al-Milal wa al-Nihal

al-Milal wa al-Nihal (Religions and Sects) is an Arabic compendium on world religions, theological sects, and philosophical systems composed by the Ash'ari theologian and jurist al-Shahrastani (d. 548 AH / 1153 CE) Majallat al-Bayan+1 in 521 AH (1127 CE) Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…. Written as an orderly overview of human belief, the work classifies and describes the doctrines of Islamic denominations, monotheistic religions, ancient philosophies, and non-Abrahamic traditions Majallat al-Bayan+1.

Composition and Purpose

Al-Shahrastani prepared the work to gather a concise and structured account of everything adhered to by religious communities and adopted by various thinkers Majallat al-Bayan+1. He presented the book to the Shi'i nobleman in Khurasan, Ali ibn Ja'far al-Musawi, a dedication he referenced in the introduction to his later work Masara'at al-Falasifa (Wrestling with the Philosophers) Majallat al-Bayan. Some copies also contain a dedication to the vizier Nasir al-Din Majallat al-Risala.

Structure and Contents

The treatise opens with five theoretical introductions (al-muqaddimat al-khams) that set out its classification criteria and historical framework Majallat al-Bayan+1:

1. Division of the people of the world: Distinguishing between adherents of revealed religions and communities (arbab al-diyanat wa-l-milal) who possess a scripture or quasi-scripture, and followers of individual opinions and sects (ahl al-ahwa' wa-l-nihal) such as philosophers and astral worshippers Majallat al-Bayan+1.
2. The rule for enumerating Islamic sects: Delineating internal disagreements along four fundamental doctrinal axes—divine unity and attributes, predestination (qadar), divine promise and threat (al-wa'd wa-l-wa'id), and revelation versus reason alongside the imamate—which produce four major sectarian umbrellas: the Qadariyya, the Sifatiyya, the Kharijites, and the Shia Majallat al-Bayan.
3. The origin of first doubt: Analyzing the primordial doubt that arose in creation and its source al-Milal wa al-Nihal+1.
4. The first disagreements in Islam: Outlining the controversies that arose in the final days of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and during the early Caliphate, tracing their religious and political consequences Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1.
5. The systematic arrangement: Explaining the mathematical and systematic method adopted to organize the material Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1.

Following the preliminary sections, the main text is organized into two primary divisions Majallat al-Bayan+1:

Part One: Religious Communities (Arbab al-Diyanat wa al-Milal)

This part begins with Muslims, surveying schools of theology including the Mu'tazila, Jabriyya, Sifatiyya, Kharijites, Murji'a, and Shia, followed by differences among jurists regarding legal derivation (ijtihad), dividing them into the proponents of hadith (ashab al-hadith) and legal reasoning (ashab al-ra'y) al-Milal wa al-Nihal+1. It then covers the People of the Book—Jews (including the Ananites, Isawiyya, Yudghanites, and Samaritans) and Christians (Melkites, Nestorians, and Jacobites)—and groups holding quasi-scriptures, such as Magians (including the Kayumarthiyya, Zurvanites, and Zarathustrians) and Dualists (Manichaeans, Mazdakites, Bardesanites, and Marcionites) al-Milal wa al-Nihal.

Part Two: Sects and Philosophical Systems (Ahl al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal)

This part treats the Sabians and Harranians, the Pre-Socratic and Classical Greek philosophers (including Thales, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), and Islamic philosophers, devoting extensive discussion to Avicenna across logic, metaphysics, and physics al-Milal wa al-Nihal+1. The concluding sections address the religious beliefs and customs of the pre-Islamic Arabs, followed by the religious and philosophical systems of India, including Brahmins, Buddhists (ashab al-badada), astral and idol worshippers, and Indian sages al-Milal wa al-Nihal.

Method and Reception

Al-Shahrastani focuses primarily on doctrinal concepts rather than biographical narratives or textual bibliographies, presenting views with descriptive detachment Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al….

The book received considerable scholarly attention and praise. Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771 AH / 1370 CE) considered it the best book composed in its genre, noting that while Ibn Hazm's al-Fisal was more detailed, it lacked systematic arrangement Majallat al-Bayan+1. Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) remarked that it was more comprehensive and possessed better transmission than most heresiographical texts, though he criticized al-Shahrastani for omitting or lacking awareness of the traditional doctrines of the early generations (salaf) and Ahl al-Hadith, and argued that the author showed leniency toward Shi'i positions Majallat al-Bayan+2.

Transmission and Editions

The book was translated into Ottoman Turkish by Nuh ibn Mustafa al-Rumi al-Misri in 1070 AH (1659–1660 CE) Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…. An early European edition was edited by William Cureton al-Milal wa al-Nihal, and modern Arabic scholarly editions include those prepared by Muhammad Sayyid Kilani and Muhammad Fath Allah Badran Majallat al-Bayan+1. An early manuscript copy is preserved in the El Escorial library al-Alam lil-Zirikli.