First Muslims

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/.

• Introduction: Writing about the "First Muslims"Chapter One: The Rise of Islam and Life of the Prophet MuhammadChapter Two: The Issue of Succession to the ProphetChapter Three: The Age of the Rightly-Guided CaliphsChapter Four: the End of Rightly-Guided Leadership Chapter Five: The Age of the CompanionsChapter Six: The Age of the SuccessorsChapter Seven: The Successors to the Successors I: Administration, Leadership, and Jihad Chapter Eight: The Successors to the Successors II: Education, Humanism, and Mystical SpiritualityChapter Nine: Constructing the Pious Forbears: Historical Memory and the Present. Part One: The Islamist ConstructionChapter Ten: Constructing the Pious Forbears: Historical Memory and the Present. Part Two: The Significance of the Salaf al-Salih for the ModernistsChapter Eleven: Assessment of Islamist and Modernist ViewsConclusion

"Well-researched and measured. An eloquent and cogent explanation of the historical roots and meanings of many key concepts relevant to today's discussion of contemporary Islam, including the role of jihad in the Islamic tradition. Her book should be required reading for any Muslim or non-Muslim who mistakenly believes the faith is immutable."