The difference between him and al‑Maturidi the two...

The difference between him and al‑Maturidi the two celebrated authorities on the views of the Imam is quite evident. Al‑Maturidi was a thorough dialectician and his main endeavour was to find out a philosophical basis for the views of the leader and to support these views by scholastic reasoning, and thereby bring them closer to the views of the rationalists.

Al‑Tahawi, as a true traditionist, did not favour, as will be seen, any rational discussion or speculative thinking on the articles of faith, but preferred to believe and accept them without questioning. There is no reference in his creed to the critical examination of the method, sources, and means of knowledge, or the foundation on which his theological system is built. So his system may be termed as dogmatic, while that of al‑Maturidi as critical.

The critical method followed by al‑Tahawi in Hadith is quite lacking in theology. Thus, though both of them belong to the same school and uphold faithfully the doctrines of their master, they differ from each other in temperament, attitude, and trends of thought.

In order to indicate the characteristics of the system of al‑Tahawi and to make an estimate of his contributions to theology, we propose to give in the following pages an outline of the views of Imam Abu Hanifah along with the views of both al‑Tahawi and al‑Maturidi on some of the most important theological problems that arose in Muslim theology.

Imam Abu Hanifah directed his movement against the Kharijites, Qadarites, Mu'tazilites, Shiites, Jabrites, the extreme Murji'ites, and the Hashwiyyah, the last being a group of the orthodox people who under the influence of the converted Jews, Christians, and Magians fell into gross anthropomorphism, and ascribed to God all the characteristics of a created being.[^6] He was the first theologian among the fuqaha' who adopted the principles and method of reasoning and applied them to a critical examination of the articles of faith and the laws of the Shariah.

That is why he and his followers were called by the Traditionists the People of Reason and Opinion ( ashab al‑ra'i w‑al‑qiyas ). This rational spirit and philosophical attitude were more consistently main­tained by al‑Maturidi than by al‑Tahawi. Their views on the nature of faith, attributes of God, beatific vision, divine decree, and human freedom may be mentioned here to indicate the distinctive features of their methods.