Among the religions and belief systems of the world, Islam stands out for its clarity and comprehensibility in matters of doctrine and belief. Nevertheless, differences in the levels of human intellectual and spiritual awareness give rise to difficulties in interpreting these doctrinal principles. First and foremost, the verses of the Holy Qur’an themselves point to the potential problems that may arise in this regard:
“He is the One Who has revealed to you O Prophet the Book, of which some verses are precise—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are elusive.Those with deviant hearts follow the elusive verses seeking to spread doubt through their false interpretations—but none grasps their full meaning except Allah. As for those well-grounded in knowledge, they say, “We believe in this Quran—it is all from our Lord.” But none will be mindful of this except people of reason.” (Al Imran 7)
From this verse it becomes clear that deviation from true faith arises due to deficiencies within the human character -weaknesses of the heart and the absence of a firm foundation of righteousness and truth. This same factor underlies the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that speak of the division of his ummah into seventy-three groups.
However, our country – thanks to the great scholarly and practical potential of the scholars of historic Mawarannahr -has preserved its people from such divisions, which is a great honor for our nation. At the heart of this achievement lie the abilities and efforts of many of our scholars, granted to them by Allah.
Among such scholars of our heritage, two figures stand out in particular: Aba Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ali Hakim Tirmidhi (205–318 AH / 820–932 CE) and Imam Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Maturidi al-Samarqandi (d. 333 AH / 944 CE), known as Maturidi. The works of these two eminent scholars were studied with great interest both in the East and in the West and continue to be used today by millions—perhaps even billions—of people.
Their vast and profound intellectual legacy, vast as an ocean, contains pure knowledge and enlightenment, as well as sound and wise analyses of our religion—analyses that have reached a level worthy of preservation until the end of time.
Below, we will consider only one of the points of connection and mutual complementarity in the views of these two scholars. Through this, it becomes possible to grasp the greatness of their personalities and intellectual stature.
One can observe principles of continuity and intellectual succession between the works of Ḥakim Tirmidhi and Imam Maturidi. In response to a question concerning good and evil, Ḥakim Tirmidhi states:
“It is from Allah in the sense of nurturing and divine guidance, and from human beings in the sense of actions. The righteous protect themselves from the ‘collision’ between the two. The Blessed Name of Allah refers to the One whose nurturing never ceases, whereas human beings, as long as they live, are engaged in continuous action. Allah demands nothing in return for His nurturing, while human beings make demands through their actions.” [2, p. 113]
This text contains a profound truth. The conclusion is as follows: Allah does not act out of any need; therefore, even things that may appear evil within the divine order exist for the purpose of nurturing and educating human beings. Human beings are always in motion, possessing hearts and intellects as well as passions and desires. As a result, they exist in states of goodness, evil, or a mixture of both, which necessitates continual moral and spiritual cultivation.
Allah, as the Determiner of every action, takes human deeds into account, determines their consequences, and on that basis applies educative measures to His servants. This may occur through both good and evil—whether in the form of reward or punishment, or simultaneously in a pedagogical sense. As the Almighty Allah says:
“We test you with both evil and good.” (Al-Anbiya, 35)
This interpretation appears in a more expansive form in the works of Imam Maturidi. Whereas Ḥakim Tirmidhi, consistent with his concise and wisdom-oriented style, explains the matter briefly through opposites, Maturidi—following the methodological approach of kalam—examines the issue in greater detail and devotes an entire chapter to it under the title “The Wisdom behind the Creation of Harmful Entities.”
In his view, even if the human intellect is unable to grasp the full reality of this matter, it is still possible to identify certain aspects of its underlying wisdom. For example, through harmful or evil phenomena, human beings witness the consequences of their actions in this world: good is followed by good, and evil by evil. By experiencing both good and evil in their bodies and souls, people come to understand their true nature—their pain and their pleasure—and thus draw appropriate conclusions.
Likewise, through sensing harm and benefit, people develop concepts such as caution and mutual assistance based on their recognition of these realities. The disciplinary punishment of children for educational purposes serves as an analogous example. A harmful substance, though capable of killing a person, becomes a remedy when administered in small doses. Fire, although it burns, provides immense benefit. Water, while being the source of life, can also become a calamity in the form of floods.
Most importantly, good and evil, harm and benefit—though they appear to be opposites—are in fact united in their function of indication and testimony. This is also reflected in the expression “la ḥawla wa la quwwata illa bi-llah” (“There is no power and no strength except through Allah”). From the perspective of indication, good and evil, harm and benefit ultimately return to unity—namely, the oneness of Allah (tawḥid). From the perspective of testimony, they point to divine governance (rububiyyah), that is, Allah’s nurturing and educative action. Thus, they converge upon a single foundational principle.
In other words, even phenomena that appear to be opposites, when governed by certain principles of benefit and harm, point to the existence and oneness of Allah, while their educative function for human beings demonstrates His rububiyyah—His nurturing and sustaining authority [1, pp. 175–176].
As is evident, the principle of wisdom occupies a central place in the thought of Imam Maturidi, and both scholars are in agreement that the purpose of phenomena perceived as evil lies in divine rububiyyah, that is, in Allah’s educative and formative action. A comparative analysis of the works of these two outstanding scholars reveals the presence of many similar examples. Moreover, this issue has attracted the attention of both Eastern and Western scholars, such as Khalid Zahri and Ayyub Palmer, opening promising prospects for serious future research into the kalam school of Mawarannahr.
We believe that studying the wise words and ideas of our great scholars will inspire our people—especially the younger generation—to attain a high level of critical thinking, profound knowledge, and a broad intellectual outlook. Most importantly, engagement with their works leads to a correct understanding of Islam, which, in its true sense, guides human beings toward perfection.
For this reason, it is essential to strive to become familiar not only with their writings but also with the course of their lives. Alongside the International Research Center of Imam Tirmidhi, we now hope that the establishment of an International Research Center of Imam Maturidi will represent a major step toward a deeper study of the foundations of our religion, as well as toward the further development of our scholarly and intellectual capacities.
