Atharis or Ahl al-Hadith are those who adhere to the creed of Atharitheology,[1] which originated in the 8th century CE from the Hanbali scholarly circles of Ahl al-Hadith. The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as a translation of the Arabic word "Athar".[2] The Athari school is one of three schools of doctrine in Islam alongside the Ash'ari creed and the Maturidi creed. Atharis are against the usage of metaphorical interpretation[3] such as regarding the revealed attributes of God, and they do not make attempts to conceptualize the meanings of the Quran in a rational manner.[4]
The Atharis became affiliated with the Hanbalis[5] throughout the years as their doctrine originated from there, but they are also affiliated with Wahhabism[6] and the Salafi movement.[6]
^Williams, Wesley (August 2002). "Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 34 (3). Cambridge University Press: 441–463. doi:10.1017/S0020743802003021. JSTOR3879671. S2CID162455371. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-05 – via JSTOR. Scholars are almost unanimous in attributing to Ibn Hanbal the use of the ancient balkafa formula. Goldziher, Wensinck, Halkin, Laoust, Makdisi, Abrahamov, and Watt all find in the Imam an advocate of this mediating principle (balkafa), which reportedly allowed the traditionalists to deny the Mu'tazilite ta'wil or figurative interpretation of the Qur'anic anthropomorphisms while concomitantly affirming the doctrine of the "incorporeal, transcendent deity"... although he argued for the acceptance of the literal meaning of the Qur'anic and prophetic statements about God, he was no fideist.' The imam was quite willing to engage in hermeneutical exercise.. The rise of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal during the Mihna resulted in the empowering and centering of corporealist ideas within the Sunni movement. When his ideas became the criterion of traditionalist orthodoxy..
^Krawietz, Birgit; Tamer, Georges; Holtzman, Livnatz (2013). "Debating the Doctrine of jabr (Compulsion): Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya Reads Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī". Islamic Theology, Philosophy and Law: Debating Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Berlin, Germany: Walter De Gruyter. p. 63. ISBN978-3-11-028534-5. The prominent traditionalists, such as Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī (d.157/774) and Ahmad b. Ḥanbal (d.241/855)..
^Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 36.
^S. Islam, Adem Eryiğit, Jaan, Adem (2022). "5: The Compiled Fatwas, the Prophetic Way against the Shiʿites, and "Islamic Governance" on the Importance of Islamic Government". Islam and the State in Ibn Taymiyya: Translation and Analysis. 605 Third Avenue, New York, USA: Routledge. p. 182. ISBN978-1-032-13183-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Spevack, Aaron (2014). The Archetypal Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri. State University of New York Press. p. 45. ISBN978-1-4384-5370-5.
^Makdisi, ', American Journal of Arabic Studies 1, part 1 (1973), pp. 118–28
^Spevack, Aaron (2014). The Archetypal Sunni: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri. State University of New York Press. p. 91. ISBN978-1438453712.
^Spevack, Aaron (2014). The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri. State University of New York Press. p. 49. ISBN978-1-4384-5370-5.
^El Shamsy, Ahmed (2013). "Chapter 8: Canonization beyond the Shafi'i School". The Canonization of Islamic Law: A Social and Intellectual History. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 197. ISBN978-1-107-04148-6. Al-Buwayti... enjoyed the trust of traditionalist scholars such as Abu Dawud al-Sijistani and al-Humaydı as well as Ahmad b. Hanbal himself..
^Melchert, Christopher (1997). "Chapter 8: The Maliki School". The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. pp. 165–166. ISBN90-04-10952-8. the later Iraqi traditionalist Abu Dawud says not only that he was weak..
^Najm al-Din Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Hanbali (1424). Nihayat al-Mubtadi'een (in Arabic) (Maktabat al-Rushd ed.). Nasir ibn Sa'ud ibn Abd Allah al-Salamah. p. 31.
^Schmidtke, Sabine; Abrahamov, Binyamin (2014). "Scripturalist and Traditionalist Theology". The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 276. ISBN978-0-19-969670-3.
^Abrahamov, Binyamin (1998). "Chapter 1: The Foundations of Traditionalism". Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 2. ISBN0-7486-1102-9.
^Namira Nahouza (April 2009). "Chapter 3: Contemporary perceptions of the Salaf- the Wahhabi case". Contemporary Wahhabism rebranded as Salafism: the issue of interpreting the Qur'anic verses and hadith on the Attributes of God and its significance. University of Exeter. p. 97.
