Al-Māturīdī (d. 944 CE), the prominent ḥanafī scholar from Samarqand, succeeded in formulating a theological doctrine which is widely accepted in Sunnī Islam to this day. The present volume examines his teachings by describing their principal characteristics and situating them in the history of kalām.
The first part investigates the development of ḥanafī thought in Transoxania before Māturīdī's time. The second part deals with the other religious groups (in particular the Mu‘tazilites) which emerged in this area during his lifetime. Part three shows how he explained and defended the position of his teachers. In doing so, he reformed their traditional views, thereby developing his own theology which then became the basis of a new tradition, viz. the Māturīdite school.