= “It appears that all his works have been lost, although remnants of them survive in al-Ashari’s Maqalat….” See: al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala, vol. 11: 174–176; Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan, vol. 3: 290–291; al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya, vol. 20: 299–300; Kahhala, Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifin, vol. 6: 59. (1) He was Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Isma’il ibn Ishaq ibn Salim ibn Isma’il al-Ashari. Originally a Mu‘tazilite, he later reverted to Sunni orthodoxy; the Ash‘ari school (al-Ash‘ariyya) takes its name from him. Among his many writings are al-Luma‘, al-Ibana, Maqalat al-Islamiyyin, and other works in which he refuted atheists, Mu‘tazilites, Rafidites, Jahmites, Kharijites, and other innovators. He was born in 260 AH and died in 324 AH, though sources vary on the exact date. See: al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 11: 346–347; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-A‘yan, vol. 3: 284–286; al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya, vol. 3: 347–424; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 11: 210. (2) He was Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Mahdi al-Tabari al-Ashari, a companion of Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari in Basra and his student. He authored al-Tasanif and became learned in kalam. His book Ta’wil al-Ahadith al-Mushkila fi’l-Sifat addresses the problematic hadiths concerning God’s attributes. Fuad Sezgin notes in Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums, vol. 1, part 4 (Aqa’id), p. 45: “He also wrote Ta’wil al-Ayat al-Mushkila, explaining and illustrating them with proof and argument.” He died around 380 AH. See: Ibn ‘Asakir, Tabyin Kadhb al-Muftari, pp. 195–196; al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya, vol. 3: 466–468; al-Dawudi, Tabaqat al-Mufassirin, vol. 1: 436–437; al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat, vol. 22: 143; Kahhala, Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifin, vol. 7: 234. (3) He was the judge Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Tayyib ibn Muhammad al-Baqillani, one of the leading scholars of kalam. He rose to the headship of the Ash‘ari school. Among his works are al-Tamhid fi’l-Radd ‘ala al-Mulhida al-Mu‘attila wa’l-Rafidah wa’l-Khawarij wa’l-Mu‘tazila, and the book al-Ibana...