Al-milal Wa Al-nihal English Translation

[Rosham Rosebure]

ManuscriptKitab al-milal wa al-nihal (Book of religious and philosophical sects) by Abu al- Fath Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani; Arabic in black naskhi script; 212 folios; standard page: 1 column, 20 lines of text.

Binding: The manuscript with an envelope flap is bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards; the lower and upper cover both have a border of multiple fillets.

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Al-SHAHRASTANI, Abu 'l-Fath Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karim b. Ahmad, Taj al-Din, thinkerand historian of religious and philosophical doctrines, who lived in Persia in the first half of the6th/12th century. He received other honorific titles such as al-Afdal or al-Imam. Besides a fewlandmarks, little is known of his life. Al-Shahrastani (the customary Arabic vocalisation is

retained here) was born in the small town of Shahristan, on the northern frontier of Khurasan,not far from Nasa, at the edge of the desert of qara qum (currently in the Republic ofTurkmenistan) [see shahristan (6)]. His contemporary al-Sam'ani is supposed to have written(according to Ibn Khallikan): 'I asked him the date of his birth, and he told me: 479/[1086-7].'Other ancient authors give the dates 467 and 469, but the testimony of al-Sam'ani seemsauthoritative. Nothing is known of his family; however, the attribution by Yaqut of a kunya to hisfather (Abu 'l-qasim) and to his grandfather (Abu Bakr) could indicate a privileged background.

After what was definitely a very substantial traditional education, he was sent to the prestigiousmetropolis of Nishapur. It was there that he embarked on detailed study of the Islamic sciences.His principal masters are known; most of them were in their turn disciples of al-juwayni. Intafsir, and in Ash'ari kalam, he was the pupil of Abu 'l-qasim Salman b. Nasir al-Ansari (d.412/1118), who exerted great influence over him. Hadith was taught him by Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali b.Ahmad al-Madini (d. 494/1100). In Shafi'i fiqh, he was trained by the qadi Abu 'l-Muzaffar Ahmadb. Muhammad al-Khwafi, a friend of al-Ghazali and a judge at Tus (d. 500/1106) and by AbuNasr 'Abd al-Rahim b. Abi 'l-qasim 'Abd al-Karim al-qushayri (d. 514/1120, son of the eminentmystic). It may be noted that the date of the death of al-Madini is a termnus ad quem for thearrival of al-Shahrastani at Nishapur.

Impelled no doubt by religious motives, but also by the desire to consolidate his reputation, in510/1117 he made the Pilgrimage to Mecca. On the return journey, he visited Baghdad. Hisfriend Abu 'l-Fath As'ad b. Muhammad al-Mayhani (d. 523/1129 ac-qcording to Ibn al-Athir, x,660; but 520 according to jalal Huma'i, Ghazzali-nama, Tehran 1318/1939, 308) was thenteaching at the Nizamiyya. With Mayhani's assistance, al-Shahrastani obtained a post at theNizamiyya. For three years, and with considerable success, he devoted himself to teaching,preaching, disputation. Around 514/1120 he returned to Persia.

The Saljuq ruler of Khurasan Sanjar had recently taken there, in 511/1118, the full title ofsultan. Marw, his capital, was a magnet. Through the good offices of Nasir al-Din Abu 'l-qasimMahmud b. al-Muzaffar al-Marwazi, who was wazir from 521 to 526/1127-31 (see Huma'i, ibid.),al-Shahrastani was appointed na'ib of the chancellery (diwan al-rasa'il). He even became a closefriend of Sanjar and 'his confidant' (sahib sirrihi). However, al-Shahrastani ultimately returned tohis native village. It is not known when, or why. The fact remains that there was a succession oftragic events in the year 548/1153. The sultan was taken prisoner by the Ghuzz [q.v.]. Marw fellsix months later, and the Ghuzz advanced on Nishapur. It was then, according to the testimonyof al-Sam'ani related by Ibn Khallikan, that al-Shahrastani died in his native village 'towards theend of Sha'ban 548 [November 1153]'.

