The heirs of Muhammad: Islam's first century and the origins of the Sunni-Shia split

The heirs of Muhammad: Islam's first century and the origins of the Sunni-Shia split

ʻĀʼishah, approximately 614-678
ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Caliph, approximately 600-661
Islam -- History

[In this book, the author] recounts the lives of the handful of individuals - the first four Caliphs, the Prophet's widows and the conquering generals - who led and influenced Islam after the death of Muhammad. Within this fifty-year span of conquest and empire-building, [the author] identifies the seeds of discord and civil war that destroyed the unity of Islam and traces the roots of the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims to the rivalry of the two people who best knew and loved the Prophet: his cousin and son-in-law Ali and his wife Aisha.-Dust jacket.

Barnaby Rogerson

Woodstock : Overlook Press

Book