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Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari is born at Basra, 260/873-4

ولادة أبي الحسن الأشعري بالبصرة، ٢٦٠هـ

c. 874 CE · 260 AH

Basra

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Isma'il ibn Abi Bishr (Ishaq ibn Salim) al-Ash'ari al-Yamani al-Basri was born at Basra in 260/873-4; it is also said that he was born in 270 1 2. He was ninth in descent from the Companion Abu Musa al-Ash'ari 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Abbasid Fragmentation
Region
Levant & Iraq
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In time

860870880890 c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · Abbasid Fragmentation

In space

Basra

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Creed

Overview

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Isma'il ibn Abi Bishr (Ishaq ibn Salim) al-Ash'ari al-Yamani al-Basri was born at Basra in 260/873-4; it is also said that he was born in 270 1 2. He was ninth in descent from the Companion Abu Musa al-Ash'ari 1.

His lineage and early life

His line goes back to the Ash'aris of Yemen, and al-Dhahabi transmits a long pedigree ascending to Bilal ibn Abi Burda, son of the Companion Abu Musa al-Ash'ari 2. Little is known of his early years at Basra beyond that he learned kalam in his native city until he excelled in it 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari
Occurred at
Basra

People and things also explored

Al-Ash'ari composes Maqalat al-Islamiyyin and his refutations of the Mu'tazila· Al-Ash'ari publicly renounces Mu'tazilism in the Great Mosque of Basra, 300/912-13· Al-Ash'ari, al-Jubba'i's pupil at Basra, and the three brothers debate· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari· al-Jubba'i· Basra· Al-Ash'ari moves to Baghdad late in life· Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari dies at Baghdad, 324/935-6

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 743
  2. Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' — al-Dhahabi (Dar al-Risala al-Alamiyya edition) , 15/85
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari is born at Basra, 260/873-4”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/birth-al-ashari-260/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Al-Ash'ari composes Maqalat al-Islamiyyin and his refutations of the Mu'tazila

After his repentance al-Ash'ari set about refuting the Mu'tazila, and composed the many works he himself lists in al-Umd fi'l-Ru'ya, among them al-Fusul fi'l-Radd ala'l-Mulhidin in twelve books, Khalq al-A'mal, al-Sifat, al-Ru'ya bi'l-Absar, Idah al-Burhan, al-Luma' fi'l-Radd ala Ahl al-Bida', al-Naqd ala'l-Jubba'i, and a tafsir; Ibn al-Nadim names al-Luma', al-Mujaz, al-Tabyin an Usul al-Din and al-Sharh wa'l-Tafsil fi'l-Radd ala Ahl al-Ifk wa'l-Tadlil. Most famous is his Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa-Ikhtilaf al-Musallin, the descriptive work presenting the doctrines of the sects which displays his intimate knowledge of Mu'tazilite views.