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After the Prophet is the story of Islam after the death of Muhammad by Lesley Hazleton. Summary of the Book It began even before he was dying. It was a battle for who would succeed the Prophet as the leader of the Muslims. The battle culminated in a split which would affect the people of Islam for centuries and it continues to affect them even today. The Sunnis and the Shias have never gotten along. Starting in 632 in Arabia, their story has become one which has formed the bulk of the history of Islam and its development. One side supported Muhammad's son-in-law, the philosopher-warrior Ali, while the other supported Aisha, his favourite wife. Aisha defied the odds of a women leading the Arabs by leading an army against Ali, urging on her warriors to never stop until her victory and the future of her people was secure. The massacre of seventy-two warriors led by Ali’s son, Hussein, at Karbala in Iraq, laid the story of the split down in blood and soon this became the Passion story in the core of Shia Islam. Lesley Hazleton shows how the past and the present has seen the split and how it continues to divide an otherwise single people even today. About Lesley Hazleton Lesley Hazleton is a British-American author who is known for her works on history, politics, religion and the Middle-East. A reporter for Time from Israel, she has also blogged as The Accidental Theologist. Hazleton has also written: The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad, Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen, Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography, Jerusalem, Jerusalem: A Memoir of War and Peace, Passion and Politics, and Where Mountains Roar: a Personal Report from the Sinai.