Al-Shahrastani was responsible for a score of works. See the precise and detailed study by Na'ini,Sharh-i hal..., also Danish-pahuh, Nama..., vii, 72-80, viii, 61-5. The twelve most important works,beginning with those which can be dated, are:

1. al-Milal wa 'l-nihal, which, according to the author, was written in the year 521, i.e. 1127-8(ed. Badran, i, 630 (cf. 358) = Livre, i, 662 (cf. 503)). There are numerous editions, including twosemicritical ones: W. Cureton, 2 vols., London 1842-6; and Muhammad Fath Allah Badran, 2vols., Cairo 1370-5/1951-5 (Shaykh Badran has published, in small format, without criticalapparatus but with a thorough introduction, a second edition, 2 vols., Cairo 1375/1956). Atleast two Persian translations exist: by Turka-yi Isfahani (in 843/1440), Tehran 1321/1942, 3rded. 1350/1972, and by Mustafa b. Khaliqdad (in 1021/1612), Tehran, 2nd ed. 1358/1979.Turkish translation by Nuh b. Mustafa (d. 1070/1660), Cairo 1263/1847, then Istanbul1279/1862. German translation by Th. Haarbrcker, Religionspartheien und Philosophenschulen, 2vols., Halle 1850-1, repr. Wiesbaden 1969. French translation with introduction and notes byD. Gimaret, J. Jolivet and G. Monnot, Livre des religions et des sectes, 2 vols., Louvain 1986-93.There are also partial translations.

This monumental work aspired to present 'the doctrinal opinions of all the world's people', i.e.to reveal the entirety of religions and philosophies, past or present. To what extent it succeededwill be seen at a later stage.

2. Nihayat al-aqdam fi 'ilm al-kalam, later than the Milal which it mentions several times (e.g. 5,1.10; 377, l. 17). The title is given at the end of p. 4. The vocalisation of the second word (andnot al-iqdam as Guillaume writes; this has already been noted by P. Kraus) clearly results fromthe parallellism between nihayat (note the plural) aqdam ahl al-kalam and nihayat awham al-hukama'al-ilahiyyin (503-4). English edition and translation by Alfred Guillaume, The Summa Philosophiae...,

Oxford 1934; Arabic text alone repr. Baghdad n.d. The edition is mediocre; the 'translation' isnot always worthy of the name.

The book is divided into 20 chapters, each of which examines discussions of one of the'foundations' (qawa'id) of theological science. This classic work has been understood asreviewing the attainments of Muslim theology. In fact, it sets out to show its limits. 'Thefurthest steps of the people of kalam' cannot be exceeded. Should the sum total of theology notbe an admission of failure?

3. Mas'ala fi ithbat al-jawhar al-fard. A brief monograph on the concept of the atom (al-juz' alladhila yatajazza'), edited by Guillaume at the end of the Nihaya (505-14).

4. Musara'at al-falasifa, ed. Suhayr Muhammad Mukhtar, Cairo 1396/1976. Explicitly posterior tothe Milal (14), this little book is dedicated to Majd al-Din Abu 'l-qasim 'Ali b. ja'far al-Musawi,chief (naqib) of the Imami Shi'i community of Tirmidh. This is a thorough criticism of Avicennanphilosophy. It is supposed to comprise seven 'questions', but at the end of the fifth (118), theauthor bemoans the serious troubles of the time and comes to an abrupt end. The circumstancesevoked could be the defeat of Sanjar by the qara Khitay in 536/1141.

5. Mafatih al-asrar wa-masabih al-abrar, edited facsimile of the unicum, with introduction and index, 2vols., Tehran 1409 A.H./1368 A.H.S./1989. The text comprises 434 folios, or 868 pages with25 lines. It is a qur'anic commentary. After an autobiographical preface come the 12 chaptersof an introduction to the study of the qur'an, then a complete commentary on the first twosuras. The first volume (up to II, 122) of the lost autograph manuscript had been composedbetween 538 and 540. It is not known whether, as is probable, the author continued beyondSurat al-Baqara.

