The life and theological views of Abdulkarim al-Rifai (In the context of his work al-Ma'rifah fi Bayan-i 'Aqidah al-Muslim)

Abdulkarim al-Rifai was born in Damascus during the late period of the Ottoman Empire, a time marked by widespread poverty and underdevelopment that left deep scars across all layers of society. As a member of a family with limited means, al-Rifa'i received education from the prominent scholars of the region, enabling him to secure a distinguished position among the scholars of Damascus. Conditions such as ignorance, weakening of faith, and deviation from the righteous path prevalent in society became the main factors that ignited his passion for religious calling in his heart. Our study, titled "The Life and Theological Views of Abdulkarim al-Rifai (in the Context of His Work al-Ma'rifah fi Bayan-i 'Aqidah al-Muslim)", consists of two chapters. The first chapter provides a detailed examination of al-Rifa'i's life, scholarly personality, the environment in which he was raised, his teachers, and his students. The second chapter analyzes core doctrinal issues such as ma'rifatullah (knowledge of God), faith, the attributes of God, the characteristics of prophets, and matters of the unseen (sam'iyyat), which form the backbone of Islamic creed. This study concludes that al-Rifa'i was an author who supported the faith of Muslims with a simple and comprehensible approach. Moreover, it is observed that he substantiated the theological views of Ahl al-Sunnah, to which he belonged, with both rational and textual evidence.