![]() ![]() 'caliphs' of the Sunni Muslims. Also treated in detail are the events at Ghadir Khum at which Ali is believed by the Shias to have been explicitly designated by the Prophet as his successor. These are matters of incalculable significance to subsequent history and to the alignment of forces today. Other topics concern misinterpretation of quotations from the Prophet used to argue that any one of his companions was infallible, thus legitimizing the appalling oppression of the people by many subsequent generations of 'successors,' misinterpretation of the presence of Abu Bakr in the Cave with the Prophet during his flight from Mecca to indicate a singular honor; Abu Bakr's unjust seizure of the property of the daughter of the Prophet; the errors and weaknesses of the Caliph Omar, who acknowledged his dependence upon Ali to interpret Islamic law (Shari'at), and his termination of the practice of Muta' (temporary marriage) contrary to the decree of the Prophet, as supported by correct understanding of the Qur'an; the cruelty the Caliph Uthman showed to distinguished Companions who supported Ali, such as Abu Dharr; and the strange position of the Prophet's young wife, A'yesha, daughter of Abu Bakr, who led a military campaign against Ali, husband of her contemporary, Fatima, the Prophet's own daughter of whom she was fiercely jealous. Fundamental to all of these is the question of the authority for transmission and interpretation of Islamic law and science. This was codified among the Sunnis by four principle legalists in the second and third centuries A.H. Their opinions contradicted each other incredibly on such issues as the lawfulness of wine and eating dog's flesh, and permissibility of marriage to one's own daughter. By contrast, the Shia transmission has been singular and consistent - and in reality was often quoted by Sunni authorities in the past, a fact until now ignored, forgotten, or suppressed. * * *A word needs to be added regarding the transliteration of Arabic and Persian words. We have attempted to follow a middle course between rigorous replication of the full range of the Arabic and Persian sounds, and avoiding any forms that would be daunting to the non-Arabist. We have tended toward the latter, reasoning that the Arabist will recognize and resolve any ambiguities in the treatment, while the non-Arabist needs forms that are recognizable and pronounceable. Therefore we have not attempted to differentiate between aleph (long
'a') and fatiha (short 'a'), using 'a' in all cases. Similarly we have
shown yah
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