^Shah, Muhammad, Mustafa, Muhammad; Pink, Johanna (2020). "55:Classical Qur'anic Hermeneutics". The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studie. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 829. ISBN978-0-19-969864-6. the methodology proposed by Ibn Taymiyya (d.728/1328) and adopted by Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373), which ultimately resulted in the dismissal of philology in favour of hadith and of the doctrines of Sunnī traditionalism.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Richard Netton, Ian (2008). Encyclopedia of Islamic Civilisation and Religion. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 256–257. ISBN978-0-7007-1588-6. IBN KATHIR, 'IMAD AL-DIN ISMA'IL IBN 'UMAR (AD 1300–73)... His reliance is totally upon hadith material; the era of Ibn Kathir, in fact, marks the triumph of traditionalism over the powers of rationalism.
^Bakhos, Carol (2015). "13: Interpreters of Scripture". In J. Silverstine; G. Stroumsa; M. Blidstein (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 247. ISBN978-0-19-969776-2. Born in Bosra in 1300, Ibn Kathīr was a historian and traditionalist of Mamlūk, Syria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Richard Netton, Ian (2008). Encyclopedia of Islamic Civilisation and Religion. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 256–257. ISBN978-0-7007-1588-6. Ibn Kathir, 'Imad Al-Din Ism'il Ibn 'Umar (AD 1300–73)... His reliance is totally upon hadith material; the era of Ibn Kathir, in fact, marks the triumph of traditionalism over the powers of rationalism.
^Bakhos, Carol (2015). "13: Interpreters of Scripture". In Silverstine, Adam J.; Stroumsa, Guy G.; Blidstein, Moshe (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 247. ISBN978-0-19-969776-2. Born in Bosra in 1300, Ibn Kathīr was a historian and traditionalist of Mamlūk, Syria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). "2: The Demise of 'Ilm al-Kalam". Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010: Pelgrave Macmillan. p. 43. ISBN978-0-230-10279-8. In fact, the prominent Shafi'ite Athari scholar Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^B. Hallaq, Wael (2016). "5: Was the Gate of Ijtihad Closed?". Law and Legal Theory in Classical and Medieval Islam. 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA: Routledge. p. 16. ISBN9780860784562. ...al-Dhahabi, who was a fervent anti-kalam Traditionalist...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Spevack, Aaron (2014). The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri. State University of New York Press. pp. 45, 169. ISBN978-1-4384-5371-2. ..in addition to the Ḥanbalīs, the Atharīs also include a small number of followers of the other three schools of law. ... Such as al-Dhahabī and Ibn Kathīr, both Shāfiʿīs.
^Melchert, Christopher (1997). "Chapter 7: Al-Khallal and the Classical Hanbali school". The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. p. 154. ISBN90-04-10952-8.
^El Shamsy, Ahmed (2013). "Chapter 8: Canonization beyond the Shafi'i School". The Canonization of Islamic Law: A Social and Intellectual History. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 196, 197. ISBN978-1-107-04148-6. Ahmad.. recruited the prominent traditionalist al-Humaydı to al-Shafı'is circle,".. "Al-Buwayti... enjoyed the trust of traditionalist scholars such as Abu Dawud al-Sijistani and al-Humaydı as well as Ahmad b. Hanbal himself..
^Fierro, Maribel (2005). "Proto-Malikis, Malikis and Reformed Malikis in Al-Andalus". In Peri Bearman; Rudolph Peters; Frank E. Vogel (eds.). The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution and Progress. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN9780674017849. The "Traditionalization" of the Andalusi Maliki school was mainly achieved by Abu 'Umar 'b 'Abd al-Barr (d. 463/1071)...
^G. Chejne, Anwar (1969). The Arabic Language: Its Role in History. University of Minnesota Press. p. 78. ISBN9781452912233. There were also scholars such as... the traditionalist Yūsuf ibn 'Abd al-Barr (died 1071).
^Makdisi, George (1997). Ibn ʻAqil: Religion and Culture in Classical Islam. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 121. ISBN0-7486-0960-1. Another group of traditionalists, Salafiyya, like... Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (d. 63/1071), affirm the acts of God..
^al-`Asqalani, Ahmad ibn `Ali. Hashim al-Nadwi and al-Mu`allimi (ed.). al-Durar al-Kaminah (in Arabic). Vol. 3. Hyderabad, India: Dairah al-Ma`arif al`Uthmania. p. 87.
^Lobel, Diana (2000). Between Mysticism and Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 60. ISBN0-7914-4451-1.
^Bearman P.; Bianquis Th.; Bosworth C.E.; van Donzel E.; Heinrichs W.P., eds. (2005). "Dāwūd b. ʿAlī b. K̲h̲alaf". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 2 (Second ed.). Albany, NY: Brill. p. 182. ISBN9789004161214.
^Jonathan, Constance; Crowe, Youngwon Lee (2019). "9: Natural law in Islam from theological and legal perspectives". Research Handbook on Natural Law Theory. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 157. ISBN978-1-78811-003-7.
^Dr. Abdul-Baqi al-Sayyid Abdul-Hadi, Biography of the Sheikh, Dr. Muhammad Taqi ud-Din al-Hilali. Alhady Alzahry, 13 November 2010.
