During the conference on “Al-Imam Al-Maturῑdῑ” in Uzbekistan, Secretary-General of Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy (AIRA) highlights the role played by the Maturῑdῑ School in human civilization.
Naẓhīr ‛Ayyād of Uzbekistan, “Humanity needs a civilization that enriches both the soul and the body”
Prof. Naẓhīr ‛Ayyād, AIRA Secretary-General, said that the scholars of the Maturῑdῑ School, who stemmed from the Ḥanafῑ school of thought, have given the human civilization a rich scientific source and a satisfactory nourishment, which in its entirety constitutes an original building block of the human civilization. He demanded the necessity of research into what the scholars of such school have left us, being valuable treasures in various fields including jurisprudence, Islamic theology and language. Such fields still attract attention, engage minds, and open up new horizons of thought and contemplation.
During his speech at the conference entitled, “Imam Abu Manṣour Al- Maturῑdῑ and His Teachings” in Uzbekistan, ‛Ayyād added that humanity is currently in urgent need of a civilization that can enhance the level of belief in Allah and His Divine messages. Such civilization guides humanity to the true religion without contradicting science, rather leading humanity to faith that does not oppose the mind. This is meant to enrich both the soul and the body, guiding humanity to the fruits of the Hereafter, not preventing it from enjoying the worldly life.
‛Ayyād also pointed out that only the true Islamic faith is capable of resurrecting the Islamic civilization, because it is the only faith based on absolute monotheism, clarifying the relationship between the Creator and the creatures. As the human being is the center of civilizational construction, and as faith is the center of human goodness, Muslim theologists have greatly contributed in building such civilization and shouldering this religious responsibility. Among those theologists, the scholars of the Maturῑdῑ School have been greatly impressed by the soul of the great Imam Abu Ḥanῑfa and richly educated through his books.
The AIRA Secretary-General also pointed out that the great scholars of Islamic civilization have realized the value of the intellect and the role it plays in contributing to civilizational construction, highlighting the relationship between intellect and tradition. He added that reason is one of the most important pillars of human civilization in general, and the Islamic civilization in particular. Therefore, the great role played by intellect in the various fields of science and arts has been emphasized. This is what the Maturῑdῑ school has always indicated and concluded. Science and art have never been handled without involving the role of intellect in its framework. Islamic theology is the best witness to that issue.
It is noteworthy that the conference on “Imam Abu Manṣour Al- Maturῑdῑ and His Teachings: Past and Present” was launched this morning in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The conference was attended by a number of institutions and scholars of the Muslim World, headed by Al-Azhar, represented by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmed Aṭ-Ṭayyeb, and a number of professors of Islamic Creed and philosophy, specialized in the Maturῑdῑ School at the Faculties Islamic theology, Al-Azhar University.