People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given the demands that press us from all directions in the present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been?
Given the countless branches of knowledge which help us live comfortable lives now and allow us to plan our future, why insist on a good bit of history? Even more than that, why urge the masses to study even more history than they are required to?
Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve engineering design of buildings, or arrest violent criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. However, the reality is that history is in fact very useful - actually indispensable - but the products of historical study are less tangible, sometimes less immediate than those that stem from some other disciplines.
This work, Shadows of Dissent, is a compendium of six books which analyze various aspects of the early history of Islam covering the following areas: The Event of the Pen and Paper; The Legitimacy of the Event at Saqifah; Fire in the House of Revelation; An Analysis of the Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab; The Marriage of Umm Kulthum binte Ali; The Six-Person Shura Devised to Select a Caliph. By studying the first 25 years of Islamic History immediately after the death of the final Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad, we can understand why Muslims are in the predicament they find themselves in today, and can hopefully learn from their bitter past to chart a successful future.
Every reference in this anthology is meticulously sourced from the most eminent, respected, and authentic works recognized by the scholarly traditions of the Ahlul Sunnah, ensuring the utmost credibility and reliability throughout this entire collection.
