The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate

by Wilferd Madelung

Book Overview

In a comprehensive study of early Islamic history, Wilferd Madelung examines the conflict which developed after Muhammad's death for the leadership of the Muslim community. He pursues the history of this conflict through the reign of the four 'Rightly Guided' caliphs to its climax in the first inter-Muslim war. The outcome of the war, which marked the demise of the reign of the Early Companions, resulted in the lasting schism between Sunnite and Shi'ite...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521646960
• ISBN13: 9780521646963
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Meticulous Important Work - Profoundly Disturbing

The struggle over the succession to the spiritual and temporal authority of the Prophet Muhammad (SAAWS) disclosed deep fault lines in the Muslim community and eventually led to a fracture which persists to the present. This contest was both bitter and bloody. As a result, objectivity is in short supply among the partisans of either side. Primary and secondary historical sources suffer from profound biases. Sadly the atmosphere remains highly charged today. Professor Madelung is a meticulous historian. He carefully examines the various and often differing historical reports as he leads step by step to his interpretation He focuses on the primary sources themselves rather than merely repackaging and repeating what other historians - both Western and Muslim - have said . Where he differs from prior interpretations, he sets forth his argument in detail. Most of the historical records from this time were orally transmitted over an extended period and only written down much later. This raises the possibility of honest error in the chain of transmission as well as the opportunity for manipulation or fabrication. And, as is well known, sometimes several people present at the same event come up quite honestly with different accounts. Attempting to sort out what is true from what is not is a difficult process. It consists of evaluating the reliability or biases of each of the reporters in the chain of transmission (the isnd). Then comparing different reports on the same event to discover areas of agreement as well as logical inconsistencies. However, rarely does this process settle the issue beyond doubt. The historian must then draw upon his own resources to decide among conflicting versions. At its heart, history is a matter of interpretation. While it's usually taken as a given that the "facts" are known, this is often not the case, as shown in this book in several places (e.g. the date of the Battle of al-Naharawan. But once the events are assumed as facts, the historian has to use his own critical judgment to ascribe causes to events and motives to the participants in those events. As humans, historians bring their beliefs, preferences and aversions to this task both consciously and unconsciously. A lack of objectivity can arise in several ways. It can arise from being a partisan on one side in an event. It can arise because a historian's first encounter in his field of study was with partisans of one side or another who framed the debate on a topic in a particular way which later influenced his own approach to the topic. Sometimes this may be a direct transmission of a bias. Sometimes it may be indirect: the historian uncritically absorbs the common belief in that country as the correct version of events. It can also come from getting too sympathetic to the subject of study - becoming an advocate - "localitis" in US Foreign Service jargon. As well, bias in writing can come from deeply held worldviews. One would ex

Scholarly and authoritative

This is a well-researched, well-written book on the history of the early caliphate. I realize that some (sunni muslims) will find the analysis in this book to be somehow unflattering, but I think it is very hard to refute Madelung's arguments (other than by adopting the rigid, orthodox view that the Companions of Prophet Muhammad were infaillible), which are based on a deep knowledge of the original sources (unparalleled even in the muslim world) and overall are very logical and make a lot of sense (the Companions were, after all, human beings, capable of great deeds, but not all of them were above having personal ambitions - as the inter-muslim wars after the death of Uthman show too well). As for Muawiyah, the author does a very good job of debunking the evil, rotten seeds of his personality. Highly recommended !

Controversial and Erudite

This book has been a flashpoint of controversy between Shi'i and Sunni Muslims since this has turned out to be a rare instance where a non-Muslim scholar [a status that ostensibly gives him an objective position wherewith the sectarian divided can be breached for the sake of historical truth] arrives at a conclusion somewhat in harmony with the Shi'i view of things. Unfortunately, the flurry of sectarian debate has overshadowed a work of great scholarly importance [exhibit a: the reviews written prior to this one] by an author who himself-as far as anyone can know for certain at least-had no intentions of propagating one tradition over the other.The virulent Sunni opposition of the Sunni Muslims to this book relates mostly to the portrayal of Abu Bakr as a schemer, Umar as a bullying hothead, and Uthman as a rich fat-cat with a taste for nepotism while Ali is the rightful heir to the prophetic office. That is what the offended would get from the book. Actually, Madelung has a much more nuanced opinion of all the Caliphs which is the product of a mixture of deep admiration and criticism. Most frustrating to the Sunni Muslim, I would imagine, is how Madelung version of the events makes such ideas as ta'diil al-SaHabah wa-l-taba'iin, al-fitrah, etc. seem absurd and untenable [which many more progressive would admit are].Most problematic within the work is the use of sources throughout. I don't mean this in the sense conveyed in the ramblings of one reviewer ["Dr. Siddiqui"] who seems to lack any coherent understanding of textual dynamics involved within Madelung's various texts. For example, just citing a text does not equal an endorsement thereof; rather, what is important is how the text is integrated into the larger structure of the argument and how controversial texts are placed within a hierarchy of certitude and historical criticism. Madelung here is about as meticulous as one could be. Moreover, he has to be for he write *against* the pro-Sunni grain of almost all of what has been written in the entire corpus of Western scholarship hitherto.Madelung, in reality, is a rather conservative scholar. His approach is optimistic-meaning that he doesn't side with the skeptical branch of scholarship that rejects all the details and accepts reluctantly, often with extensive revision, the general outlines of the Muslim historical record. After all, ALL of the sources we have today on these events were written/compiled hundreds of years after the events they claim to record while simultaneously be the result of considerable political tumult.Whatever side of these debates you fall, one has to admit that Madelung has written the most authoritative and interesting interpretation of the sources hitherto committed to writing. The case he makes from the Qur'an for Muhammad having intended Ali to follow him as the leader of the community is very crafty. His portraits of the intricacies of tribal conflicts and personal ambitions are masterful and st

Thorough

Madelung starts off in the introduction with how a lot of things regarding the Shia-sunni conflict have been taken for granted, citing the major works in the area, such as Lammens and Caetani. He then gradually works his way from the time of the death of the Prophet till the martyrdom of Ali. No where in his book would you find him forcing his opinion on you. The sources and the references he gives are thorough, very well established and agreed by all. He usually tries to quote directly from the book he is refering to before he comments on the information, hence you are left free to disagree with any conclusion that Madelung may have drawn. A truly scholarly work. This book was definitely needed. I don't think any one should now hold opinions regarding the Shia sunni debate without going through this book first!Reading this book together (or after) the book Origins and Early development of Shia Islam by H M Jafri, would help greatly in understanding the book, since Madelung does not discuss the life of the Prophet and hence the readers will miss out on a number of events which occured during the life of the Prophet which the Shia claim indicate his nomination of Ali as his successor. Most notable of these events being that of Ghadir Khumm.

An Excellent Academic Research Work

Mr Siddique has, instead of writing an unbiased review, has given a story which clearly explains his "beliefs" and does not encourage open minded research. To get to the "truth" one has to keep his mind open and be sincere to his intentions. If the intentions are to justify the forefathers then even God will not help as He Himself has stated in Qur'an that man does not get anything except what he strives for. This is an excellent research even though I personally may not agree with many of its conclusions. Human progress lies in open and fair scholarship and the author of the book should be congratulated for taking a step in this direction.