However...

However, after the elapse of almost forty years, this daunting task has finally fallen to myself: it has been my prayer that Almighty God might guide me in it. It is inevitable that in a book being published so long after it was written, the style acceptable to the reader of today is somewhat different to that of the Author's day, and this has obliged me to take a certain amount of liberty with word order and word usage.

However, in quotations taken from other authors I have tried to leave the text alone. While the basic subject matter of a book of this kind stands independently of time, it shows its age in the use of example, and I have seen fit to delete from the survey of democracy in "modern" states the passages on the Soviet Union of Stalin and the China of Chiang KAI-SHEK as inappropriate, Conversely, I have added as footnotes a few more modern examples.

In addition to the eleven chapters of the book, the manuscript contained an unfinished twelfth chapter entitled "To Sum Up". This I have omitted: it contained no new material or discussion that was not already present in the book, but was an incomplete attempt at a summary, which it was clear had been added by the Author as an afterthought, and its omission in no way detracts from the book.

Finally, I have admitted defeat on editing the spelling of names, and pass this task to others more versed in the accepted forms. I ask for the Reader's forbearance for any errors that might remain, and wish him the best in his search for truth. HAIDER R. REEVE, 23rd October 1988 Preface Three revolutions of the greatest magnitude and importance, and having extremely far-reaching consequences, took place in Islam on the death of its (P.B.U.H.).

Those revolutions were firstly political, secondly religious, and thirdly social. They are all interrelated, having a common origin Towards the close of the Prophet's career, when the whole of Arabia had well nigh been conquered, a party arose among his companions, which wanted to seize power on his death. In the execution of their designs they found themselves face to face in opposition to IMAM ALI, whom the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had designated as his successor.

For the reasons detailed in this book, the political coup d'état staged at the SAQIFA succeeded in transferring power to that party. This political revolution led to the other two revolutions.