Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Heirs of the Prophet Mohammad

I recently read "The Heirs of the Prophet Mohammad And the Roots of the Sunni-Shia Schism" by Barnaby Rogerson, who also wrote "The Prophet Muhammad A Biography." The book is a fascinating account of the history of Islam from the death of the Prophet to the tragedy of Karbala. Rarely would you find a history book so engrossing to read. The author has to be given due credit for maintaining a balance between the Sunni and Shia stand. It's a neutral study highlighting the issues that come out of absolute power!

If you are looking for an impartial account of the early Islamic history, look no further.

An extract from the book, which I particularly liked. It sums up the lives of the 4 Caliphs of Islam.

3 comments:

Ashique Ibrahim said...

thanks for insight of this book. I wasnt sure to get this but i think it will be good buy

Anonymous said...

I agree with the earlier comments.
This is a well written book and well balanced too. Some may not enatirely agree with his reasoning regarding the Sunni-Shia disagreements but overall he makes very good points.
My only lament is that he does not give footnotes or references - specially when quoting the historic characters.

Inam said...

Whatever little I know of history he has taken most of the references from the History of Tabari, Ibn Kathir commentary on the QurĂ¡n, Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari.