed himself, founding a
new theological school that became the most widespread in the Sunni
world. This school has come to be known in the West as that of orthodox
theology, although the term orthodox in Islam has levels and nuances
of meaning beyond the confines of Ash‘arism.
Ab¨˘l-¡asan al-Ash‘ar¥ was born in Basra around 260/873 and
died in Baghdad around 330/941. During his younger days, he was a
student of the famous Basrean Mu‘tazilite al-Jubbå˘¥, but at the age of
forty, possibly as the result of a dream of the Prophet, he turned
against Mu‘tazilite teachings and sought to return to the authentic
teachings of the Quran. He went to the mosque of Basra and stated:
He who knows me, knows who I am, and he who does not
know me, let him know that I am Ab¨˘l-¡asan al-Ash‘ar¥,
that I used to maintain that the Quran is created, that eyes
of men shall not see God, and that the creatures create their
actions. Lo! I repent that I have been a Mu‘tazilite. I renounce
these opinions and I take the engagement to refute
the Mu‘tazilites and expose their infancy and turpitude. 4
Following this public statement made at the age of forty, al-
Ash‘ar¥ set out to develop a theology that used reason in the defense
of the tenets of the faith and yet remained loyal to the dicta of revela-