Al-Shahrastani
Persian historian of religions and Islamic scholar (1086–1153)
Tāj al-Dīn Abū al-Fath Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Karīm ash-Shahrastānī (Arabic: تاج الدين أبو الفتح محمد بن عبد الكريم الشهرستاني; 1086–1153 CE), also known as Muhammad al-Shahrastānī, was an influential Persian historian of religions, a historiographer, Islamic scholar, philosopher and theologian. His book, Kitab al-Milal wa al-Nihal (lit. The Book of Sects and Creeds) was one of the pioneers in developing an objective and philosophical approach to the study of religions.
Life
Very few things are known about al-Shahrastānī's life. He was born in 1086 CE, in the town of Shahristān, (Khorasan, province of Persia) where he acquired his early traditional education. Later, he was sent to Nīshāpūr where he studied under different masters who were all disciples of the Ash`ari theologian al-Juwaynī (d. 1085). At the age of thirty, al-Shahrastānī went to Baghdad to pursue theological studies and taught for three years at the prestigious Ash`ari school, the Nizamiyya of Baghdad. Afterwards, he returned to Persia where he worked as Nā’ib (Deputy) of the chancellery for Sanjar, the Saljūq ruler of Khurāsān. At the end of his life, al-Shahrastānī went back to live in his native town, where he died in the year 1153.
The public source identifies “Al-Shahrastani” as persian historian of religions and Islamic scholar (1086–1153). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Al-Shahrastani, Persian and historian.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1050887. VIAF identifies the subject as 12144648170717686400. The Library of Congress control number is n83043209. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1086, 1153 and 1085.
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This entry incorporates text from “Al-Shahrastani” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.