Muhammad ibn Muhammad, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, was born in the Maturid quarter of Samarkand around 853 CE, and studied Hanafi jurisprudence and theology under the scholars of Transoxania, becoming skilled in refuting the Mu'tazila, the Qarmatians, and other opposing sects.
Al-Maturidi established a theological method close to al-Ash'ari's in balancing scripture and reason, though he gave somewhat greater scope to reason within the bounds of religious law, drawing on the Hanafi legal theory in which he was trained.
Legacy
The Maturidi school spread after his death in Samarkand in 944 CE among Hanafis across Transoxania, Anatolia, and the Indian subcontinent, becoming, alongside Ash'arism, one of the two major Sunni schools of creed.
