Literature of the Ash'arism-Mâturidism Controversy
Abstract The relationship between the Ash'arîtes and the Mâturîdîtes is a complex story with many levels. The literature of this controversy referring to the doctrinal and theological differences of opinion between both sides is the most original aspect of this relationship. The question why this literature has emerged is more important and more difficult than the question of the kind of change it underwent. The second question can be more easily answered on the basis of the relationship of texts with each other. However, the texts alone are not sufficient in answering the question why they emerged, particularly why most of them were composed in the eighteenth century. The answer to this question resides in identifying and interpreting the five century long intellectual change, ruptures and transformations since the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, which requires a separate and comprehensive research. Hence, for this article, the second question is more central and we aim to provide a general inventory of literature produced in the context of Ash'arism- Mâturîdism controversy. Nevertheless, both the internal and the external contexts are taken into consideration as well as the relationship between the social context of the authors and their works. A contextual method of analysis is followed either moving from the text to the author or from the author to the text.
MEHMET KALAYCI
