Q: WHY DO SOME MUSLIMEEN CALL THEMSELVES ASH'ARIYYA OR MATURIDIYYA?

A: We start with the Name of Allah. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. To Allah belongs the endowments, befitting perfection, and commendations. We ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his Al (Family), and Sahabah (Companions), and to protect his nation from what he fears for it. Ameen. Thereafter:

Please listen and listen sincerely: when people say they are Ash'ariyya or Maturidiyya, that is just a short way for saying that they follow the Qur'an, Sunnah, Salaf as-Saliheen, and ijma in Fiqh al-Iman (Details of Faith), or you say 'aqeedah (doctrine of faith) according to the "route/path" of Abu Hasan Al-Ash'ari or Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, who both were from the generation the Salaf as-Saliheen, and they both have continuous unbroken chains of transmissions (isnad/sanad) back to either Imam Shafi'i, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, and other Salaf back to the Prophet ﷺ.

In regards to a "route/path" (tareeqah), Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said which means:

"Whoever follows a 'route/path' (tareeqah) in pursuit of seeking knowledge, Allah will facilitte for him a path to Paradise."

[Sahih Muslim and Timridhi]

As for the importance of an isnad/sanad, the Prophet ﷺ said which means:

"You hear [from me], and others will hear from you; and people will hear from them who heard from you, and so on."

[Abu Dawud 3659]

In regards to this hadith, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), Rahimahullah, said which means:

"The isnad (chain of narration) is part of the deen. If it were not for the isnad, then any person would have said (about Islam) whatever he wished."

Truth be told, the Wahhabis aka Pseudo-Salafis follow the deviant "route/path" of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab, an 18th century genocidal, hypocritical, and delusional person, who was not from the generations of the Salaf. They have no valid continuous unbroken chains of transmissions (isnad/sanad) back to the Salaf, and not even to the works of their so-called top Imam, ibn Taymiyah (d. 661 AH).

We humbly challenge the Wahhabis aka Pseudo-Salafis, and any group to produce one live continuous valid chain of transmissions (sanad/isnad), without having the Ash'ariyya, Maturidiyya, or Sufis in the chain back to one of the books of the Salaf.

May Allah ta'ala guide us to the proper understanding of those matters. Ameen Allahumma Ameen.