There are 3 main types of aqeedah within sunni islam (ahlus Sunnah wal jamaa3ah)
- Extreme Rationalists (Mu'tazilites)
- Extreme Traditionalists (Atharis)
- Middle-ground Traditional-Rationalists (Ash'aris)
The extreme rationalists (Mu'tazilites) are now extinct within the Islamic world - and have mostly been adopted as a way of thinking for the "western" (non-islamic) world.
The extreme traditionalists (Atharis) are known as "Salafis" today. They deny all use of rational logic as an extreme reaction to the Mu'tazilites. They claim all logic and rational thinking stems from foreign influence (i.e. ancient greeks) and that the salaf (first three generations from the Prophet s.a.a.s) used absolutely NO rational judgements whatsoever (is that even possible?) or perhaps that they could use it but avoided it (there seems to be evidence to the contrary however). This view, although being propagated by Salafis, has always been a minority view held by followers of Imaam Ahmad Hanbal (a pious tabi3een traditionalist BUT not the founder of the school of thought known as Hanbali - which was started by his students AFTER his death!!!)
The middle-ground (Ash'aris) was laid down by a tabi3een who was once a Mu'tazilite (extreme rationalist) but after having a dream of the prophet s.a.a.s. became a strong opponent against extreme rationalism and thus laid down the foundations followed by the majority of the tabi3een and sahabah.
- Extreme Rationalists (Mu'tazilites)
- Extreme Traditionalists (Atharis)
- Middle-ground Traditional-Rationalists (Ash'aris)
The extreme rationalists (Mu'tazilites) are now extinct within the Islamic world - and have mostly been adopted as a way of thinking for the "western" (non-islamic) world.
The extreme traditionalists (Atharis) are known as "Salafis" today. They deny all use of rational logic as an extreme reaction to the Mu'tazilites. They claim all logic and rational thinking stems from foreign influence (i.e. ancient greeks) and that the salaf (first three generations from the Prophet s.a.a.s) used absolutely NO rational judgements whatsoever (is that even possible?) or perhaps that they could use it but avoided it (there seems to be evidence to the contrary however). This view, although being propagated by Salafis, has always been a minority view held by followers of Imaam Ahmad Hanbal (a pious tabi3een traditionalist BUT not the founder of the school of thought known as Hanbali - which was started by his students AFTER his death!!!)
The middle-ground (Ash'aris) was laid down by a tabi3een who was once a Mu'tazilite (extreme rationalist) but after having a dream of the prophet s.a.a.s. became a strong opponent against extreme rationalism and thus laid down the foundations followed by the majority of the tabi3een and sahabah.
- Hukum Shari3ah (Revelation - - - e.g. Qur'an, Sunnah, Actions of Sahabah, etc). This is the firm foundations for a muslims knowledge base. (an Athari would stop here - claiming this contains everything we need to know, however, the Ash'aris continue)
- Hukum aadat (Laws of nature - - - e.g. Science, Physics, etc). This can serve as a filler for gaps in the knowledge base.
- Hukum 3aql (Rational Logic - - e.g. deductive logic). This is the scaffolding built upon a rich knowledge base that can bridge any remaining gaps in knowledge, or even deduce new knowledge from old)
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