Obligation to know God- three different responses

The development of Islamic theology has always been characterized by the tension between reason and revelation. The Mutazilites (see my previous discussion on them: Mu’tazilla is not Godzilla) were an ancient school of ultra-rationalists who relied exclusively on reason to explain many of the religion’s tenets, but were later sidelined because some of their views were considered too distant from the revelation. Islamic orthodoxy eventually settled on the theological frameworks of Imam al-Ash’ari (d. 936 AD) and Imam al-Maturidi (d. 944 AD).

To understand the sometimes nuanced differences between Islamic theology’s three major streams, one might ask the question, “What is the basis for man’s recognition to know God?”.

1. The Mutazilites answer, reason.
2. The Asharis answer, it is written that we must know God.
3. The Maturidis answer, the obligation to know God is based on the Divine Command, but that commandments must be grasped by reason. Reason thus is not a means to an end, but an instrument of the knowledge of God.

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