THE DIFFERENT STANCES OF AL-SHAHRASTĀNĪ – A Study of the Sectarian Identity of Abū l-Fatḥ al-Shahrastānī in Relation to his Qurʾānic Commentary, Mafātīḥ al-asrār

Abū l-Fatḥ Muḥammad ibn Abū l-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Shahrastānī (d. 548/1153) is a scholar best known in the academic and cultural Muslim world for his work, al-Milal wa-l-niḥal. He is considered to be a Sunnī scholar, particularly in relation to the theological views and conclusions that are given in his work, Nihāyat al-iqdām/alaqdām fī ʿilm al-kalām, which are parallel to Ashʿarism. However, the contents of his Qurʾānic commentary, Mafātīḥ al-asrār wamaṣābīḥ al-abrār recently edited by Muḥammad ʿAlī Ādharshab, have brought up questions about the general acceptance of the sectarian identity of al-Shahrastānī. What is remarkable is that al- Shahrastānī displays different stances in different works, which has led to various claims and views being made about his sectarian identity. This article, which is based on Mafātīḥ al-asrār, aims to bring clarity to the question of which sect al-Shahrastānī was closest to, at least according to the aforementioned work.