Sublime

THE ERA IMMEDIATELY following Muhammad’s death was, as will become evident, a tumultuous time for the Muslim community. The Ummah was growing and expanding in wealth and power at an astounding rate. A mere fifty years after his death, the tiny community that Muhammad had founded in Yathrib burst out of the Arabian Peninsula and swallowed whole the

Added to this group is the Shi‘ite school of law founded by Ja‘far as-Sadiq (d. 765), which will be dealt with in the following chapter. The

“Death to America!” they shouted, their chants a warning to the American embassy in Tehran that this revolution would not be hindered, no matter the cost. There was also on that day another, more singular contingent of demonstrators consisting mostly of bearded men and black-veiled women who marched through the streets shouting the names of the mar

According to the Shi‘ah, this relationship between prophet and Imam can be observed throughout the history of prophecy. Abraham may have been given the covenant by God, but it was Isaac and Ismail who, as his Imams, fulfilled it; Moses may have revealed the divine law, but it was Aaron who carried it into the Promised Land; Jesus may have preached