مكتبة مجالس آل محمد

The Succession to Muhammad is a book by Wilferd Madelung published by the Cambridge University Press in 1997. Madelung investigates the events after the death of Muhammad, where there was a battle to see who would control the Muslim community. This struggle resulted in the difference between Sunnite and Shi’ite Islam over authority (spiritual and temporal).

Main Theme

This is a comprehensive study of early Islamic history. Wilferd Madelung systematically analyses the conflict which developed after Muhammad’s death for the leadership of the nascent 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 Islam. Contrary to recent scholarly trends, the author brings out Ali’s early claim to legitimate succession, which gained support from the Shi’a, and offers a convincing reinterpretation of early Islamic history. This book has made a profound contribution to the debate over succession.

Reception

The The Journal of the American Oriental Society applauded Madelung’s mastery of the subject but was critical of his reliance on ancient sources and neglect of modern scholarship, stating “… author falls outside the emerging consensus in the field which maintains a moderately skeptical attitude toward the Arabic materials”. It further comments although Madelung did take an “optimistic view of the sources” and “Crone’s and Hinds’ ideas about the nature of caliphal authority are dismissed in one sentence”, it still “offers a chance to see the Shi’ite case imaginatively made by a master scholar in complete control of the sources.”[4] Iranian Studies also praised the work.[5] Hugh Kennedy writing in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society was more tepid, stating that “When Mu’awiya finally entered Kufa, Madelung tersely observes, ‘The brute was celebrating victory’ … it is not clear that such openly partisan comment is appropriate in a work of historical research.”[6] Ingrid Mattson writing for Journal of Religion observes “It is truly puzzling then that in his new book, Madelung presents what seems to be an almost partisan argument about the position of Ali”.[7] It has been awarded the Best Book of the Year prize by the Islamic Republic of Iran for the year 1997.

Source: Wikipedia.org