Maturidi

Maturidi is a school of Sunni Islamic theology (kalām) named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (c. 853–944 CE), a Central Asian scholar from Samarkand. As one of the two major Sunni kalam traditions, it developed within the Hanafi legal milieu and spread through Central Asia, the Ottoman Empire, and parts of South Asia.

Core beliefs include the use of rational argument alongside revelation to defend religious tenets. The Maturidi method holds that human reason, aided by the natural disposition (fitra), can grasp basic truths about God and morality, though revelation clarifies and completes understanding. God is absolutely unique; His attributes are real but must be understood in a way that preserves divine unity and avoids literal anthropomorphism. The Qur'an is regarded as the uncreated speech of God and the eternal Word that manifests in time.

On creation and human action, Maturidis teach that God creates all actions, yet human beings possess freedom to choose and acquire actions (the concept of kasb or ikhtiyar), making them morally responsible. This yields a middle position in discussions of predestination and free will.

Scholars of the Maturidi tradition wrote extensive works on usul al-din (the principles of faith) and aqida, and the school remained influential within the Hanafi world, particularly in Central Asia and later the Ottoman realm. It is closely associated with early Sunni kalam and often contrasted with Ash'ari thought, though both share a commitment to rational theology and divine transcendence.