(1) Zoroastrianism: The Zoroastrians are the followers of Zoroaster ibn Yūrshab, whose father was from Azerbaijan. Their doctrines include the belief that light and darkness are two opposing principles from which all existing things in the world originate. Zoroaster holds that the Creator—exalted is He—created and originated both light and darkness. The Zoroastrians are an organized community with various ranks and degrees, and their homeland is Persia. See al-Shahrastānī, *al-Milal wa-l-Nihal*, 1/236–237; and Dr Abd Allāh al-Gharīb, *Wa Jā’a Dawr al-Majūs*, p. 24. (2) Manichaeism: The Manichaeans are the followers of Mani ibn Fātik the Magian. They believe that the world was created from two eternal principles: light and darkness. See *al-Milal wa-l-Nihal*, 1/244. (3) Mazdakism: The Mazdakites are the followers of Mazdak ibn Bāfdād, who advocated permissiveness and the sharing of women and property in common. Modern communism is nothing but an extension of Mazdakism. See *al-Milal wa-l-Nihal*, 1/249; and *Wa Jā’a Dawr al-Majūs*, pp. 27–29. (4) Hinduism: This is presently the religion of the overwhelming majority of India’s population. It was introduced by the Aryans when they conquered India. It has no particular founder but consists of a collection of beliefs. Hindus have many deities and divide people into four castes, the highest being the Brahmins and the lowest the untouchables. Their sacred book is called the Veda. It recounts the history of the Aryans, who constitute the Brahmin caste, and contains a collection of teachings. See Ahmad Shalabī, *Muqāranat al-Adyān: Adyān al-Hind al-Kubrā*, 4/49–46. (5) Buddhism: The founder of this religion was named Siddhartha and later became known as Buddha. His teachings are based on austerity, asceticism, and spiritual disciplines. He affirmed reincarnation—which is fundamental to the religions of India—and did not believe in the existence of any deity. Buddhism subsequently blended with Hinduism and was absorbed into it, while Buddha came to be regarded as one of the Hindu deities. See *Muqāranat al-Adyān: Adyān al-Hind al-Kubrā*, 4/137–170. (6) Qadianism: It is named after its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qādiyānī. The emergence of this =