An Assessment of the Typology of World Religions: Perspective of Muslim Scholars

The classification of world religions has long been a subject of scholarly inquiry due to the diversity of religious beliefs, practices, and historical developments. The complexity of religious traditions has resulted in different approaches to typology, with some scholars classifying religions according to their origin, geographical distribution, sacred texts, or the numerical strength of their adherents. Muslim scholars also made significant contributions to this field through systematic studies of religious traditions. This paper examines the typology of world religions from the perspective of prominent classical Muslim scholars, particularly Al-Bīrūnī, Ibn Hazm, and Al- Shahrastānī, highlighting their methods of classification and the intellectual principles underlying their approaches. It further assesses the relevance of these classical Muslim typologies in understanding contemporary religious pluralism and interreligious relations. The study adopts an analytical and historical approach, drawing on classical Islamic sources and relevant contemporary literature. It concludes that the contributions of Muslim scholars provide a comprehensive and balanced framework for the study of world religions and remain valuable for promoting scholarly understanding and constructive engagement in today's religiously diverse societies.

Religious Typology, Muslim Scholars, World Religions, Traditional Religion

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