Abu Hassan al-Ash'ari (324H)

Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ashʿarī (260–324 AH)

Founder of the Ashʿarī school of theology, he moved away from Muʿtazilite rationalism and returned to the path of Ahl al-Sunnah before his death. His defense of Sunni orthodoxy in the face of theological controversy shaped the development of Islamic creed for centuries to come.