The boredom and the sects

Authorship / Abu al-Fath al-Shahrastani Abu al-Fath al-Shahrastani is considered one of the most prominent compilers of articles and historians of religions and sects in his era. His book "al-Milal wa al-Nihal" is among the broadest books of articles and opinions, and the most comprehensive. Moreover, this book is considered the most important and famous of al-Shahrastani's works. The subject of this book is the study of religions, sects, and groups, and it is unique in its field, indeed it is a main reference in this topic. It is a concise encyclopedia of religions, sects, and groups, as well as opinions and philosophy. The book has attained a great rank and a high status, filling an important gap in its field and becoming a distinguished reference for many researchers and authors throughout past and present ages. The book is a comprehensive, summarized encyclopedia, in which al-Shahrastani paid attention to good arrangement, quality of organization, and presentation of information. He classified all followers of religions outside Islam, such as worshippers of the sun, planets, Judaism, Christianity, Indian sages, idol worshippers, and many others, as well as the opinions of Islamic sects and schools like the Mu'tazila, Jami'a, Qadariyya, and other Islamic groups. The author revealed the opponents of the true religion and clarified the greatness of the pure Islamic religion, serving as a lesson for those who have insight and a reminder for those who reflect. The author introduced this with five prefaces: - The first preface discusses the categories of the people of the world in a general overview. - The second preface defines the law upon which the enumeration of Islamic sects is built. - The third preface discusses the first doubt that occurred in creation, its source, and its manifestation. - The fourth preface discusses the first doubt that occurred in the Islamic faith, how it branched out, its source, and its manifestation. - The fifth preface explains the reason that necessitated the arrangement of this book along a calculated method. Indicating the fame of this book, it has been printed dozens of times and in many languages. It has been printed in Arabic, English, German, Turkish, and Persian. So much so that the English researcher Alfred Guillaume said about it: "It cannot be dispensed with at any time."