Atharism
Atharism is a school of theology in Sunni Islam which developed from circles of the, a group that rejected rationalistic theology in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the Quran and the hadith.
Adherents of Athari theology believe the meaning of the Quran and the hadith are the sole authorities in matters of and Islamic jurisprudence; and that the use of rational disputation is forbidden, even if in verifying the truth. Atharis oppose the use of metaphorical interpretation regarding the anthropomorphic descriptions and attributes of God and do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Quran by using philosophical principles since they believe that their realities should be consigned to God and Muhammad alone. In essence, they assert that the literal meaning of the Quran and the ḥadīth must be accepted without a "how".
Athari theology emerged among hadith scholars who eventually coalesced into a movement called Ahl al-Ḥadīth under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. In matters of faith, they were pitted against Mu'tazilites and other theological Islamic currents and condemned many points of their doctrine as well as the philosophical methods they used. Atharism is the school of theology used by Hanbalis.
Terminology
Several terms are used to refer to Athari theology or Atharism. They are used inconsistently, and some of them have been subject to criticism.The designation Traditionalist Theology is derived from the word "tradition" in its technical meaning as translation of the Arabic term ḥadīth. This term is found in a number of reference works. It has been criticized by Marshall Hodgson for its potential for confusion between the technical and common meanings of the word "tradition". Oliver Leaman also cautions against misinterpreting the terms "traditionalists" and "rationalists" as implying that the former favored irrationality or that the latter did not use the ḥadīth. Some authors reject the use of these terms as labels for groups of scholars and prefer to speak of "traditionalist" and "rationalist" tendencies instead. Racha el Omari has applied the designation traditionalist theology in a way that includes both Ashʿarism and Māturīdism.
Athari is another term that has been used for traditionalist theology. The term Traditionism has also been used in the same sense, although Binyamin Abrahamov reserves the term "traditionists" for scholars of the Hadith, distinguishing it from traditionalism as a theological current. The term "Ahl al-Ḥadīth" is used by some authors in the same sense as Athari, while others restrict it to the early stages of this movement, or use it in a broader sense to denote particular enthusiasm towards the ḥadīth literature.
Since the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars in the Hanbali school of jurisprudence has adhered to the Athari creed, many sources refer to it as "Hanbali theology", although Western scholars of Islamic studies remark that it would be incorrect to consider Atharism and Hanbalism as synonymous, since there have been Hanbalite scholars who have explicitly rejected and opposed the Athari theology. However, others note that some Shafiʽi scholars also belonged to this theological school, while some Hanbalites in law adopted a more rationalist school in theology. Moreover, extreme forms of traditionalism had not been confined within Hanbalism, and is also part of Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanafi schools. Some authors refer to traditionalist theology as "classical Salafism" or "classic Salafiyyah". Henri Lauzière has argued that, while the majority Hanbali creed was sometimes identified as "Salafi" in classical-era sources, using the corresponding nouns in this context is anachronistic.
It is also known as Traditionalist theology or Scripturalist theology. it emerged as a school of theology in the late 8th century CE from the scholarly circles of Ahl al-Hadith, an early Islamic religious movement that rejected the formulation of Islamic doctrine derived from rationalistic Islamic theology in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the Quran and the ḥadīth. The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as a translation of the Arabic word athar. Its adherents are referred to by several names such as "Ahl al-Athar", "Ahl al-Hadith", etc.
