Al-Imama wa al-siyasa

For the work by al-Suyuti (died 1505), see History of the Caliphs.
al-Imama wa al-siyasa
Author(attributed to)
Ibn Qutayba
LanguageArabic
SubjectHistory of Islam

Al-Imāma wa al-siyāsa (Arabic: الإمامة والسياسة, lit. 'Imamate and Rule') is a work about the history of Islam written before the fifth century AH (twelfth century CE). This book is sometimes attributed to the Sunni Muslim Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/889), although this attribution is disputed.[1] The work might have been authored by another Sunni author, either in the Umayyad Spain or after the Abbasid rulers adopted Sunni orthodoxy as the basis of their authority.[2]

The ongoing debate about the authorship of this book remains relevant in view of its controversial content:[3] while the book has an evident pro-Sunni tone, it also corroborates Shia reports about a violent attack on the house of Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[4] In Shia sources, the death (and miscarriage) of the young Fatima within six months of Muhammad's death in 632 are attributed to the injuries she suffered during this alleged attack.[5][6][7][8] Most Sunni sources, on the other hand, categorically deny any such violence.[8]

The book is traditionally known as Taʾrīkh al-khulafāʾ (lit. 'history of the caliphs'), and its edition by Zini Taha was published in 1967 in Cairo.[9]

  1. ^ Khetia 2013, p. 32.
  2. ^ Ayoub 2014, p. 17.
  3. ^ Khetia 2013, pp. 32–3.
  4. ^ Khetia 2013, p. 34.
  5. ^ Khetia 2013, p. 78.
  6. ^ Buehler 2014, p. 186.
  7. ^ Fedele 2018.
  8. ^ a b Abbas 2021, p. 98.
  9. ^ Abou El Fadl 2004, p. 38.