Assalamaulaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Abdullah I somewhat agree with you but two points:
1. Don’t use the term “orthodoxy”, otherwise we are following the ways of Jews and Christians. Simply say Islam and when mentioning deviant ideas, cal them for what they are.
2. They can’t actually claim majority status. Most Muslims who they claim are Ashari or Maturidi probably don’t know anything distinct about their strange creeds let alone any of the Quran. That’s because ignorance and poverty is widespread. Also, what appears to be the case is that the fitrah inclines us to believe Allah is above us. Why do you think, in desperate situations people raise their hands to the sky and beg? There is no need for the term Athari because that puts in on the same level of Ashari/Maturidi. Islam is Islam, and it is the deviants who are distinguished with different names, not Muslims!

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

You can’t claim majority status for Asharites and Maturidites. Also, didn’t Ashari eventually correct his creed in the last 5 years of his life?

Most Muslims know very little about their religion from what I can see, due to poverty, illiteracy,and lack of education. That is why we follow in the footsteps of the Christians and follow many innovations and there is even excessive saint veneration.

@Muhammad, what ‘counts for something’ in reality is what the first three generations of Mulims, the righteous forefathers, were upon in terms of creed and deed. And what the so-called ‘great mass of Muslims’ or majority are upon in later times, the خَلَف, doesn’t amount to anything. It is by *no means* whatsoever the criteria for truth, correctness and orthodoxy! Sure, our beloved (peace be on him) told us, that this Ummah will never, ever, *unite* (i.e. collectively agree) upon falsehood, but that only means that if the entire Ummah has unanimously agreed on something, that thing will not be Baatil, but truth. But there has always been, among later generations, people/scholars upon the true, orthodox beliefs of Islam (that the Early Community were upon). So in spite of the majority of Ash’arites and so on, there has always been a taa’ifah (group) among the Ummah clinging to the sound creed.

The verse (6:116) about how the majority will lead you astray if you follow them, although originally it was referring to disbelievers, it can also refer to the Muslim Ummah of later times, because the Prophet, peace be on him, informed that in the later generations of this Nation corruption, treachery, lies (etc) would become prevalent! Only the Sahabah, Tabi’un, and their successors (i.e. and this includes the likes of the Four Imams) were rightly-guided, and THEY are the criteria of truth, not later peoples.

Ibn Abbas is known to be the one who has used the phrase “Ahl al-Sunna wa’al Jam’ah” in the tafseer of the verse you state.

I take issue with Shaykh al-Dido on his statements below:

“Also, the intended meaning of the community of believers is not a large number of individuals or a righteous group only. On the contrary, Allah says in the six chapter of the Qur’an, “And if you were to obey most of the people, they would misguide you from the path of Allah. “

Shaykh al-Dido is quoting a verse of the Qur’an that famous mufasireen say refer to non-Muslims — not Muslims. Therefore, it is incorrect for Shaykh al-Dido to use that verse to prove his point.

It is well know among Sunnis that “Sunni orthodoxy” is represented by the Ash’ari, Maturidi, and correct Athari creeds. It is a fact that most followers of the Shafi’i and Maliki schools are Ash’ari, and most followers of the Hanafi school are Maturidi. And they collectively make up the ‘majority’ of Muslims. Therefore, the great mass of Muslims, or the majority, do count for something.

Wassalam,
Muhammad

On the tafseer of the ayah [EMQ 3: 106], “On the Day (Day of Judgement) when some faces will become white and some faces will become black…” Ibn Abbas (ra) said as recorded in Ibn Kathir and Tafseer Tabari, “Those whose faces will be bright will be Ahl us-Sunnah Wal Jama’ah and those whose faces will be dark will be Ahl ul-Bida’ah Wal Firqah.”

Jazak'Allah Khair for sharing Sheikh.

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf in his translation of Imam at-Tahawi's Aqeedah also mentions the term came into existence as a result of the numerous heretical ideologies present during the early period of the Abbasite Caliphate. (Mu'tazila, Shia, Jahmiyya etc.) So scholars started referring to orthodox Islam as Ahl Sunnah wa'al Jama'ah to distinguish themselves from the other groups who were all calling themselves 'Muslim'.