Kamal al-din Ibn al-Humām's views on the disputes between the Ashʿarī and Māturīdī schools and his kalām methodology

This thesis aims to examine how Kamāl al-Dīn Ibn al-Humām, despite exhibiting certain inclinations toward Ashʿarī positions in his theological thought and describing himself as an independent scholar, has nonetheless been regarded as a Māturīdī within the tradition. Originating from Sivas and having spent a significant part of his scholarly career in Alexandria, Ibn al-Humām distinguished himself through his profound expertise in the fields of kalām and uṣūl al-fiqh, as well as his systematic mode of reasoning. In particular, through his work al-Musāyara, which has acquired an important status as a source for the development of Māturīdī kalām, he secured his place in the theological literature. Despite his alignment with certain Ashʿarī views on points of divergence between the Māturīdī and Ashʿarī schools, and despite his own statement, "In rational matters (maʿqūlāt), I do not imitate anyone," Ibn al-Humām is consistently described in the sources as a Māturīdī. This raises a significant research question: What is it that leads to his being regarded as a Māturīdī? To this end, the first chapter will outline the principal theological disagreements between the Ashʿarī and Māturīdī schools. Drawing on Ibn al-Humām's positions in al-Musāyara on disputed issues, topics such as the audibility of the divine attribute of speech (kalām), the attribute of takwīn, taklīf mā lā yuṭāq, human acts, ḥusn and qubḥ, and matters pertaining to faith will be addressed. The internal diversity of the Māturīdī tradition will also be analyzed, including the methodological differences between the "Fuqahāʾ Māturīdīs" and the "Mutakallimūn Māturīdīs," as well as the distinctions between the Bukhara and Samarqand schools. The second chapter will focus directly on Ibn al-Humām's positions on contested issues, analyzing his theological preferences through a text-centered approach, with particular attention to the epistemological priorities and interpretive methods employed in al-Musāyara. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology, employing a comparative analysis of classical sources, contemporary literature, and definitions of the schools. Within this framework, the nature of Ibn al-Humām's engagement with the classical Māturīdī tradition will be assessed through a critical and comparative lens. This thesis seeks not only to clarify the position of a single scholar but also to contribute to understanding both the historical fluidity of sectarian boundaries and Ibn al-Humām's distinctive theological stance.