  
 ISBN: 9781851684977
Author: Asma Afsaruddin
Publisher: OneWorld Publications
Pages: 254 Binding: Paperback
Description from the publisher:
A fresh look at the origins and development of Islam, this is a fascinating reconstruction of the era of the first three generations of Muslims. Using a wealth of classical Arabic sources, it chronicles the lives of the Prophet Muhammad, his Companions, and the subsequent two generations of Muslims, together known as the “the Pious Forebears”. Examining the adoption in contemporary times of these early Muslims as legitimizing figureheads for a variety of causes, both religious and political, Afsaruddin tries to establish where their sympathies really lay. Essential reading for anyone interested in the inception of the Islam, this important book will captivate the general reader and student alike.
Asma Afsaruddin is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. She is the author of Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership.
"Asma Afsaruddin, a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame, offers an eloquent and cogent explanation of the historical roots and meanings of many key concepts relevant to today's discussion of contemporary Islam… Her book should be required reading for any Muslim or non-Muslim who mistakenly believes the faith is immutable." The Washington Post, 30 January, 2008
" This is a rich and much-needed text. Its range of scholarship, balanced statements and acute sense of the past and the present makes it required reading for both specialists and non-specialists." "it represents a major endeavour to offer a full depiction of historical islam as well as its present embodiments." Times Higher Education Supplement
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