The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)

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The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)

Journal Title: ULUM - Year 2019, Vol 2, Issue 1

Abstract

In this thesis, which bears the name of The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation, Marmara University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Basic Islamic Sciences, İstanbul, Turkey, 2019), the subject of Human Conception for Imam Māturīdī, (d. 333/944) who is one of the most important figures of the Islamic thought and one of the pioneers of Ahl al-Sunnah, has been studied. In order to address this issue comprehensively, “What is human and why he is existed? What kind of being does man have? Is there a link between the creation of the human species and the creation of the world/universe in its present form? What is the position and limit of man before Allah, the realm in which he gains existence, and other creatures with whom he shares the universe? In what way and in what dimension is his relationship with Allah and the universe? What are the main principles that enable man to realize his humanity? What is the greatest blessing given to man and the most valuable talent he has? Who is a good and ideal person? Can any human be the ideal person? What is death? Why does man die? The answers to many questions that can be listed such as; “What kind of existence does one expect after death? have been investigated. While this was done, it was tried to put forward the human conception of al-Māturīdī in a holistic manner on the basis of his point of view and the aspects he put forward in human thought. This study consists of an introduction, three sections and conclusion. The introduction provides information about the purpose, importance, scope, sources and methods of the research. In the first chapter, based on the question “What is human?”, Māturīdī's thoughts about the nature of human being, the structure of existence before and after the birth, The Messenger of AllahAdam, creation of Eve, the stages of human creation in the world and the place of mankind in the world were subjected to a detailed examination. Māturīdī's answers to the mentioned question and the religious and philosophical foundations of these answers have been investigated, his explanations of the nature of man and short comparisons between the mutaqaddimūn period of Kalām and philosophical tradition have been made. With his views on this issue, Māturīdī's standing in the Islamic viewpoint has been tried to be determined. al-Māturīdī thinks that man is an entity with complex and ontological integrity with his life and soul that gives him consistency, his nafs which is the grasping principle that enables him to comprehend and reason, and likewise with his body which is the apparent dimension of his material and spiritual properties, and rejects reductionist and fragmentary approaches. Māturīdī, who states that ‘aql (reason) is the most valuable thing that man possesses, accepts that in addition to human ‘aql (mind), there is also a nature from a realist point of view. al-Māturīdī states that human nature is at times in conflict with reason and that this is inevitable. But he accepts that in the event of such a conflict, what is surely cherished, that is, mind must be followed. Similar to Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 150/767), Māturīdī, who understood the Fitrah as “Islamic Creation", emphasizes that in this sense, every human being, like all beings, is brought into being by the function of pointing to the existence and unity of Allah with the characteristics of creation. Mīsāqaccording to Māturīdī; is the creation of human with the capacity to reply with “balā” (yes indeed) meaning; "Yes, you are our Lord” to the question; “Alastu bi-rabbikum” meaning: "Am I not your Lord”, If it was a reality. Therefore, according to him, metaphorical language was used in the statements regarding mīsāqin the Qur’ān. The second part of the study bears the title “Human as AimedBeing". According to Māturīdī, “Why did Allah create universe?” The correct answer to his question must be; “Because he is Allah." Accordingly, the act of creating is His attribute, and Allah Almighty creates because He is the Creator. Therefore, it is not right to show man or any other being as the cause of Allah's creation. However, when the universe and beings are observed, it is understood that the establishment of the world is aimed at human beings, and that the wisdom and fate in the creation of the world is reached only through the discovery of human beings, and that everything in the universe is created for man, for his benefit and observation. All this shows that human beings are “Purposed Being” and “Small World.” Among the beings in the universe, human beings have a separate position by having reason and freely performing their actions. As an entity capable of obedience or rebellion with the freedom of Will and choice, man has become available to position himself at the top of the hierarchy of being and to fall below if he fails to use these abilities correctly. According to Māturīdī, freedom is the most precious thing he has, just as reason is the most valuable ability of man. The price of human freedom is to address the proposal (taklīf) and to be held responsible for its choices and actions. al-Māturīdī states that every person is assigned the duty of caliphate. The "Caliph man" should carry out reconstruction and reform activities throughout the world, starting with himself. Every human being is a custodian on Earth and in his own body and has to act with safety awareness. In this sense, human beings must be just and moral towards their soul, creatures and Allah, and they must make their relations on the axis of the principle of Tawhid. The ideal person of al-Māturīdī is “Distinguished Man”. The distinguished person has a realist structure, not utopian in terms of role modeling, and has examples in the outside world. The most obvious examples of this are all the Messengers of Allah, especially messenger Muhammad (pbuh). In the third chapter called” The End or Eternity of Man", the meanings that al-Māturīdī places on death as the characteristic of man, the new structure of being gained by man with death, and the situation of this structure in the barzakh and the Hereafter life are discussed. al-Māturīdī thinks that the existence of the Hereafter is a necessity of reason and wisdom and humanity within the framework of the idea of wisdom and fate. Because, according to Māturīdī, human is a being that is going to be complete with death. Death in the world is something must be prepared for, not avoided, for Man. Life, that is the top of the worldly tastes; was given to seek the life of Paradise, which is eternal life; Worldly death, the most severe of pain, was given to avoid the eternal torment, the eternal and most painful death. al-Māturīdī states that man will lead a spiritual life in the life of the barzakh, but with the resurrection (ba’th) –as required by al-Māturīdī's system– soul (rūh), nafs and body will be reunited. The thesis is completed with the “conclusion” section containing the findings/results reached in the research. Here, it is emphasized that there is a need to re-negotiate the idea with the human conceptions in the Islamic tradition in order to re-establish the human conception of the Muslim individual, which has changed under the influence of Western philosophy and has shifted from its own line. In order to meet this need, it is foreseen that reviving the ideas of al-Māturīdīcan make important contributions. The reason for this is that al-Māturīdīhas an intensity and richness that can be the cornerstone of human conception in this regard.

Authors and Affiliations

Osman Nuri Demir

Keywords

Kalām Māturīdī Human Conception Human Nature Intellect Proposition/Taklīf Caliphate of Man Death and Eternal Life

EP ID EP621186
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.3355752
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