ʼAbū Muʻīn an-Nasafī’s theology as quintessence of Mātūrīdī’ philosophy

Abstract

The present paper offers a comparative study of philosophical and theological positions of ʼAbū Muʻīn an-Nasafī and other mutakallimun of Islamic Golden Age. The author examines an-Nasafī's theories concerning God’s knowledge and other attributes, the so-called 'kasb' theory and other ontological, epistemological and semantic problems. He further inquires into the reception of mutazili’ and ashari’ teachings in early maturidi’ thought. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of Maturidi theology in the context of 'Sunni' branch of classical Kalam development. There follows a brief overview of ontological terminology used by an-Nasafī and further developed in Kalam and Arabic Peripatetic school.