6. Majlis on the Creation and the Order (al-khalq wa 'l-amr). This remarkable set speech, inPersian (whereas all the other known works of this author are in Arabic) was delivered inKhwarazm; it is not known when. It was edited (in 38 pages) by Na'ini at the end of his Sharh-i haland then in his Du maktub, Tehran 1369/1990.

7. al-Manahij wa 'l-ayat. Mentioned by Bayhaqi. Apparently lost.

8. qissat Musa wa 'l-Khadir. Mentioned by Bayhaqi. Apparently lost.

9. Risala on the knowledge possessed by the Necessary Being, addressed to Sharaf al-Zaman Abu'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Ilaqi. The latter, a philosopher and physician of renown, diedin 536/1141 at the Battle of qatawan, facs. ed. of the unicum in Na'ini's Du maktub.

10. Risala to the qadi 'Umar b. Sahl (or Sahlan?) against Avicenna. Manuscript.

11. Risala to Muhammad al-Sahlani. Manuscript.

12. Sharhsurat Yusuf. Mentioned by Yaqut. Manuscript.

The contribution of this vast corpus is twofold. In the first place, this author has transmitted andpresented to generations of readers a mass of information on previous opinions and doctrines, innumerous domains. First, the doctrines of sects or persuasions internal to Islam. It is with thesethat the Milal begins, at length, to be completed, in quite another way, by the Nihaya. Theoverall picture is impressive, although containing inaccuracies. 'In terms of the scale of the text,they represent little that is of importance. But they encourage circumspection' (D. Gimaret).Now the detailed survey of philosophers occupies the longest section of the Milal, and greathopes could be placed in it. In fact, it derives principally from two sources: the iwan al-hikma andthe Ara' al-falasifa of pseudo-Ammonius. Above all, he projects on to the majority of articles thereligious vision of the Muslim thinkers. At a deeper level, and despite appearances, al-Shahrastani is hostile to philosophy. But the Milal has yet another object. Up toand including the present day, this book owes its immense reputation to the treatment ofreligions external to Islam: Christians and Jews, Mazdaeans and Manichaeans, hermeticistSabians, disciples of ancient Arab cults and of Hindu sects, etc. Not one of these chapters is ofinferior quality. As a carefully crafted whole, they remained, until the 18th century, totallyunique. They represent the high point of Muslim histories of religion. Finally, the rediscovery of

the Mafatih al-asrar should be taken into account. Each verse, before being clarified by thecorresponding 'mysteries', is initially the object of a commentary which could be described asclassical. This tafsir is situated in the very first rank of qur'anic commentaries, equal andsometimes superior to those of al-Tabari or al-Razi in terms of precision, breadth, antiquity andvariety of sources quoted; lists of the suras in pre-'Uthmanic collections, Sa'id b. jubayr, al-Hasanal-Basri, al-Kalbi, Abu 'Ubayda, al-Farra', al-Zajjaj and many others.

Al-Shahrastani does not only expound the thought of others. He has his own, which isimmediately apparent in the refutation of Ibn Sina; he devotes numerous monographs to thispurpose, attacking the philosopher from every angle. But the full expression of al-Shahrastani'sthought is to be sought elsewhere, sc. in the Mafatih al-asrar. Usually, in fact, theabove-mentioned long classical commentary is followed by the unfolding of 'mysteries' (asrar).The author insists on presenting them as received from a tradition, but the manner in whichthey are set forth bears the distinct mark both of his personal genius and of his deep-rootedconviction. These, scattered amongst consistent passages, written in a compact, sometimesvehement style, permit the reconstruction of a vision of the world.

At the summit is God, the One, of Whom we know nothing of the qualities except the ipseity(huwiyya). The world of the Divine Order is prior to the world of Creation, and traverses it, inseven cycles, passing from the universe of Laws (domain of the inchoative, musta'naf) to that ofResurrection (domain of the concluded, mafrugh). The divine and eternal letters and names, theorigin of everything, set out their manifestations (mazahir) according to two parallel lines: verbalallocutions (kalimat qawliyya), meaning the text of the Scriptures, and active allocutions (kalimatfi'liyya), meaning the corporeal individuality (ashkhas) of the prophets, the imams and their heirs.This dynamic vision is dominated by two principles: the hierarchy (tarattub) of beings, and theopposition (tadadd) which pits the side of evil against the side of good.

