See the following link for some sayings of scholars in Refuation of the Ash'ariyyah,

http://s8.invisionfree.com/Sunnah/index ... wtopic=418

for example,

Imam Abu'l-'Abbas Ibn Surayj (d.306)

"لا نقول بتأويل المعتزلة والأشعرية والجهمية والملحدة والمجسمة والمشبهة والكرامية والمكيفة بل نقبلها بلا تأويل ونؤمن بها بلا تمثيل "

Shaykh Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d.505)

Imam Abu'l-Wafa Ibn 'Aqil (d.513)

Shaykh Abu'l-Walid Ibn Rushd (d.595)

Shaykh Abd al-Malik Ibn Darbas (d.659)

and some others.

More to come Insha'Allah.

Wa-Salam!

Bismillahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim,

Its no secret for the reader of Islamic History, in particular the history of the Seldjuks, that the A'immah of the Four Madhahib, especially the Hanafiyyah, have opposed the Ash'ariyyah in both principal matters as small issues..

All the early Hanafis who wrote on 'Aqidah have never made a secret of their opposition against Ash'aris in particular, and not a few Shafi'is in general, be they right or wrong; for example, read Sawad al-A'zam of Hakim al-Samarqandi or the passages on the nature of the Qur'an in al-Maturidi's Kitab al-Tawhid.

The Hanafi follower of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, the well-known Faqih Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi (d.373/983), who's followers, many Maturidis/Hanafis, name: Imam al-Huda.

Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi is the author of the so-called Sarh Fiqh al-Akbar, 'Commentary of the Greatest Insight', Fiqh al-Akbar being a work ascribed to the Imam Abu Hanifah or to his student Abu Muti' al-Balkhi.
The correct title is actually Fiqh al-Absat, 'The Most Extensive Insight', as the manuscripts state so, instead of Fiqh al-Akbar.

This work, Sarh Fiqh al-Akbar (i.e. al-Absat), was first (?) published in 1307/1890, then in 1324/1906, and later in1368/1949 (by al-Kawthari). All these are Cairo editions. The 1367/1948 edition (Hayderabad), in al-Rasa'il al-Sab'a fi'l-'Aqa'id in pp.2-28, is a reprint of the 1324/1906 edition, and like the earlier its has been ascribed to al-Maturidi.
In reality, as we said in the beginning, it is a work from Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi, in which he offers a (!) commentary on the book al-Fiqh al-Absat, a text of questiosn/anwsers between Abu Muti' al-Balkhi and his teacher Abu Hanifah - and this ascription to Imam Abu Hanifah, though Abu Muti' al-Balkhi has been declared weak as an hadith-transmitter, is most right - Insha'Allah, wa-Allahu A'lam.

Known by some as Imam al-Huda, the Maturidite Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi, rahimahullah, refuted the Ash'arites in many places in his Sarh of Imam Abu Hanifa's opinions.

The passages in which he opposes and refutes them are, for instance: p.86-88, p.91-92, p.138ff (on Sifat Allah), p.151ff (on Kalam Allah) etc. (see the excellent Daiber edition); for another edition see p.286ff, 537ff, 603ff and other passages.

Let us take one for example, one of the fundamental issues in which the Maturidis rejected Ash'arism - as many other groups, incl. the Ahl al-Sunnah, oppose and reject them.

Said Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi:


"Belief by way of Taqlid is correct (al-iman bi't-taqlid sahih).. as opposed to the Mu'tazilah and the Ash'ariyyah; they do not approve belief by way of Taqlid and they speak of Unbelief of the common people (Kufr al-'Ammah), and this is uqly, nothing is more ugly than this (wa hadha qabih la aqbah min hada; other ms version says 'la aqbah min al-qaba'ih')"

(Source: Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi, Sarh Fiqh al-Akbar, p.68-69 of Daiber ed.; see also p.203-204; p.8 in the 1948 edition (reprint) and see also the commentary of the Hanafi al-Maghnishawi)

And Abu'Layth al-Samarqandi says also,

"the Ash'ariyyah says: Whats in the Masahif is not Allah's Words, rather it is a 'Ibarah ('expression' - not his actual Words) and a Hikayah from him.. beacuse al-Kalam is a Attribute of Him, and His Attribute can not exist in eternity on what it is attributed", and then he refutes this in p.155-157 (see p.20 of 1948 edition/reprint).

See also the interesting article in: http://www.cafearabica.com/wwwboard/soc ... /1093.html

And which of the two is more uqly/qabih.. I let the reader decide.
But know, that they are both uqly thoughts and statements, for they oppose the Sunnah.

Wa-Salam!

Except Abu'l-Layth al-Samarqandi, there are also other Maturidites who differ with the Asha'irah. There's in fact a whole literature devoted to the differences between these two 'theological schools' who innovated much into Islam.

The Ash'ari Abd al-Wahhab al-Subki (d.771) was probably the first who initiated this type of literature - making part of his propaganda against the Ahl al-Sunnah. He wrote in his Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyyah some differences between the two rival schools (see vol. II p. 262ff), and its is known as:

- al-Nuniyyah (there exist a Sarh of Nur al-Din Muhammad b. Abi'l-Tayyib al-Shirazi - a student of Ibn al-Subki)

Then afterwards, mostly Hanafites, wrote on these differences, such as:

- Kamal Pasha Zade (d.940), in his: Rislaha fi Ikhtilaf bayn'l-Asha'irah wa'l-Maturidiyyah fi Ithnata 'Ashrata Mas'ala (ms)

- Muhammad al-Isbari Qadi Zade (around 990), who wrote: Mumayiza Madhhab al-Maturidiyyah 'an al-Madhab al-Ghayziya (ms)

- Yahya b. 'Ali b. Nasih Nan'i (d.1007): Risalah fi'l-Farq bayn Madhhab al-Asha'irah wa'l-Maturidiyyah (ms - I've seen it)

- Kamal al-Din al-Bayadi, whose work is well-known now, under the title: Isharat al-Maram

- Abu 'Udba (he wrote around 1125), another well-known work of this category, under the title: al-Rawdah al-Bahiya fi-ma bayna'l-Asha'irah wa'l-Maturidiyyah

- Abd al-Ghani al-Nablusi (d.1143/1730) has supposedly also wrote one: Tahqiq al-Intisar fi Ittifaq al-Ash'ari wa'l-Maturidi fi'l-Ikhtibar

Excerpt:

Abu 'Udba's Rawdat al-Bahiyyah speaks about thirteen differences between the Maturidites, to which the author belongs, and the Ash'arites.

In one of them he says that the Ash'arites believes, contrary to the Maturidites - and the Ahl al-Sunnah - ,that the Attributes of Action (Sifat al-Af'al - such as Creating, Sustaining etc.) for Allah come to an end!

La Hawla wa-la Quwwata illa Billah.