The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate by

The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate Reviews

• 
  dmiguer

  In this important work, ​Wilferd Madelung explores the succession of the first four caliphs following the death of the Prophet. Many historians have held that the Sunni Shia conflict began over a century later as a political justification for the overthrow of the Umayyad caliphate by the Abbasids. Madelung shows how the selection of Muhammad's companion and father in law Abu Bakr over Ali, his cousin, and son in law, initiated the conflict much earlier.
  
  In the Quran, the prophets were descendants of a single bloodline from Adam, Noah, and Abraham down through Ismael and Muhammad. Madelung argues as far as the Quran represents the beliefs of the Prophet, Ali would have been seen as a natural successor over Abu Bakr and the other companions. After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr assumed command, disinheriting Ali and the family of Muhammad. By not concentrating spiritual and political power in one family, others have maintained this was a paradigm shift from dynastic succession to one based on religious merit.
  
  The remaining early caliphs were each elected by a council of the companions. The second caliph Umar, who greatly expanded the empire, was felled by dagger in the mosque of Medina after a ten year reign. The third caliph Uthman perished by the sword at prayer in his palace, following a twelve year reign criticized for nepotism. Finally elected, Ali resisted a coup by the Prophet's wife Aisha, only to be slain by saber in the mosque of Kufa after five years of civil war. The coming Ummayad caliphate in Damascus would revert command of the faithful to a simple dynasty with a hereditary head of state.
  
  This is not an easy book, but it hasn't been superseded in twenty years since its publication. For anyone interested in the political aspects of the first caliphate it is essential. It is not a complete history because it includes nothing about the major conquests that occurred during the period. Instead, it unravels the complex internal conflicts of tribes and clans in the medieval Mideast. Covering the thirty year period of the Rashidun caliphate in four hundred pages allows for much detail to be developed. Towards the end of the story, the accounts of internecine warfare can become tiresome.
  
  The book received the 1997 Book of the Year from the Republic of Iran, so it is an acceptable Shia view of events. Without much objection from Sunni critics, it may not be terribly biased against their views either. While there is bitter disagreement over the succession to Muhammad, both sides see Ali as an important spiritual and political leader. For a detailed account of the struggle following the death of the Prophet, this may be the best English language book available.
• 
  Malleus Maleficarum

  The period of early 'fitnas' in Islam is surpassed in its significance only by its relative obscurity among the lay public which is a shame because understanding the dynamics of the intra Arab strife that followed Mohammad is helpful in understanding the currents underlying Islamic history right down to this day. It is here that Wilfred Madelung excels in this book by meticulously following the various political factions and bouts of moves and counter moves that characterised the disputed succession to Mohammad.
  
  The book's narrative starts off with the death of the Prophet who left behind a confederation of hitherto loosely related tribal clans that had started succeeding beyond their wildest dreams in snatching riches and territory from the exhausted Roman and Sassanid Empires of the near East. Mohammad left behind no principles to determine who should succeed him or at least he was not explicit about them during his life or on his deathbed. That sparked off the debate between whether temporal power should vest in members of his household (later the 'Shias') or in the most deserving man drawn from the broader pool of his tribe (later the 'Sunnis'), the Quraysh. While Wilfred Madelung is sympathetic to the Shia belief that Mohammad at least gave some indications that he considered his family members exalted and hence deserving of leadership of the Arabs, the fact remains that through a combination of opportunism and factional politics, his closest male relative, Ali, the husband of his daughter was bypassed and a triumvirate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman deftly maneuvered him out of the way and hoisted Abu Bakr on the throne of the Caliphate mainly by promoting the concept of Shura or consultation to arrive at a consensus on the best man. In many ways, this relative democracy was driven by the existing tribal norms of election by consensus and was a conscious attempt to stay away from the dynastic despotism that characterised the Caesars and the Khusros of Rome and Persia against whom the Arabs had risen in revolt.
  
  The story gets complicated by the time we come to the tenure of Uthman whatever his virtues, Uthman was increasingly seen as someone promoting nepotism and concentrating power among his family, including the scions of Muhammad's opponent, Abu Sufyan Muawiya and Marwan ( on them later) by giving them plum governorships and doing little to rein in excesses committed by them. His alienation of different factions engendered a revolt by the troops stationed in Egypt which first besieged his residence and then attacked and killed him the first instance of a Muslim caliph being killed by Muslims.
  
  This finally brought Ali to power but the story becomes complicated with his initial ascent being opposed by Aisha, the favourite wife of the Prophet who accused him of doing little to save Uthman this led to the Battle of the Camel with Ali facing off against Aisha, the first Muslim on Muslim battle. Ali prevailed and neutralized the threat of Aisha but his success was overshadowed by the beginning of the first Fitna. Muawiya, the wily politician governing Syria, sensing his opportunity pretended to oppose Ali on the grounds of his leniency in punishing the killers of his kinsman Uthman the Syrian troops of Muawiya and Ali's army faced off in battle but the two sides called off fighting and opted for negotiations even though Ali's party was ascendant this enraged some of Ali's Egyptian followers probably the people responsible for Uthman's death who thought they were in a position to eliminate the threat of Muawiya for good and now instead faced the prospect of the two sides agreeing on some punishment against them these formed the core of the Kharijite rebels who clashed militarily with Ali and one of their members eventually killed Ali.
  
