Listen free for 30 days
-
The History of the Sunni and Shia Split
- Understanding the Divisions within Islam
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 25 mins
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The History of the Sunni and Shia Split
Buy Now for £6.59
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
"Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine." - Muhammad al-Baqir
Different branches of the same religion are the exception more than the rule, and they have had a profound impact upon history. The schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches influenced relationships between nations across Europe, and religious intolerance based on different Christian faiths led to persecution and outright violence across the continent for centuries. The Protestant Reformation split Christianity further, and the results culminated in the incredibly destructive 30 Years' War in the 17th century.
Today, the most important religious split is between the Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) within Islam. Unlike divisions in other faiths - between Conservative and Orthodox Jews or Catholic and Protestant Christians - the split between the Sunnis and Shia has existed almost as long as the faith itself, and it quickly emerged out of tensions created by the political crisis after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In a sense, what are now two different forms of Islam essentially started as political factions within the unified body of Muslim believers.
Over the past few centuries, Christians have mostly been able to live alongside their co-religionists, but the split between the Sunnis and Shias is still so pronounced that many adherents of each branch view each other with disdain if not as outright apostates or non-believers.
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about The History of the Sunni and Shia Split
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Saeed Alhakeem
- 28-03-19
One missed detail but overall very good
Very good book overall. My only critique would be that it misses out the Shia belief in the prophet endorsing Imam Ali in what is known as Ghadeer Khum and that a lot of the belief of the sequence of caliphate stems from this rather than it being a family oriented decision.
Narration was very good, good length to summarise the history up until the modern day.
Impressive work
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan
- 16-07-15
Excellent preface to making sense of intl news.
As always, today's international news is based on historical struggles, and Islamic conflicts are at the forefront right now. For those of us who have only minimal knowledge of the historical politics of Islam, this compact body of research is truly enlightening. There is no religiosity here, but simply a detailing of the conflicts which began with the death of Mohammed and resurfaced time and again within the Arab world.
Excellent choice of narrator as his tone, diction, and delivery are fully appropriate to the material.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Steven Mark
- 25-06-15
Excellent
Highly informative. Very well narrated. I have only started my journey into studying the religion of Islam and I found this work to be very helpful.
One slight observation ( and I am willing to admit if I am wrong in this regard ) is that the authors seem to be more sympathetic to the Shia position as opposed to the Sunnis. Nevertheless I highly recommended this book to anyone interested in this subject.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Um Adam
- 07-04-17
Very Informative
As a practicing Sunni Muslim who has always tried to wrap his head around the Sunni-Shia split, I found this book to be very informative. It helped me really understand how certain events unfolded and just what their effects were.
I would like to say to those readers who are not Muslim, to keep in mind 2 things:
1. The history of the split is not really argued over. It's the results and the religious conclusions that become the problem. For example, Sunnis don't really argue that Ali (ra) was correct and Muawiya (ra) was incorrect, but we would not take from this that Muawiya (ra) was some sort of apostate and evil. They were two great men who were both loved by the God and His Messenger (pbuh) who had a disagreement (albeit a serious one!). For Sunnis, vilifying either man is going too far. This is one example, and there are many others (e.g. Yazid was a tyrant) that also make this point.
2. The book does not (and I don't expect it to) touch upon the bond and love that all the sahabah had for each other. They did not want to fight each other and I think for me that's the biggest tragedy of the split: that the main actors involved would never have wanted it to happen. They had a serious disagreement and though they loved each other they felt they had a duty to fight for what they thought was right. That's basically the Sunni viewpoint as I understand it.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- SAMA
- 19-08-15
Fairly informative
It seems to get things right when it comes to the major facts, and provides both perspectives of the split fairly well. It does a good job for what it is.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Gerardo A Dada
- 23-02-16
Accurate but short and too factual
This is a short book. It feels like history class, where someone is reading a lot of facts. What happened when, then what in which year, etc. There is little story, context, or useful information to give you a better understanding of Islam today other than it was very rocky after the death of Muhammad and the power struggles that resulted form it.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rev. David B. Smith
- 11-07-15
Short but highly informative.
This is an except short book. It doesn't waste any words, but packs a lot of information info a short space. This book fills many gaps that are glossed over in other commentaries on the history of Islam.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Hussien ElBuckly
- 07-06-18
Shallow
This book takes a very shallow look at the conflict and fails to make it clear that it has always been a political conflict and in way what so ever is related to belief or Islam as a religion.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
- christopher
- 10-01-16
4 minutes in and already a big error.
Calender starts date going FROM Mecca to Medina.not a 'triumphant return' to Mecca from Medina.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Neil
- 11-01-21
Metalic reading
The book could be interesting but the recording is awful and tedious to listen to
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leah
- 02-11-20
Good Starting Block
This what a great way to begin my journey through the history of Islam! It was thorough in explaining both Sunni and Shia principles with neutral language. The Middle East has such a dense history, it can be overwhelming to know where to start; not to mention, it’s another layer woven into the history of Islam. This short read/listen does a WONDERFUL job of combining the two, giving direction in next steps for exploring more about the role of Islam in its beginning with the backdrop of the region...and vice versa. Highly recommended.