Articles · Vol. 1 No. 2 (2026)

The Historical Stages of Maturidi Theology

Authors

  • A.Hamidulla1 U.Palvanov

Keywords

Maturidi theology Hanafi tradition Sunni Islam historical periodization Transoxiana Sad al-Din al-Taftazani madrasa education 1 Hamidulla Aminov – Senior Research Fellow Abu Rayhan Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Doctor of Historical Sciences (DSc). 2 Uktam Palvanov – Associate Professor ICESCO Department of Islamic Studies and the Study of Islamic Civilization International Academy of Islamic Studies of Uzbekistan (PhD). www.mijournals.com 4 Vol. 1 (Issue 3/2026)

Abstract

This article examines the historical development of Maturidi theology and its relationship to the Hanafi tradition within Sunni Islam. It argues that an adequate assessment of the school requires a periodization extending beyond its early emergence in Transoxiana to its later institutional consolidation and geographical dissemination. The study adopts a historical and comparative approach to biographical literature, theological writings, and modern scholarship cited in the source article. Following a principle associated with Ibn Khaldun, the contributions of individual scholars provide the principal basis for identifying stages, while political events, textual production, educational institutions, and regional transmission serve as complementary indicators. The analysis distinguishes four stages: foundation, formation, development, and widespread dissemination. The foundational stage concerns Abu Mansur al-Maturidi’s integration of rational argumentation with scriptural interpretation; formation concerns the activity of his immediate disciples. The developmental stage encompasses the growth of scholarly centers in Samarqand, Bukhara, and Nasaf, expansion toward Khurasan, and exchanges with Ashari theologians. Widespread dissemination is associated with dynastic patronage, madrasa instruction, and the circulation of commentaries and glosses, particularly those connected with Sad al-Din al-Taftazani. The article emphasizes continuity between Hanafi religious scholarship and Maturidi theology and interprets debates with Asharism within a shared Sunni framework. It concludes that the school’s durability depended on both scholarly transmission and institutional support. Chronological discrepancies in the source prevent the proposed boundaries from being treated as exact or uniformly consistent. The four-stage model is therefore presented as a historical framework whose later transitions are approximate and whose final endpoint reflects the source article’s own chronological horizon.

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