  This left the field open for Muawiya first, he 'bought over' one of Ali's sons and became the virtual unchallenged commander of all Muslims. In a cruel irony, the Arabs who had rebelled against the despotism of the Caesars and the Khusros of Rome and Persia now had their very own despot in the form of Muawiya an even bigger irony given his status as the son of Abu Sufyan, one of Mohammad's bitterest opponents. Muawiya had every intention of leaving behind dynastic rule on the Arabs and in anointing his son Yazid as his successor, broke the system of Shura and consultation for good among the Arabs. This engendered the Second fitna with Yazid fighting off the claims of Hussein, another son of Ali, who was decisively defeated and killed in the Battle of Karbala, the momentous battle that defines the schism between Sunnis and Shias (partisans of Hussein and hence of the House of Ali). Once again, in a supreme irony, the grandson of Abu Sufyan prevailed against the grandson of Mohammad, who lay dead in the sands of Iraq. By now, power over the Arab Empire was firmly enough entrenched among the family of Muawiya and his clan for the dynasty to be referred to as the Umayyads (after an ancestor) and they became the ruling House of the Arabs for the next 150 years till the Abbasid revolution.
  
  It is a credit to the author that he tells this narrative in a gripping enough manner for any lay reader to broadly follow the plot and keep track of the various complex political machinations and shifting political alliances that characterised the period. It is very hard to keep track of all the various personages involved and the author sometimes lets his erudition get the better of him (it's hard to imagine that any lay readers would be as familiar with some of the obscure Arab personages of the period in the manner he sometimes introduces them I lost track of the number of times he wrote things like 'X bin Y, the son of A bin Z of the XYZ clan who was related to ABC bint EFG the daughter of the chief of the xxx') still, the broad outline of the story is clear enough and this book, even though its price is eye popping , is worth every penny and every moment invested.
• 
  Kindle Customer

  While I cannot vouch for everything, this is a fantastic Western academic account that manages to simultaneously knock down many of the myths and legends surrounding the succession period in early Islam. Though it does end up taking a pro S***e stance, even orthodox S***es will find things to complain about. However, the real success is the parsing through of the various hadiths and personalities and the exposure of the suppression, manipulation, and downright fabrication of the history surrounding the era. Madelung goes even further, chastising many Western academics for what he sees as mistakes on their part in their views on the period. While the debate over the succession to Muhammad(SAWA) will most certainly continue, Madelung's book is a great step in the right direction.
• 
  John

  No comment
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  Jaafar Jassm

  Interesting
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  Mo

  I was strongly recommended by a freind to read this book. He himself was a lecturer at a university and islamic colleges, has read several books on sunni shia conflicts, theological differences from sunni, shia and orientalist point of views. After going through this book i found it absolutely brilliant and very detailed. Although there might be a few small things i dont agree on, however majority of this book is based on historical facts with minor difference of opinion. Majority of this book has points agreed by both sunnis and shias but interpreted differently.
  
  Sadly among the muslims especially amongst the sunnis, they have an issue about reading from non muslims and orientalists. Preachers and relgious leaders often tell them not to read from orientalists because everything will be criticizms and wrong.
  
  One of the reason Muwayia and his imaged has survived for centuries in the Sunni world is due to the fact that most sunnis are unaware of origins of sunni shia conflicts and what role muwayia played in the whole thing. But Muwayia did have a big hand behind the origin of the major civil wars
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  Huraira

  At the moment I am delving into the Shia' side of Islam. I am a muslim, neither Sunni nor Shia'. For the last five years I studied a lot of the Sunni side but I had wanted to balance what I found with the views of Shia's. Anyway, this book is excellent. I am glad that it is written by a non muslim because unfortunately, many of the books about this era tend to be biased depending on where the muslim author stands. It is a scholarly work, and brings in many sources from many standpoints, not all good or bad for either Sunni or Shia. By bringing in these sources, the author is able to put forward a rounded view and is also able to give positive and negative criticisms of the main players something that is frowned upon by certain muslims. The one drawback about this book is that you can lose track with all the sources, and it is worthwhile to re read certain parts. I haven't finished the book yet I am up to Ali and the battle of the Camel, but this is a book that I can't put down.
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  Shahrooz

  The book came in excellent condition and promptly. Although the price for this book is extremely high the content and material is well worth it! I absolutely love this book!
  In an unbiassed scholarly manner, this author lays out all the evidence before us as it relates to the matter of the succession after the passing of Prophet Mohammed.
  There are plenty and than enough material and western/English scholarly literature that leans towards the dominating Sunni interpretation and worldview of Islam. This is a refreshing perspective of not only the Shia understanding of the succession to Prophet Muhammad but also a far rational one. He puts forth very rational arguments as to why the Shia see it the way they do.
  At times throughout this book it does get a bit dry and technical, but it's so worth it when you push through that and get to some amazing mind blowing facts about Islam's early history.