Article Review: Peringkat Pemikiran Imam Al-Ash’ari dalam Akidah by Muhammad Rashidi Wahab dan Syed Hadzrullathfi Syed Omar

This article by Wahab and Hadzrullathfi (2013) is part of a long-standing debate in the discourse of ‘ulama of ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama‘ah, especially between the Ash‘ariyyah and Athariyyah. While the debate is very old, but the discourse is always fresh and this particular topic (i.e. the stages of Imam Al-Ash‘ari’s creed of ‘aqidah) is among the underappreciated topics. The authors explained that this article is intended to refute the Salafis/Wahhabis who claim that Imam Abu Hasan Al-Ash‘ari has had three stages of aqidah creed: (a) Mu’tazilah, (b) Kullabiyah, then (c) Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah (hereinafter: Three Stage), an opinion which they attribute to Ibn Taymiyyah. Hence, this article is a very welcomed addition to this discourse. This review is intended to provide some critical insight towards Wahab and Hadzrullathfi’s article.