Most likely, al-Ash'ari wrote this book following the Mu'tazili theologian Abu al-Qasim al-Balkhi [de] (d. 319/931) in his book with the same title (Maqalat al-Islamiyyin).[Note 1] Therefore, it was probably written during his Mu'tazili period and then modified;[5] thus it may incorporate parts which he wrote earlier when he was still a Mu'tazili.[2] However, according to al-Dhahabi (d.748/1348), this book was written in his last years, which indicates tolerance with Islamic sects, because Islam contains them.[6]
Content
Al-Ash'ari first gives an objective account of the views of the Muslim sects; then he gives the views of non-Muslim sects and of the philosophers; and finally he gives a critical discussion of the attributes and the names of God.[5]
It is in two parts, the first a short account of the historical origins of schism in Islam and a long patient listing of the major groups of his day, and the second a thematic tabulation of the various questions debated among Muslim intellectuals.[2]
Al-Ash'ari's Maqalat does not contain criticism to any notable degree. As its title indicates, all those who are included in the work are regarded as Muslims and 'those who pray', and so the work is a somewhat impartial survey rather than an appraisal of correct and incorrect doctrines. It serves as a handbook of theological views that might aid the reader in knowing what particular sects and individuals thought, and then what range of opinions was offered on the various questions debated within theology.[2]
Al-Ash'ari also composed a lost and little-known work, entitled Maqalat Ghayr al-Islamiyyin (The Teachings of Non-Muslims).[2]
^Al-Ash'ari refuted Abu al-Qasim al-Balkhi's work Awa'il al-Adilla in his Naqd Ta'wil al-Adilla 'alā al-Balkhi, where he attacked Mu'tazili theological principles as presented in al-Balkhi's work, 'Uyun al-Masa'il wa al-Jawābāt.[4]
See also
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