الملل والنحل "کے مصادر اور بیانِ مصادر میں علامہ شہرستانی کے مناہج: ایک تجزیاتی مطالعہ

An analysis of the sources used in al Milal wa al-Nihal and Allama Shahrastani's methodology while citing them in his book

Abstract

The word, "masadir," which in Arabic means "sources of knowledge," is crucial in assessing the rank and weight of any piece of writing in the realm of knowledge. They aid in determining if the text belongs to the subject's original or secondary sources. The Quran, Hadith, biography of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, publications and correspondence of experts in the area, encounters with experts, discussions, debates, studentship, direct and indirect narration, etc. are only a few examples of the sources of Islamic literature.

The research method followed in the paper is qualitative. The sources for Allama Shahrastani’s well-known work, al Milal wa al-Nihal, are the focus of this paper. Shahrastani has described the religious teachings of Islamic schools of thought as well as those of revealed and unrevealed faiths. Though, he has promised to mention his sources of information but has rarely disclosed the sources of his information about Islamic schools of thought and other faiths. The case of philosophers is an exception where he has been generous enough to disclose his sources. Regarding his sources for knowledge about Muslim schools of thought, he has disclosed them to a select few which include Shiites. The most frequently cited scholars, even on other Islamic sects and other religions, from Shahrastani, are two Mutazilites scholars, Ka'bī and Warraq, albeit he has not named any books by them.

Keywords: Sources, Shahrastani, al-Milal, Muslim Schools of thought, Revealed and non-revealed religions