Origins Muslim historians and
jurists theorized that the companion
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was one of the earliest traditionalist and textualist scholars who influenced later Athari scholasticism. Zubair's method of proto-textualism precedently influenced the scholars of
Ahl al-Ḥadīth. This was characterized by their approach to literal adherence to the texts of the Quran and
ḥadīth, while largely rejecting the
Qiyas (analogy) methodology of ''
Ahl al-Ra'y'' (scholars of logic).
Ibn Hazm,
al-Bukhari, and also scholars from the
Jariri and
Zahiri schools. Another companion who was known to hold this textualist stance was
'Abdullah ibn Umar. When enquired by a group of his
Tabi'in disciples regarding his views on the
Qadariyah, Ibn 'Umar responded with subtle
takfīr (excommunication from Islam) towards the Qadariyah for their rejection of
qadar (predestination). He also condemned their usage of analogical method (
Qiyas). According to contemporary scholars, the reason for the condemnation of the Qadariyah by Ibn 'Umar was the similarity between their doctrines and those of
Zoroastrianism and
Manichaeism due to their respective
dualistic cosmologies, which are in line with one
ḥadīth that recites: "
Qadariyah were
Magi of this
Ummah". Another notable early Atharist is
Amir al-Sha'bi, who unlike his colleague
Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, who relied primarily on
Qiyas (analogic deduction) in his scholastic method, al-Shaʿbī strongly relied primarily on scriptural traditions (Atharism). He also tried to convince other scholars that Qiyās was not a valid argument. Al-Sha'bi was recorded to have said: "Beware of Qiyās. For when you use it, you make what is
halal to be
haram and what is haram to be halal."
Formation Atharism materialized as a formal distinct school of thought towards the end of the 8th century CE among Muslim scholars of the
ḥadīth who held the Quran and the authentic
ḥadīth to be the only acceptable sources in matters of law and creed. Alongside
Malik ibn Anas, Islamic scholar
Ibn Idris al-Shafi'i is widely regarded among the earliest leaders of the Athari school. In the debates between rationalists and the traditionalists, al-Shafi'i was able to successfully uphold the superiority of the
ḥadīth over other devices (such as rational arguments, local traditions, customs, ''ra'y
, etc. ) as the source of theological knowledge and Quranic interpretation. From this school would emerge a vigorous traditionalist movement against the Ahl al-Ra'y'' and its various manifestations. The doctrines of these early Shafi'ite theologians would be revived in the treatises of later Hanbali scholars. At first these scholars formed minorities within existing religious study circles, but by the early 9th century CE they coalesced into a separate traditionalist scholastic movement, commonly called
Ahl al-Ḥadīth, under the leadership of
Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Another major leader of the traditionalist camp during this era was
Dawud ibn Khalaf, the founder of the
Zahirite (literalist) school. Under the leadership of these two scholars, the Atharite camp gained ascendancy. In legal matters, these traditionalists criticized the use of personal opinion (''ra'y'') common among the
Hanafite jurists of Iraq as well as the reliance on living local traditions by
Malikite jurists of
Medina. Ibn Hanbal led traditionalist resistance to this policy, affirming under torture that the Quran was uncreated and hence co-eternal with God. Although Mu'tazilism remained state doctrine until 851, the efforts to impose it only served to politicize and harden the theological controversy. The failure of the
Mihna campaign symbolised the total defeat of the
Mu'tazilites and the doctrinal triumph of the persecuted traditionalists, who had gained popular support. Apart from the universal condemnation of the doctrine of
Qur'anic createdness; ''
'Aql (human intellect) was denied any independent role in religious interpretations and driven compliant to Wahy'' (Revelation) in Sunni hermeneutical paradigm.
Emergence of Kalām The next two centuries saw an emergence of broad compromises in both law and creed within Sunni Islam. In jurisprudence, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools all gradually came to accept both the traditionalist reliance on the Quran and
ḥadīth and the use of controlled reasoning in the form of
qiyas. In theology,
al-Ashʿarī (874–936) found a middle ground between Mu'tazilite rationalism and Hanbalite literalism, using the rationalistic methods championed by Mu'tazilites to defend most tenets of the traditionalist doctrine. A rival compromise between rationalism and traditionalism emerged from the work of
al-Māturīdī (d. c. 944), and one of these two schools of theology was accepted by members of all the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, with the exception of most Hanbalite and some Maliki and Shafi'i scholars, who ostensibly persisted in their rejection of
kalām, although they often resorted to rationalistic arguments themselves, even while claiming to rely on the literal text of the Islamic scriptures. Its popularity manifested itself repeatedly from the late 9th to 11th centuries, when crowds shouted down preachers who publicly expounded rationalistic theology. In turn, the
Seljuq vizier
Nizam al-Mulk in the late 11th century encouraged Ashʿarite theologians in order to counterbalance caliphal traditionalism, inviting a number of them to preach in Baghdad over the years. One such occasion led to five months of rioting in the city in 1077. In the
modern era it has had a disproportionate impact on Islamic theology, having been appropriated by
Wahhabi and other traditionalist
Salafi currents and spread well beyond the confines of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence. The works of 19th century Sunni
Yemeni theologian
Muhammad Al-Shawkani (d. 1839 C.E/ 1255 A.H) has contributed heavily to the revival of traditionalist theology in the contemporary era. Traditionalist scripturalism also exerts significant influence within the
Hanafi school of jurisprudence, such as the Hanafite scholar
Ibn Abi al-Izz's
sharh on al-Tahawi's creedal treatise
Al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya. This treatise would become popular amongst the adherents of the later
Salafiyya movement, who regard it as a true representation of the Hanafi creed free from the influence of
Māturīdī theology. Numerous contemporary Salafi scholars have produced supercommentaries and annotations on the
sharh, including
Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz,
Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, and
Saleh al-Fawzan, and it is taught as a standard text at the
Islamic University of Madinah. ==Beliefs==