What is your eminence's opinion on the fatwa that states that the term "Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah" refers to the Ash'aris and Maturidis, and that they are the saved sect (al-firqah al-najiyah) described by the Messenger as the great majority of the Ummah, citing scholars' sayings in support of this?
The Ash'aris and Maturidis claim to be Ahl al-Sunnah, but what matters is not the claim itself, but whether the claim corresponds to reality. Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari went through three stages: Mu'tazilism, then following Ibn Kullab, and then conforming to Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah, as he explicitly stated in his three books. So, whoever followed al-Ash'ari in his last stage has conformed to Ahl al-Sunnah, and whoever adhered to his methodology in the second stage has contradicted al-Ash'ari himself and Ahl al-Sunnah. Many of the imams of the Ash'aris returned to the madhhab of Ahl al-Sunnah at the end of their lives.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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