The Case of the Missing Disciple
Abū l-Ḥasan al-Rustughfanī and the First Reception of al-Māturīdī’s Theology in Samarqand
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14595013 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ramon Harvey (0000-0003-3783-4490, Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Cambridge Muslim College Cambridge UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 95-130 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-30 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Oriens (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0078-6527 • E-ISSN: 1877-8372 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/18778372-12340001 |
| OpenAlex | W3206980312 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
Despite recognition of Abū l-Ḥasan al-Rustughfanī (d. ca. 345/956) as the most important student of Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944), a sustained treatment of his theological views has not hitherto appeared. One of the challenges that has been identified in prior studies is a lack of primary sources. To overcome this obstacle, I analyse manuscripts of “Bāb al-mutafarriqāt min fawāʾid” and “al-Asʾila wa-l-ajwiba,” two texts recording al-Rustughfanī’s theological responsa, locating them within available bibliographic information and discussing the question of literary structure. I then contextualise the material within the polemical milieu of mid-fourth/tenth century Samarqand, arguing that al-Rustughfanī is the earliest figure in the Samarqandī Ḥanafī kalām tradition to self-consciously adopt the full name ahl al-sunna wa-l-jamāʿa to express his theological identity. Finally, I provide an annotated theological overview of the main doctrines found in the texts with a detailed case study on divine speech and the Qurʾān, showing how al-Rustughfanī bridges the gap between al-Māturīdī’s rationalistic kalām and the Ḥanafī traditionalism of al-Ḥakīm al-Samarqandī (d. 342/953)
Aesthetics · Art · Identity (music · Literature · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |