Athari

Athari (Arabic: أثري‎; textualism) is a school or movement of traditionalist Islamic scholars who reject Islamic "theology" (kalam) in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the Quran. The name is derived from the Arabic word athar, literally meaning "remnant", and also referring to a "narrative." Their disciples are called the Athariyya or Atharis.

Views

Atharis believe that the literal, apparent, or zahir meaning of the Qur'an and the hadith have sole authority in matters of belief and law; and that the use of rational disputation is forbidden even if it verifies the truth. Atharis engage in an amodal reading of the Qur'an, as opposed to one engaged in Ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an rationally, and believe that their realities should be consigned to God alone (tafwid). In essence, the text of the Qur'an and Hadith is accepted without asking "how" or "Bi-la kaifa". This theology was taken from exegesis of the Quran and statements of the early Muslims, and was later codified by a number of scholars including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Qudamah. While adherents of the Athari school are usually of the Hanbali madhhab (school of fiqh), they are not strictly identified with any particular madhhab.