Comparison of the views of İmam Maturidi and ibn Taymiyye on tawhid

The Maturidite and the Salafism are separated from each other in terms of the method they use to reach the true knowledge even though they are unified under the Ehl-i Sunnet framework. The most prominent example of this is the necessity of how to handle and understand the expressions that have been passed in Islamic texts and which are called cognates. An Ehl-i Rey school, which is based on the obtained meaning through which a different meaning other than the referred one was uncovered through the rational interpretation, came to existence. On the other hand, another school called Ashab al-Hadith, which argues that it is not right to look for the meanings in a place other than the surface of the wording, thus is based on the wording by leaving the meaning to Allah, was formed. In time, both sides spread and improved by contributing to new understandings. For example, Ehl-i Rey has been instrumental to the development of both Islamic jurisprudence in Hanafism, and the Maturidite through its systemization in faith. Similarly, a Salafism movement, which has been influenced by the Ashab al-Hadith and trying to make a return to them by adopting the tradition and method, has emerged. Abu Mansur al- Maturidi, as it can be understood from his own name, was accepted as the founder of Maturidite, while Ibn Taymiyye was regarded as the founder of Salafism, especially for the second period. In this study, the views of Abu Mansur al- Maturidi and Ibn Taymiyye were discussed and separately compared with an unbiased point of view. Ultimately, the methods that Imam Maturidi and Ibn Taymiyye have observed regarding the proof of Vâcib, classification of tawhid, and divine attributes are different from each other. The differences in their methods are also reflected in their approach to and explanations of the incidents. Imam Maturidi is approaching the subject inferentially and the interpretively. The most important part of his tawhid view is the acceptance of God's existence and unity. The foundation of faith is established on this basis. Ibn Taymiyye, however, approaches Islamic text through their wordings without needing both inferences and interpretations. He believes that there is not a great deal of disagreement among people about accepting God's existence. He views the shirk (polytheism) as the main problem. He aims to mainly struggle with approaches that may or may come to mean shirk in terms of proof of the Vâcib. Both sides approaches to the names, attributes and actions of Allah within the framework of tawhid, and in this respect they adopt a far-off approach from comparison and modification. Keywords Imam Maturidi, Ibn Taymiyye, tawhid, the proof of Vâcib, names, divine attributes, Godhead, dominicality.