^ abAbrahamov, Binyamin (1998). "APPENDIX I: THE CREED OF ABU ZUR'A UBAYDALLAH IBN 'ABD AL-KARIM AL RAZI (D. 264/878) AND ABU HATIM MUHAMMAD IBN IDRIS AL-RAZI (D . 277 /890)". Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism. George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 54–56. ISBN0-7486-1102-9.
^ abMelchert, Christopher (1997). "Chapter 1: The Traditionalists of Iraq". The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. pp. 25, 30. ISBN90-04-10952-8. Abu Zur'ah al-Razi was impeccably traditionalist,".. "A list of leading scholars in the ninth century shows clearly the ebb and flow of traditionalist influence... Al-Dhahabi adds that it was also with Ahmad, Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah, 'Ali ibn al-Madini, and others; then passed to al-Bukhari, Abu Zur'ah al-Razi Abu Hatim al-Razi (d. 277/890-891)..,
^Melchert, Christopher (1997). "Chapter 1: The Traditionalists of Iraq". The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. p. 6. ISBN90-04-10952-8.
^B. Hallaq, Wael (2005). The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 123. ISBN978-0-521-80332-8. Ibrahim b. Khalid Abu Thawr (d. 240/854).. who became a traditionalist and a school founder
^ abMelchert, Christopher (1997). The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. pp. 7, 165. ISBN90-04-10952-8.
^Bowering, Gerhard, ed. (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 506–507. ISBN978-0-691-13484-0. al-Shawkani, Muhammad b. 'Ali (1760–1834)... dismissed speculative theology (kalām) and reason-based arguments as idle talk and was a staunch Salafi in matters of creed
^Haykel, Bernard (2003). "The Absolute Interpreter and Renewer of the Thirteenth Century AH". Revival and Reform in Islam: The Legacy of Muhammad Al-Shawkani. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 104. ISBN9780521528900. Shawkänī, as was mentioned already, was opposed to kaläm, which he regarded as a science that led to more confusion than clarity for the believer. He admits that he felt confused by it (lam azdad bihā illā þpiratan) and he found it to consist of idle talk (khuza"balār)... Shawkānī appears to fit more properly, though perhaps not entirely, in the Hanbalī tradition, which rejected outright many of the theological claims made by the various schools of kalām.
^Beránek, Ťupek, Ondřej, Pavel (2018). The Temptation of Graves in Salafi Islam: Iconoclasm, Destruction and Idolatry. The Tun -Holyrood Road, 12 (2f) Jackson's Entry, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 7, 47, 73. ISBN978-1-4744-1757-0. Muhammad al-Shawkani (d. 1839), a famous Yemeni traditionalist and reformer..." "The legacies of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya were also palpable in Arabia in the eighteenth-century traditionalist movement. In Yemen, the most prominent figures in this movement were Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil al-Sanʿani (referred to as al-Amir al-Sanʿani, d. 1769) and Muhammad al Shawkani (d. 1839).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Ali, Mohamed Bin. "Salafis, salafism and modern salafism: what lies behind a term?." (2015).
^Bowering, Gerhard, ed. (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 484, 506. ISBN978-0-691-13484-0. Shawkani .. is a prominent authority for the Salafi version of Islam
^Haykel, Hegghammer, Lacroix, Bernard, Thomas, Stéphane (2015). Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. p. 158. ISBN9781107006294.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Orkaby, Asher (2021). Yemen: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York, USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 120, 160. ISBN9780190932268.
^Rahmatullah (2015). Contribution of Nawab Siddique Hasan Khan to Quranic and Hadith Studies. Aligarh, India: Aligarh Muslim University. pp. 3, 122.
^Lauzière, Henri (2016). The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN978-0-231-17550-0. (Rida)... claimed to be Salafi in creed and relied more heavily on transmitted knowledge (naql) than did Muhammad Abduh.
^Halverson, Jeffrey R. (2010). Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam. New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 61–62, 71. ISBN978-0-230-10279-8. ... the early progressive liberalism of these modernists quickly gave way to the arch-conservatism of Athari thinkers who held even greater contempt for the ideas of the nonbelievers (as well as liberals). This shift was most pronounced in the person of Rashid Rida (d. 1935), once a close student of 'Abduh, who increasingly moved to rigid Athari thought under Wahhabi influences in the early twentieth century. From Rida onward, the "Salafism" of al-Afghani and 'Abduh became increasingly Athari-Wahhabite in nature, as it remains today.
^R. Halverson, Jeffrey (2010). Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 49, 62. ISBN978-0-230-10279-8.
^C. Martin, R. Woodward, Richard, Mark (2010). Defenders of Reason in Islam: Mu'tazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. 185 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7AR, England: One World Publications. p. 218. ISBN978-1-85168-147-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)