What is the creed of the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, and are the four Imams among them in creed? We need a comprehensive explanation of this topic.

The Shaykh : What is the creed of the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah in terms of creed and the oneness of Allah? And are the four Imams among them in creed? We need a comprehensive explanation of this topic.
We must know that the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah are two schools among the schools of the scholars of *kalam* (theological discourse), which are innovations that came after the four Imams. Therefore, the question of whether the Imams are among them is like saying that the Companions were Wahhabis because they used to call the adhan without adding anything after it. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab came after them by about a thousand years. The four Imams were upon the Book and the Sunnah in both principles and branches. Even though there was disagreement among them, they did not deviate from the principles of the Shari'ah in any way. Rather, they established for us the good Sunnah of the obligation to adhere to the Book and the Sunnah in creed and in rulings. As for the schools of *kalam* that are known today among the people of the Sunnah as the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah, and among others as the Mu'tazilah, the Jabriyyah, and the Qadariyyah, the four Imams, first of all, do not acknowledge these as an idea, and they did not encounter them as a school or as a school... Therefore, the Imams are prior to these two schools, the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah. Then they differ from these people on some issues. And now, we are not in a position, or we are unable, to enter into the details of the disagreement existing between the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah on one hand, and these two schools and the schools of the four Imams, especially the Imams of hadith, on the other hand. But one of the clearest issues of disagreement between the schools of the people of the Sunnah, the four Imams, and especially among them Imam Ahmad, and these two schools, is that they are predominantly inclined toward figurative interpretation of the verses of the attributes. This is on their part due to being influenced by the school of the Mu'tazilah, especially since Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, to whom the Asha'irah claim affiliation, was in the beginning of his pursuit of the science of *kalam* a Mu'tazili. Then Allah Mighty and Majestic guided him to adhere to the school of the people of the Sunnah in the oneness of Allah and in the science of *kalam*. He stated this explicitly and emphatically in his printed book known as "Al-Ibanah li-Usul al-Din", and he said that his school in the oneness of Allah is the school of the Imam of the Sunnah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). Then he explained that with some good detail. As for the Asha'irah today, unfortunately, their likeness is like that of a group of jinn whom a group of Arabs in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance used to worship besides Allah . When Allah Blessed and Exalted is He sent our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a messenger to the humans and the jinn, the jinn believed in him (peace be upon him), and the polytheists continued to worship these believing jinn besides Allah Mighty and Majestic. So Allah Blessed and Exalted is He revealed His saying . So the polytheists continued to worship the jinn who had found guidance, while the worshippers remained astray. I say approximately that Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari was guided by Allah to the people of the Sunnah and explicitly adhered to the creed of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. As for the Asha'irah today, they adhere to the school of Abu al-Hasan in the beginning when he was a Mu'tazili. This is one of the wonders that one finds among Muslims today, even in creed, let alone in the branches. This is one of the issues of disagreement: the issues of the attributes. So the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah, as a general rule, are the majority, or else we find individuals who have also found guidance, like Abu al-Hasan, to the school of the people of the Sunnah. But as a general rule, the Asha'irah interpret the verses of the attributes figuratively. And we hear this on the minbars today, in the sermons, that Allah Mighty and Majestic is in every place, that Allah is present in all existence. And I have heard from some of those who studied fiqh with us on the minbar, saying repeatedly and over and over: "Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside it." If it were said to the most eloquent of the Arabs, "Describe for us the non-existent, which is nothing," he would not be able to describe this non-existent with more than what these people describe their deity with: "Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside it." This is the non-existent. So did Allah describe Himself to His servants in the Noble Qur'an in this way? Far be it from Allah. The clearest verse when speaking about the believers says . So if we want to know ourselves when we fear Allah and are humble before Him, do we keep in our minds and in our creed that our Lord Blessed and Exalted is He, as He said ? Do we imagine that our Lord is above us? This is the description of our Lord to His believing servants . And this is a long research with many verses and Prophetic hadiths. And al-Hafiz, the Hafiz of Sham in his time and era, Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi, the famous hadith scholar and historian, has a specific book on this issue called "Al-Ulu li-Ilahi al-'Azim" ... "Al-Ulu li-Ilahi al-'Azim". This is its correct name in some reliable manuscripts. And it was printed under the name "Al-Ghafar" "Al-Ulu li-Ilahi al-Ghafar". And I... in brief, this book, since about a year ago, I have removed from it the things that are not authentic and not established from hadiths and reports from the Salaf. And perhaps it will be facilitated for us to print it soon, if Allah wills.
This book establishes this attribute for Allah Mighty and Majestic with the noble verses, the Prophetic hadiths, the sayings of the Companions, and the Prophetic reports from the Imams up to the time of the author in the eighth century, in sequence from them. I told you that the school of the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah is the figurative interpretation of the verses of the attributes. And among that is the denial of the elevation of the Exalted and Great. I said this about the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah as a general rule, but there are individuals among these and those who have said, as the Salaf said, that faith in the attributes of Allah Mighty and Majestic is without likening Allah to creation and without denial of the divine attributes, i.e., without figurative interpretation. Among these, for example, is al-Juwayni, one of the great Imams of the Asha'irah. Al-Dhahabi transmitted in this book a clear text from him that he believes that Allah Mighty and Majestic is above His creation without likening Allah to creation and without ascribing a body to Allah. In fact, he has a printed treatise in the Muniriyyah collection, and it is a very useful treatise in which he took the path of the Salaf in this attribute. He is an Ash'ari, but the Asha'irah today are not on this. And thus... generally, the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, since they interpret the verses of the attributes figuratively, are not upon the school of the righteous Salaf.
... in his creed known as the Tahawiyyah, and it has been printed with a good explanation and also in the manner of the people of the Salaf. And this, in our belief, is among the best of what has been authored in the path of the righteous Salaf. This is what can be said briefly in answer to this question. Yes.

The questioner : ... .