After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam

I just finished reading Lesley Hazleton's book After The Prophet and I am delighted. Most writers describing historic events do so in a very dry, sterile manner that is exhausting for the poor reader. Hazleton manages to go over the same material that has been endlessly researched and re-written and puts down her version that draws the reader directly into the story. She breathes life into her story, puts expressions and thoughts into the personalities . She analyses personalities and inter-relationships and even as she deals only with facts...the same facts as most other historians, she makes hers come to life such the readers feels emotions and get involved in the story while reading facts. This book is about the period after the prophet Mohammed and the machinations that followed over the next several decades. Hazleton spares no one in her analyses of what might reasonably have gone through their minds, she stays faithful to the matters of historic record while conjecturing what people may have been planning as evidenced by their past and later actions. She deals with the fracturing relationships after the death of the prophet and how they degenerated into what we know today, as "The Shia-Sunni Divide". In my opinion, thus book is a "must read" for any non-Muslim in order to even begin to understand how Shia and Sunni relate with one another; this is a book the policy-makers in the halls of Washington, should read before they deal with anything further, regarding Iran or the Middle East. Most Muslims go through life knowing only what their peers and their faith-leaders tell them about the "other" sect. Sunnis believe in a whole lot of mythology about the Shia, that stirs up suspicions and antipathy towards the Shia. Shia, on the other hand, have little ability to help inform their Sunni brethren, about the origins and distinctions of the Shia sect. Would that this book were read by members of both sects! My congratulations to Hazleton for another excellent work, it is a real contribution to human understanding.

I think that this is good chronicle of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam. Interestingly, what makes this book intriguing is almost the same thing that takes away from it, albeit not by much. This book is divided into 3 chapters, about Muhammad, Ali, & Hussein. The death of one leads to the other & so on. Since this book is organized by its emphasis on characters, with chronology/historical context tacitly tucked in, this book reads like a great novel, with character sketches complete & additional narrative to add flavor to historical text which otherwise may come across as insipid. Aside the main characters, the story of Aisha finds great resonance in this text & is probably, as other other reviewers have commented, is the most polemic & divisive content of this text. If you do not have an opinion on this historical figure, you're very likely to find her powerful & assertive - however, the way in which power manifests itself demarcates it as virtuous or vile &, I think, that is in this judgement that the 2 sects of Islam differ widely. This, however, is not the only source of separation - there are many others & this book does a good job of highlighting the various other disagreements between the two sects. Because of it's flavors, you could argue that the book is not exactly an academic view on the matter - I, like many other reviewers, felt that it glorifies the Shia slightly more than it should have, or, on the other hand, represented the Sunni in ways that are more redeeming. I also found certain discrepancies in the exact detail of history between the book by Reza Aslan - No God but God - & this one. Finally, I felt that not enough content was there between the death of Hussein & the formalizing of the Shia as cogent sect of Islam. This is a good introductory book, very easy to read & thoroughly enjoyable - my slight disappointments with it, notwithstanding.

Excellent way to learn some important history

While I can understand the criticism of some reviewers who are likely Sunni Muslim, she makes it clear in the comments after the book that she relied heavily on the history detailed by the early Islamic historian al-Tabari, including some of the quotes that some reader critics have questioned. Interesting to note that he is a Sunni Muslim, so his words would likely not have skewed to favor Shiism. Subject like this can be very dry, but the author's style holds your attention as she literally tells the story of those years in the 7th century, interspersed with some comments on how those events still influence what we see in the Middle East today. I'd highly recommend this if you wish to learn more about the origins of the Sunni-Shia conflict as well as who was instrumental in leading Islam after the death of the Prophet.

