[lalpphilalk]

Oh that would be great, please do not let me stop you.

A few proofs that the Ash'aris and Maturidis are on the correct path:

qaal allahu ta3aalaa: { يايها الذين ءامنوا من يرتد منكم عن دينه فسوف يأتي الله بقوم يحبهم ويحبونه أذلة على المؤمنين أعزة على الكافرين يجهدون في سبيل الله ولا يخافون لومة لائم ذلك فضل الله يؤتيه من يشاء والله وسع عليم } [al-Maa'idah: 54]

It has been translated as
"O you who have attained to faith! If you ever abandon your faith," God will in time bring forth [in your stead] people whom He loves and who love Him - humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth: [people] who strive hard in God's cause, and do not fear to be censured by anyone who might censure them: such is God's favour, which He grants unto whom He wills. And God is infinite, all-knowing."
The Haafidh ibn Asaakir and also al-Haakim narrate that when this ayah was revealed Rasoolullah pointed to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and said what means "they are the nation of this one." And Imam al-Qurtobi narrated in his tafseer that Imam al-Qushayri said what means, "The followers of Abul-Hasan al-Ash'ari (the founder of the Ash'ari school) are among his (Abu Musa al-Ash'ari's) nation."

The haafidh al-Bayhaqi said what means, "That's because of the majestic virtue and noble status of Imam Abul-Hasan al-Ash'ari, may Allah have riDaa' on him. He is part of the nation of Abu Musa and among his descendants who brought knowledge and spread understanding, and stands out among them for strengthening the sunnah and suppressing bid'ah by making the proof clear and by refuting doubt." Narrated by ibn Asaakir.

Imam al-Bukhari mentioned in his Saheeh, in the chapter about the greatness of the Ash'aris and the people of Yemen that Rasoolullah said about them what means, "They are of Me and I am of them."

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and al-Haakim both narrated the Saheeh hadith in which Rasoolullah said what means, "Constantinople will be opened (ie. conquered by the Muslim army), and what a GREAT leader that leader is, and what a great army that army is." Who was the one who conquered Constantinople? It was Sultan Muhammad FaatiH, and he was an Ash'ari.


Just to name a few other Ash'aris whom you might have heard of:
Imam al-Ismaili, Imam al-Bayhaqi, Imam ibn Asakir, ibn Hajar al-Asqalaani, the renewer of the 4th century: Abut-Tayyib Sahl bin Muhammad, Imam al-Baahili, Imam ibn Furuk, Imam al-Baaqillaani, Imam al-Asfaraayeeni, Imam al-Asbahaani
al-Qaadhi abdul-Wahhab al-Maliki, Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni, his son Imam al-haramayn, the Haafidh al-Daraqutni, the Haafidh al-khateeb al-Baghdadi, Imam al-Qushayri, his son Abu Nasr, Imam ash-Shiraazi, Nasr ul-Maqdisi, Imam al-Ghazali, Imam al-Faraawi, ibn Aqeel al-Hanbali, the judge of judges al-Daamighaani al-hanafi, Abul Waleed al-Baajee al-Maliki, Imam Sayyid Ahmad ur-Rifaa'i, ibn Sam3aani, al-Qadhi 3iyyaadh, the haafidh as-Salafi, Imam an-Nawawi, Imam fakhruddeen ar-Razi, al3izz bin abdissalaam, Abu Amr bin al-Haajib al-Maliki, the Haafidh ibn Daqeeq al-3eed, Alaa'uddeen al-Baaji, the judge of judges Taqiyuddeen as-Subki, the Haafidh al-alaa'i, the haafidh Zayn ud-deen al-Iraqi, his son Waliyuddeen, the Haafidh Murtada az-Zabeedi al-hanafi, Shaykh ul-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, Shaykh Bahaa'uddeen ar-Riwaas as-Sufi, the Mufti of Mecca Ahmad Zayni Dahlan, Waliyullah ad-Dahlawi, The Mufti of Egypt Shaykh Muhammad Ulaysh al-Maliki, The Shaykh of al-Azhar Mosque Abdullah ash-Sharqaawi, Imam al-Qaawuqji, Shaykh Husayn al-Jisr at-Tarabulusi, al-Haakim an-Naysapoori (the author of al-Mustadrak), Imam as-Sunoosi, Imam al-Haddad and all of the scholars of Hadramawt from the Aal of Alawi and as-Saqqaaf and al-Junayd, and al-3aydaroos.

Let's not forget Salahuddeen al-Ayyubi, who ordered that Aqidah be broadcast from the minarets using the phrasing that Imam al-Ash'ari used. Not to mention tons of other scholars and pious rulers. Truly, to name all of the Ash'aris would take me more than the term of my natural life.

I close out by referencing the hadith that I mentioned earlier: The saved sect is "al-Jamaa'ah" (the majority). The so-called Salafis have NEVER been a majority of the Muslims. The Ash'aris and Maturidis have been the majority since their inception.