ASHʿARĪYAH. The theological doctrine of the Ashʿarīyah, the followers of al-Ashʿarī, is commonly regarded as the most important single school of systematic theology in orthodox Islam. The school and its members are commonly referred to in Arabic as al-Ashʿarīyah and its members often as al-ashāʿirah (the "Ashʿarīs"). Ashʿarī masters during the tenth and eleventh centuries CE most commonly refer to themselves and the school as ahl al-ḥaqq ("those who teach the true doctrine") or ahl al-sunnah wa-al-jamāʿah ("the adherents of the sunnah and the consensus [of the Muslim community]") and sometimes as ahl al-taḥqīq ("those whose doctrine is conceptually clear and verified"). It should be noted, however, that other groups, including some opponents of the Ashʿarīyah, use the same...