This title was selected by our book club recently. Meeting next month to discuss. I expect it will generate a lively discussion. Hazelton's writing is spare and engaging rather than erudite and bland. While it appears to be well researched, at times the story takes on a soap opera air. But that's because the story of early Islam has more than its share of drama, intrigue, politics and familial rivalry. With the recent appearance of Sunni-backed ISIS/ISIL on the world scene, After the Prophet gives the reader considerable background on the earliest history of the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam and what drives their deep animosities and fundamentalist extremism. For readers looking for more understanding of the Koran and its teachings, this book does not satisfy those needs. But, if you want an overview of the early history of the emergence of the faith, it very much delivers.

This is a highly engrossing book that is highly relevant to today’s world. The author is a journalist and as such writes in a highly readable style. The book reads more like a novel, rather than a textbook, but nonetheless covers the subject based on numerous sources, some of which go back to the 9th century. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Islam and to all those interesting in understanding the roots of today’s Muslim fanaticism. This book details the death of the prophet Mohammed and his initial successors, particularly that of his cousin and adopted son Ali. Ali, initially passed over for the leadership of Islam, eventually became its leader. However, the struggle for the leadership of Islam and Ali’s assassination set the stage for the eventual struggle between the Shia (followers of Ali) and the Sunni who believed that the leadership of Islam should not be through Mohammad’s kin. Ali’s son Hussein (also Mohammad’s grandson because Ali married one of Mohammad’s daughters) was likewise killed by the Sunni leadership, creating the basis for Shia martyrdom. The events surrounding the deaths of Ali and Hussein and the nature of how and why they died are highly relevant to today’s world as they created the basis both the Sunni fanaticism of groups like Al Qaida, and Shia fanaticism. The author is clear in explaining these connections, making this book important for understand the modern world.

I will forever look at the disagreements between Shia and Sunni in a different light. I used to think of it as conservatives vs. liberals or democrats vs. republicans. I see now that this feud has its roots in power, wealth, and politics. Ms. Hazleton is a good storyteller. She writes narrative history from the personal perspective of the major players. Aisha, Muhammad's "favorite" wife, was a spoiled teenager who did stupid teenager things. The old rift between Mecca and Medina cracked wide open after the Prophet's death. Son-in-law Ali was too proud to assert himself until it was too late. It took fifty years of excess and corruption until he stepped in and got himself killed. (They did a lot of killing to "solve" disputes back then!) Ali's son Hussein, grandson of the Prophet, walked into a trap in Karbala (now Iraq) and became a symbol of all the injustices experienced over the years. Ms. Hazleton shows the Shia as the offended ones. Many Sunni will find this offensive. I especially enjoyed the way she equated the sacrifices of Hussein at Karbala to the Passion of Jesus in Jerusalem. The similarities are remarkable. The book publishers stated it well: "Hazleton's vivid, gripping prose provides extraordinary insight into the origins of the world's most volatile blend of politics and religion. Balancing past and present, she shows how these seventh-century events are as alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today as though they had just happened, shaping modern headlines from Iran's Islamic Revolution to the civil war in Iraq." This book is a keeper.

The book is well written and the flow keeps the reader well engaged. However, I did feel that the book was written from a slanted perspective of the facts and did not give enough background of the two closest companions of the Prophet (PBUH) to try to explain their actions in the course of history - particularly after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) who himself spoke so highly of them both. "If the virtues of all of humanity were placed on one side of the scale and virtues of Abu Bakr Siddiq on the other side, the weight of Abu Bakr's virtues would far outweigh those of the rest of humanity" "If there were to be a prophet after me, it would be Umar Al Khattabh" I felt the book was written from the perspective of a story needing a victim - in this case Ali. No doubt he was of greater virtue than almost all others but the book is written from the start to play out historic facts from a psychology which makes us feel sorry for his situations and thus hanker on one side of the Shia, Sunni argument. The reality is that there was no such thing as a Shia during the life of the Prophet himself and whilst difference of opinion is perfectly allowed in Islam (including those who wish to not follow Islam as their chosen religion) the book plays to the split more than a simple rendering of the historical facts. With this element in mind, the book is a fantastic read, without it, it is a polarizing catalyst that will likely bias your opinion for some time to come.