HERITAGE SITE | TOMBD OF IMAM MATURIDI RA

• Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd al-Maturidi was the eponymous figurehead of the Māturīdiyyah school of theology that arose in Transoxania and which came to be one of the most important foundations of Islamic aqidah (doctrine). 

• He lived during the time when the Muʿtazilites, a sect who began using the techniques of Greek dialectic (logical argumentation) to attack orthodox Muslim theology. Imam al-Māturīdī seized the offensive by using these same arguments as a means of defending orthodox theology and thus saved the basic belief structure of Islam from becoming distorted by the Muʿtazilites.

• al-Maturidi was born in Maturid village, located near Samarkand and which is presently known by the name Motrit. He acquired his religious education in Samarkand and then went on to teach fiqh (jurisprudence) and ilm al-kalam (theology).

• He passed away in 944CE and was buried in Samarkand in Chokardiza cemetery. A mausoleum was built over his grave but was destroyed in 1947. 

• His grave was rediscovered a few years back and was reopened in the year 2000. 

• Not far off is the ‘Cemetery of Muhaddithin’ (scholars of hadith).  There were two prerequisites to be buried there; the scholar needed to be a muhaddith (involved with hadith) or mufassir (involved with the interpretation of the Quran) as well as one who bears the name Muhammad. Four hundred such people met these requirements and were interred there.