The Long ConversationA timeline of world philosophy

Philosopher

al-Shahrastani

1086–1153

Also known as al-Shahrastānī, Muhammad al-Shahrastani

Historian of religions and theologian whose Book of Sects and Creeds set out the doctrines of every religion and philosophy known to him, and who attacked Avicenna's account of God.

Al-Shahrastani was born in 1086 in Shahristan, in present-day Turkmenistan, studied in Nishapur with followers of the Ashʿarite theologian al-Juwayni, and taught for three years at the Nizamiyya college in Baghdad before serving in the chancellery of the Seljuk ruler of Khurasan. He ended his life in his native town, and died in 1153.

He was long taken for an Ashʿarite theologian, but several scholars now believe he was an Ismaili hiding his allegiance, as Ismailis were persecuted at the time. A subtle writer who often spoke through symbols and his own vocabulary, he is hard to pin down, which is part of why his religious identity has been so long disputed.

Key ideas

A history of all religions
His Book of Sects and Creeds describes the doctrines of every religion and philosophy of his time, aiming at as objective an account as possible, which makes him a pioneer of the scientific study of religions.
Against Avicenna
Like al-Ghazali, he attacked Avicenna’s Necessary Being, which knows universals but not particulars, and in The Struggle with the Philosophers used Ismaili arguments about the division of beings against Avicenna.
An unknowable God
True worship is declaring God’s oneness (tawhid), which means denying every attribute human beings ascribe to God, who is beyond being and non-being and wholly beyond human understanding.
Region
Shahristan, Nishapur and Baghdad

Influences

Influenced by

al-Shahrastani1086–1153

Influenced

Influenced by

al-Shahrastani1086–1153

Influenced

Where these links come from
  • al-Shahrastani argued against Avicenna. Source: Diana Steigerwald, Al-Shahrastānī, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • Nasir al-Din Tusi argued against al-Shahrastani. Source: S. J. Badakhchani, Nasir al-Din Tusi, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Key works

  • The Book of Sects and Creeds (Kitāb al-milal wa al-niḥal)
  • The Struggle with the Philosophers (Muṣāraʿat al-falāsifa)

Terms on this page

tawhid
God’s oneness, or unity. Nasir Khusraw held that only a clear understanding of it leads to spiritual perfection; for al-Shahrastani it meant denying God every attribute humans ascribe.

All terms in the glossary

Sources

  1. Diana Steigerwald, Al-Shahrastānī, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy