Review - After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam by Lesley Hazleton

Like anyone else with an interest in Middle Eastern geopolitics, or frankly with a working CNN subscription, I have heard the phrase “the Sunni-Shia split” hundreds of times. That is why I was attracted to this book by the noted popularizer of religious history, Lesley Hazleton.

While I have always had a sense that the conflict between these two strands of one of the world’s great monotheisms is a longstanding one, I had never really had the proper historical context for the schism which is now a millennium and a half old. This book does a masterful and engaging job in providing the context and motivations for the protracted internecine struggle that followed the death of Prophet Mohammed in 632 AD. In this book, we see how adherents of a young religion struggled to come to terms with the death of a founder who fused religious, political and military authority in his charismatic self.

The author takes the reader on a narrative history of the four succeeding caliphs to the Prophet Mohammed (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali), collectively referred to as the Rashidun (i.e., the rightly guided caliphs). The tensions and struggles in the early history of the faith was reflected in the fact that of the first four caliphs, only Abu Bakr (the first caliph who ruled for two years) was not assassinated. Ms. Hazleton very exhaustively and humanely examined the main cast of characters and their motivations and intrigues over this 30 year period.

The book ends with the death of Hussein (grandson of Prophet Mohammed and son of the 4^th Caliph, Ali) at Karbala (a city in modern day Iraq) in AD 680 at a battle with the forces of the Yazid (the 2^nd Umayyad caliph who ruled from 680 to 683 AD). That singular battle, commemorated in heart-rending fashion by annual Ashura events across the Shia world, continues to echo with a great deal of significance into the present age. The martyrdom of Hussein is an event which continues to be a deep source of angst and a potent mobilizing force for millions of people all over the world. It is impossible to know how the history of the world would have turned out if the events at Karbala in AD 680 had turned out differently or if a confrontation had been avoided all together. While it will never be known for certain if it is true, many traditions hold that Muawiyah (the first Umayyad caliph) advised his son and successor Yazid to treat Hussein gently (“as for Hussein what can I tell you concerning him? Be careful not to confront him except in a good way. Extend to him a free hand and let him roam the earth as he pleases…”). If this account is true, it should serve as a cautionary tale for all of us, as we do not know how long the negative effects of what currently seem to be expedient actions could last for.

Overall, I think this book is a great book for anyone who like me constantly hears about the divide between the two main strands of the world’s 2^nd largest religion but remains essentially clueless about its origins. This book doesn’t proffer a solution to the long-running schism but it at least provides an accessible historical context for non-experts like me.