Abstract:

Imam al-Mâturîdî, one of the most important Muslim Turkish scholars raised in Samarqand, mentiones a group called “Sumaniyya” in his book titled Kitâbü't-Tevhid. Al-Mâturîdî mentions “Sumaniyya” inside of Dahriyye, in which the materialist philosophical movement, which claims that the universe is eternal and that there is no creator. He compares thoughts of this group with those of Islamic scholars. He criticizes their thoughts of the formation and functioning of the universe; emphasizes they are devoid of knowledge and wisdom. In this work, we will examine whether the group mentioned as “Sumaniyya” in al-Mâturîdî’s work is Buddhism or not. In this sense, firstly we will emphasize the various origins of the “Sumaniyya” such as Sumenat, Sraman, Semeniye (followers of Eightfold ways). We will then try to show whether al-Mâturîdî’s criticism is justified in terms of Buddhist beliefs and the thoughts of the universe.

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