SUNNI THEOLOGICAL EXEGESIS: A CRITICAL STUDY OF ILĀHIYYĀT IN AL-MĀTURĪDĪ’S TA’WĪLĀT AHL AL-SUNNAH

This thesis investigates and critically analyses the theological views of al-Māturīdī vis a vis ilāhiyyāt in his exegesis Ta’wīlāt ahl al-Sunnah. The research undertook an analytical study of the theological verses in the original Arabic exegetical corpus of al-Māturīdī to discover a comprehensive exposition of his theological views, contributions to the genre of theological exegesis, methodology in interpreting such verses and the conceptual framework he employs in explaining them. To realise these objectives, thematic and textual analysis is carried out on the entire exegesis of al-Māturīdī. A comparative content analysis is also carried out between ta’wīlāt and al-Māturīdī’s main theological epistle, Kitāb al-Tawḥīd, to discover the similarities, differences and nuances that exist between both titles. In addition, the thesis conducted a comparative analysis of the exegetical writings of the key exegetes of al-Māturīdī’s era and region as far as the theme of ilāhiyyāt is concerned. These exegetes are Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767 CE), Ṭabarī (d. 923 CE), Muḥammad ‘Ayyāshī (d. 932 CE), and Abū al-Layth Samarqandī (d. 983 CE). The original contribution to knowledge of this thesis is the finding that al-Māturīdī is the earliest Sunni scholar to write in the genre of Sunni theological exegesis, in his era and region. In doing so, al-Māturīdī provided a more comprehensive and Qur’anic basis for his theology. In ta’wīlāt, al-Māturīdī set up his conceptual framework, epistemology and methodology in the interpretation of the theological verses pertinent to ilāhiyyāt (divinity). Furthermore, the thesis establishes that a comprehensive understanding of al-Māturīdī’s theology cannot be achieved by the study of Kitāb al-Tawḥīd alone. The critical analysis of ta’wīlāt is fundamental to any academic research that aims to discover the theology of al-Māturīdī independent of main Maturidite scholars.