Jawharat al-Tawhid: A source for Ash'arism in the 17th Century

Ashʿarism is a sect with important representatives in Islamic thought. Immediately after the formationperiod, it was represented by important thinkers in different parts of the Islamic geography. One of the most important factors for Ashʿarism, which became an important representative of the Ahl al-Sunnah in a shorttime, to have attracted supporters is that Mâlikî faqihs in Baghdad adopted Ash’ari views. The fact thatBaqillani was also Mâlikî and that he was accepted as an important theorist of the Ash’ari tradition alsoaccelerated this process. Thus, with the support of Mâlikî scholars, Ashʿarism spread rapidly especially in theNorth and West Africa, where Mâlikî fiqh is in great demand. In addition to this, beginning from the firstperiod of Ash’arism, many books in varying volumes have been written in the region regarding Ash’ari kalam.By the seventeenth century, al-Laqani, who was one of the most important scholars of the period and wholived in Egypt, had authored a work written in poem named Jawharat al-Tawhid in accordance with theAsh’ari tradition so that the beginners could easily learn Ilm al-Kalam. The work, which has gained greatreputation since the day it was written, has been the subject to many commentary studies by many scholars,al-Laqānī being in the first place. This study aimed to introduce the main topics addressed by Jawharat al Tawhid, from which we can see the course of Ashʿarism in the region, and the works done about it.