A Review and Critique on Succession, Stated in the Book "Succession of Prophet Muhammad (s)"

Researches on Orientalism and Shia studies are regarded important in the realm of religious modernization. As Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung has written numerous prominent orientalist works, he must be seriously taken into account. His book "The Succession of Prophet Muhammad (s)" was analyzed in the present paper in order to present a critique and assessment on his thoughts on the succession.
Therefore, after analyzing caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, Madelung's thoughts on management, futurism, diplomacy and political changes in each era will be assessed. He has written his book by means of a historical – sociological analysis which is a proper method in historical studies, to assess historical events by a natural and worldly perspective not a supernatural one. Based on the methodology he applied in his book, it was concluded that Madelung did not consider prophecy, a supernatural ability, of Prophet Muhammad (s) and he believed that Prophet Muhammad (s) was not aware of the time of his death so that he could introduce his successor. In addition, he believed that succession of Ali b. Abi Talib (a) after Prophet (s) was not clearly stated in Quran. He was only expected to be selected as the successor because of historical stories in Quran in which earlier prophets had chosen their successors from their families; he thought similar to earlier prophets, Muhammad (s) wanted to choose his successor from his own family. The present paper has applied a descriptive – analytical approach based on historical documents and library sources.