History
Origins
and jurists theorized that the companion Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was one of the earliest traditionalist and textualist scholars who influenced later Athari scholasticism. Zubair's method of proto-textualism precedently influenced the scholars of Ahl al-Ḥadīth. This was characterized by their approach to literal adherence to the texts of the Quran and ḥadīth, while largely rejecting the Qiyas methodology of Ahl al-Ra'y. This strict view expressed by az-Zubayr regarding the exegetical interpretation of the Quran was recorded in his primary biographies compiled by Islamic scholars. These include the statements of az-Zubayr such as his advice to one of his children to never argue about the text of the Quran with logic. According to az-Zubayr, the interpretations of the Quran should be strictly bound with the traditional understanding of the ḥadīth and sunnah. Such anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic, and ḥadīth-oriented views were also shared by many influential scholars in history that reached the rank of mujtahid mūtlaq such as the Shafiʽite scholar Ibn Kathir, Hanbalite scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Hazm, Bukhari-independent school, and also scholars from the Jariri and Zahiri schools.Another companion who was known to hold this textualist stance was 'Abdullah ibn Umar. When enquired by a group of his Tabi'in disciples regarding his views on the Qadariyah, Ibn 'Umar responded with subtle takfīr towards the Qadariyah for their rejection of qadar. He also condemned their usage of analogical method. According to contemporary scholars, the reason for the condemnation of the Qadariyah by Ibn 'Umar was the similarity between their doctrines and those of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism due to their respective dualistic cosmologies, which are in line with one ḥadīth that recites: "Qadariyah were Magi of this Ummah".
Another notable early Atharist is Amir al-Sha'bi, who unlike his colleague Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, who relied primarily on Qiyas in his scholastic method, al-Shaʿbī strongly relied primarily on scriptural traditions. He also tried to convince other scholars that Qiyās was not a valid argument. Al-Sha'bi was recorded to have said: "Beware of Qiyās. For when you use it, you make what is halal to be haram and what is haram to be halal."
Formation
Atharism materialized as a formal distinct school of thought towards the end of the 8th century CE among Muslim scholars of the ḥadīth who held the Quran and the authentic ḥadīth to be the only acceptable sources in matters of law and creed. Alongside Malik ibn Anas, Islamic scholar Ibn Idris al-Shafi'i is widely regarded among the earliest leaders of the Athari school. In the debates between rationalists and the traditionalists, al-Shafi'i was able to successfully uphold the superiority of the ḥadīth over other devices as the source of theological knowledge and Quranic interpretation. From this school would emerge a vigorous traditionalist movement against the Ahl al-Ra'y and its various manifestations. The doctrines of these early Shafi'ite theologians would be revived in the treatises of later Hanbali scholars.At first these scholars formed minorities within existing religious study circles, but by the early 9th century CE they coalesced into a separate traditionalist scholastic movement, commonly called Ahl al-Ḥadīth, under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Another major leader of the traditionalist camp during this era was Dawud ibn Khalaf, the founder of the Zahirite school. Under the leadership of these two scholars, the Atharite camp gained ascendancy. In legal matters, these traditionalists criticized the use of personal opinion common among the Hanafite jurists of Iraq as well as the reliance on living local traditions by Malikite jurists of Medina. They emphasised the superiority of Scriptural proofs, denouncing the role of Aql and also rejected methods of jurisprudence not based on literal reading of scriptures. Unlike mainstream traditionalists, Dawud would go as far as to declare all forms of Qiyas to be completely invalid. In matters of faith, traditionalists were pitted against Mu'tazilites and other theological currents, condemning many points of their doctrines as well as the rationalistic methods they used in defending them.
Traditionalists were also characterized by their avoidance of all state patronage and by their social activism. They attempted to follow the injunction of "commanding good and forbidding evil" by preaching asceticism and launching vigilante attacks to break wine bottles, musical instruments and chessboards. In 833, the caliph al-Ma'mun tried to impose Mu'tazilite theology on all religious scholars and instituted an inquisition which required them to accept the Mu'tazilite doctrine that the Quran was created and therefore not co-eternal with God, which implicitly made it subject to interpretation by caliphs and scholars. Ibn Hanbal led traditionalist resistance to this policy, affirming under torture that the Quran was uncreated and hence co-eternal with God. Although Mu'tazilism remained state doctrine until 851, the efforts to impose it only served to politicize and harden the theological controversy. The failure of the Mihna campaign symbolised the total defeat of the Mu'tazilites and the doctrinal triumph of the persecuted traditionalists, who had gained popular support. Apart from the universal condemnation of the doctrine of Qur'anic createdness; Aql was denied any independent role in religious interpretations and driven compliant to Wahy in Sunni hermeneutical paradigm.