This is evidently a Nizari Isma'ili doctrine. Al-Khwarazmi and al-Sam'ani, contemporaries ofal-Shahrastani, had already accused him of Isma'ilism. But later, he was generally considered tobe a spokesman for Ash'arism. In recent times, Na'ini has re-opened the debate. Decisiveclarification is finally given by the Mafatih al-asrar. Al-Shahrastani fully adheres there to thepositions described above, and some more particular points establish beyond doubt that histhought was at that time Isma'ili. He does not confine himself, either to recognising theprerogatives of the Ahl al-Bayt with regard to the qur'an, or to integrating Isma'ili elements intoa Sunni theology. He propounds a global religious view, which he has received and accepted.Since when? A long time ago. It is not only the Majlis and the Musara'a which are impregnatedwith Isma'ilism, but the Milal and the Nihaya also bear subtle hints of it.

Should our author therefore be seen as a secretqbut licensed member of the Alamutorganisation? Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, in a pro-Isma'ili monograph (Sayr al-suluk, in Majmu'a-yi rasa'il,Tehran 1335/1956, 38), writes that his great-uncle must have been a pupil of the 'da'i 'l-du'atTaj al-Din Shahristana-i". But this title does not seem to have been employed by theIsma'ilis of Persia (cf. Daftary, 227, 336, 394). The incidental and belated statement of Tusi isthus to be treated with caution.

(G. Monnot)

1. Principal older biographical notices. Bayhaqi, Ta'rikh hukama' al-Islam (= Tatimmat iwanal-hikma), Damascus 1365/1946, 141-4

Yaqut, Mu'jam al-buldan, Beirut 1376/1957, iii, 377

Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-a'yan, Cairo 1367/1948, iii, 403 ff. (no. 583)

Jahabi, al-'Ibar, Kuwait 1961-3, iv, 132

Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-kubra, Cairo 1388/1969, vi, 128-30.

2. Studies. M.R. jalali Na'ini, Sharh-i hal u athar-i... Shahrastani, Tehran 1343/1964

M.T. Danish-pazhuh, Da'i'l-du'at Taj al-Din Shahristana-i, in Nama-yi Astan-i quds, vii-viii,Mashhad 1346-7/1967-8

W. Madelung, Al-Sharastanis Streitschrift gegen Avicenna und ihre Widerlegung durch Nasir al-Dinat-Tusi, in Akten des VII. Kongresses fr Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft, Gttingen 1974 (Abhandlungender Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gttingen, Phil.-Hist. Klasse, Dritte Folge, no. 98), 250-9

G. Monnot, analyses of the Mafatih al-asrar in Annuaire de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes,Section des sciences religieuses, Paris, xcii-xcvii (1983-9)

idem, Islam et religions, Paris 1986

idem, L'univers religieux d'al-Shahrastani, in Annuaire..., ci (1992-3), 198-201

idem, Les controverses theologiques dans l'oeuvre de Shahrastani, in La controverse religieuse et ses formes,ed. A. Le Boulluec, Paris 1995, 281-96

M. 'Ali Adharshab, al-Shahristani wa-tafsiruhu, in al-Tawhid, no. 26, Beirut 1407/1987, 43-64

J. Jolivet, analyses of al-Musara'a, in Annuaire..., xcvii-c (1988-92)

Angelika Hartmann, Isma'ilitische Theologie bei sunnitischen 'Ulama' des Mittelalters?, in 'Ihr alle aberseid Brder'. Festschrift A. Th. Khoury zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. L. Hagemann and E. Pulsfort,Wrzburg 1990, 190-206

Farhad Daftary, The Isma'ilis, their history and doctrines, Cambridge 1990

D. Gimaret, art. al-milal wa 'l-nihal.

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