The Prophet's Heir Hassan Abbas

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Format:: Hardback
Publication date:: 23 Jun 2020
ISBN:: 9780300229455
Imprint:: Yale University Press
Dimensions:: 288 pages: 235 x 156mm
Illustrations:: 16 b-w illus.
Sales territories:: World

Categories:

Humanities »
Religion & Beliefs »

Ali ibn Abi Talib is arguably the single most important spiritual and intellectual authority in Islam after prophet Mohammad. Through his teachings and leadership as fourth caliph, Ali nourished Islam. But Muslims are divided on whether he was supposed to be Mohammad’s political successor—and he continues to be a polarizing figure in Islamic history.

Hassan Abbas provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of this towering yet divisive figure and the origins of sectarian division within Islam. Abbas reveals how, after Mohammad, Ali assumed the spiritual mantle of Islam to spearhead the movement that the prophet had led. While Ali’s teachings about wisdom, justice, and selflessness continue to be cherished by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, his pluralist ideas have been buried under sectarian agendas and power politics. Today, Abbas argues, Ali’s legacy and message stands against that of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Taliban.

Hassan Abbas is distinguished professor of international relations at Near East South Asia Strategic Studies Centre at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He is the author of The Taliban Revival and Pakistan's Drift into Extremism.