Imam Abu al-Hasan alAshari and “al-Ibana”: authorship confirmation and dogmatic content
Abstract
In this article, the author explores the question of whether the book “al-Ibanah an usul al-diana” was written by Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari, one of the most prominent figures in Islamic kalam and theology. The goal of this article is to provide evidence of Ashariʼs authorship based on textual, historical, and stylistic considerations. The article begins by discussing the significance of Ashariʼs contributions to the development of Sunni dogma and provides a brief overview of his works. The main focus is on comparing the content of al-Ibanah with his other works, especially Makalat al-Islamiyyin and al-Lumaʼ fi ar-rad ‘ala ahl al-zayg wa-l-bidʼa. The similarity in wording and style demonstrates that the author of these works is the same person. The evidence of scholars such as al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Asakir, Ibn Qasir, and Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, who explicitly stated that al-Ibanah was authored by the same person, is presented.
Keywords:
ahl as-sunnah wal-jam‘ah, akida, Al-Ibanah, al-Luma, Imam Ashari, kalam, Makalat al-Islamiyyn
For citation
Medov A. A. Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari and “al-Ibana”: authorship confirmation and dogmatic content // Bulletin of the Bolgar Islamic Academy, 2025, no. 3 (11), рр. 79–87.
References
1. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari, al-Ibānah ʿan Uṣūl al-Diyānah / Еd. By N. Hammadi. 1st edition. 1447 AH / 2025 CE. (in Arabic)
2. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari, Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn wa Ikhtilāf al-Muṣallīn / Revised by H.Ritter. 3rd edition. Wiesbaden, 1400 AH / 1980 CE. (inArabic)
3. Abu al-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Baṣrī, then al-Dimashqī, Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyīn / Еd. by Ahmad ʿUmar Hāshim, Muhammad Zaynhum Muhammad ʿAzb. 1413 AH / 1993 CE. (in Arabic)
4. Abu al-Qāsim Ibn ʿAsākir al-Dimashqī, Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī fīmā Nusiba ilā al-Imām Abī al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī. 2nd edition. 1399 AH / 1979 CE. (in Arabic)
5. Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqī, al-Iʿtiqād wa al-Hidāyah ilā Sabīl al-Rashād ʿalā Madhhab al-Salaf wa Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth / Еd. by Ahmad ʿIṣām al-Kātib. 1st edition. Beirut, 1401 AH / 1981 CE. (in Arabic)
6. al-Qāḍī Abu Bakr al-Bāqillānī al-Mālikī, Tamhīd al-Awāʾil fī Talkhīṣ al-Dalāʾil / Еd. by ʿImād al-Dīn Ahmad Ḥaydar. 1st edition. Lebanon, 1407 AH / 1987 CE. (in Arabic)
2. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari, Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn wa Ikhtilāf al-Muṣallīn / Revised by H.Ritter. 3rd edition. Wiesbaden, 1400 AH / 1980 CE. (inArabic)
3. Abu al-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Baṣrī, then al-Dimashqī, Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyīn / Еd. by Ahmad ʿUmar Hāshim, Muhammad Zaynhum Muhammad ʿAzb. 1413 AH / 1993 CE. (in Arabic)
4. Abu al-Qāsim Ibn ʿAsākir al-Dimashqī, Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī fīmā Nusiba ilā al-Imām Abī al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī. 2nd edition. 1399 AH / 1979 CE. (in Arabic)
5. Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqī, al-Iʿtiqād wa al-Hidāyah ilā Sabīl al-Rashād ʿalā Madhhab al-Salaf wa Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth / Еd. by Ahmad ʿIṣām al-Kātib. 1st edition. Beirut, 1401 AH / 1981 CE. (in Arabic)
6. al-Qāḍī Abu Bakr al-Bāqillānī al-Mālikī, Tamhīd al-Awāʾil fī Talkhīṣ al-Dalāʾil / Еd. by ʿImād al-Dīn Ahmad Ḥaydar. 1st edition. Lebanon, 1407 AH / 1987 CE. (in Arabic)
