In a convincing reinterpretation of early Islamic history, Wilferd Madelung examines the conflict that developed after the death of Muhammad for control of the Muslim community. He demonstrates how this conflict, which marked the demise of the first four caliphs, resulted in the lasting schism between Sunnite and Shi'ite Islam. In contrast to recent scholarly trends, the author takes up the Shi'i cause, arguing in defense of the succession of 'Ali. This book will make a major scholarly contribution to the debate over succession.

This personal memoir composed by a medieval scholar reveals an important discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-910. By reporting the thoughts and activities of Abu 'Abdallah al-Shi'i and his brother Abu'l-Abbas over a period of seven months, Ibn al-Haytham in his Kitab al-Munazarat (The Book of Discussions) provides an unparalleled insider's view to the foundations of the Fatimid state. As such, it is a unique document in the literature of early Islamic revolutionary movements as much as it represents one of the most valuable sources...

This personal memoir by a medieval scholar reveals an important discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-910. By reporting the thoughts and activities of Abu 'Abdallah al-Shi'i and his brother Abu'l-Abbas over a period of seven months, Ibn al-Haytham in his Kitab al-Munazarat (The Book of Discussions ) provides us with an unparalleled insider's view to the foundations of the Fatimid state. As such, it is a unique document in the literature of early Islamic revolutionary movements as much as it represents one of the most valuable...

Presents the "Chapter on Satan"(Bāb al-shayṭān) from a long unrecognized Ismaili work called the Kitāb al-shajara by the 4th/10th century Khurāsānī dā'ī, Abū Tammām. The satans of Abū Tammām's "Chapter" are the founders and instigators of the seventy-two heretical sects of Islam. Each sect has been accorded a relatively lengthy description as perceived from a generally Shī'ī and Mu'tazilī point of view. Most entries offer new information about these sects and, in several cases, the account given is...