Religious Research

Religious Research

The Evolution of the Perspective in the Sources of Studies on Sects on Mazdakism up to the End of the 7th Century AH

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Arash Aghajanpourgazfroudi 1
Ebrahim Bavafadalivand 2
Askar Bahrami 3
Mirza Mohammad Hassani 4
1 Department of History,SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of History, Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
3 Associate Proressor of Islamic Encyclopedia Foundation (Encyclopedia if the Islamic World), Tehran, Iran
4 Department of History, Sha.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran
10.22034/jrr.2025.529931.2284
Abstract
Authoring about religions and sects (al-milal wa al-niḥal), as a branch of religious historiography in the Islamic centuries, reflects the ideological confrontations of that period. Among these, the Mazdakite sect, due to its controversial social teachings, has always been a central focus of these sources. This research begins with the main question: what was the perspective of those wo author about religions and sects towards Mazdakism up to the end of the 7th century AH, and what factors were effective in its formation? In terms of nature, the present study is historical-analytical, and in terms of data collection method, it is library-based. The research was conducted through a critical study of nine key texts dealing with studies on religions and sects. The findings indicate that the attitude towards Mazdakism in these texts was not static and uniform; rather, it was shaped by the political-religious context of each author's era. The most significant achievement of this research is the discovery of a common discursive pattern in attributing accusations of dualism, antinomianism (ibāḥiyya), and metempsychosis (tanāsukh) to the Mazdakites — accusations aimed at nothing other than the exclusion of dissenters and the weakening of religious rivals.
This study also clearly distinguishes between the "historical Mazdak" and the "Mazdak concocted by texts dealing with studies on sects" demonstrating that the narrative of these texts reflects the discursive competitions prevalent in the Islamic world more than it reflects reality.
Keywords
Mazdakism
milal wa niḥal [relions and sects]
Sectarian Studies
Evolution of Perspective
Subjects
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Religious Research
Volume 13, Issue 25 - Serial Number 25
November 2025
Pages 267-294