Origins
The Prophetic lifetime used the term Muslim to define those who followed him. You were either a Muslim or you were not.
After the Prophet left this dunya, specifically after the demise of Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan, the religion became open to a myriad of not only innovations in religion but genuine new thoughts and ideas of real intellectual merit.
For example, the Mu‘tazila and Khawarij factions emerged, the transmission of Hellenistic philosophy into aspects of deen occurred, and classical Greek texts were translated into Arabic for intellectual advancement.
These new changes required Muslim scholars to adapt without compromising on what the Prophet passed down to the Salaf as-Saliheen.
Terminology
The term Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a was coined to defined those who followed the Quran, the Sunna, and the way of the early generation (salaf). As opposed to the people who follow innovation and heresy, coined as Ahl al-Sunna al-Ashā‘ira. This is not the same thing as the Ash’ari school!!!
The coining of these two groups occurred at a time where ostensibly ‘conflicting’ ideas were presented to the Arab Muslim populace arising out of Arab Muslim expansion into non-Arab lands, distilling knowledge and ideas of neighbouring civilizations, and faction groups propagating problematic heresies and innovations that went unanswered and unchecked.
Preservation
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar reports that the Prophet said:
Allah will never allow my Ummah to unite upon misguidance, Allah assistance is with the group and whomsoever deviates from the group will be cast into the fire.
(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 2167)
It is inconceivable that the majority of Muslims have erred with regards to their creed.
This hadith has been reported via several other chains, and parts of the above narration are also supported by various authentic hadiths recorded in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which have a similar meaning as the hadith in question. It is therefore declared as reliable.
(See Sunan ibn Majah and Misbahus Zujajah, Hadith: 3950, Al Mu’jamul Kabir, Hadith: 13623, Majma’uz Zawaid vol. 5 pg. 218, Mustadrak Hakim, vol. 1 pg. 115 and Al Maqasidul Hasanah, Hadith: 1288. Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 1367 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 949)
Clarity
Abdur-Rahman bin 'Amr As-Sulami that he heard Al-'Irbad bin Sariyah say:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivered a moving speech to us which made our eyes flow with tears and made our hearts melt. We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah. This is a speech of farewell. What did you enjoin upon us?’ He said: ‘I am leaving you upon a (path of) brightness whose night is like its day. No one will deviate from it after I am gone but one who is damned. Whoever among you lives will see great conflict. I urge you to adhere to what you know of my Sunnah and the path of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and cling stubbornly to it. And you must obey, even if (your leader is) an Abyssinian leader. For the true believer is like a camel with a ring in its nose; wherever it is driven, it complies.’
(Sunan Ibn Majah, 1:29:43)
Categories
The Hanbali scholar and Imam Sulayman al-Saffarini (1114 H.) writes about these distinctions during the post-Prophetic era and early expansion of Islam.
Al-Saffarini said Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a apply to only three schools of theology:
- The Ash‘aris
- The Maturidis
- The Atharis
In methodology of interpretation the Ash’ari and Maturidi can conincide on one side and the Athari are on their own side. The distinctions are worth their own note. The Ashari and Maturidi look into the similarities and minor differences between the two.
The lay Muslim may come to learn of these categories and find themselves unsure where their current beliefs fall under. Although it is of personal concern to one’s religious motives to understand one’s theological stances, it is more important that one’s faith and creedal beliefs are in agreement with one of the three schools.
Some separate the Ahl al-Tasawwuf as its own school of theology into a fourth group, but this is a misunderstanding. The people of tasawwuf do not have their own creedal system but follow one of three groups above. However, their angle, approach, and perspective to theology is different. Instead of focusing on rationalizing the existence of Allah, they focus on living and tasting the realities that is the existence of Allah.
Al-Hujwiri states:
Marifa of God is of two kinds: one is discursive (ilmi) and the other affective (hali).
(Kashf al-Mahjub. Islamic Theological Themes, A Primary Source Reader. Trans. by Renard, p. 421)
Ma’rifah from a tasawwuf perspective.
Sources
- “A Commentary Upon the Creed of Imam Al-Dardir” by Imam al-Dardir, translated by Siddiq Adam Mitha.
- Ahl al-Sunna - The Ashʿaris: The Testimony & Proofs of the Scholars. Sunni Publications, 1st, 2016. Abdul Aziz Suraqah (Translator).
- Kashf al-Mahjub. Islamic Theological Themes, A Primary Source Reader. Trans. by Renard
- Authenticity of Hadith: Allah will never unite my ummah upon misguidance.