Sources

God's Rule: Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "God's Rule: Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/gods-rule-government-and-islam-six-centuries-of-medieval-islamic-political-thought.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). God's Rule: Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/gods-rule-government-and-islam-six-centuries-of-medieval-islamic-political-thought

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-god-s-rule-government-and-islam-six-cent,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {God's Rule: Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/gods-rule-government-and-islam-six-centuries-of-medieval-islamic-political-thought},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Patricia Crone's study works from documented historical research across six centuries of medieval Islamic political thought, tracing the caliphate, the succession dispute and the competing Sunni and Shia theories of religious authority through named historical texts and debates rather than presenting one theory of Islamic governance as uncontested. That comparative, historically grounded method is the study's real evidentiary basis. Use it for established historical facts about the caliphate and the Sunni Shia authority dispute as this study documents them; a claim about one specific school's current legal doctrine on governance needs a dedicated source on that school, since this is a comparative history rather than a school-specific legal text.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Patricia Crone's scholarly study of six centuries of medieval Islamic political thought, published by Columbia University Press, covering the caliphate, the succession dispute and the competing Sunni and Shia theories of religious authority.

Notes

On the caliphate, the succession dispute, and the competing Sunni and Shia theories of who holds religious authority.

Citation

Author

Patricia Crone

Publisher

Columbia University Press

Publication Year

2004

Source Type

academic monograph

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Sunni

This source names Sunni directly: "succession dispute and the competing Sunni and Shia theories of religious authority through named historical texts and debates rather than presenting one theory of Islamic governance as uncontested."

Source God's Rule: Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political ThoughtPatricia Crone

Claims Backed By This Source (85 claims)

This source backs 85 claims across the atlas. As facts: 45 well-attested. As cited relationships: 14 holds, 1 connected, 2 critiqued Here, 1 rejected Here, 1 held Differently. Plus 21 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Religious Organization & Structure, 15 claims: 11 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.
Schools of Religious Law, 15 claims: 8 holds, 1 rejected Here, 1 held Differently, 5 general references.
Articles, 11 claims: 9 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.
Beliefs & Restrictions, 10 claims: 6 well-attested, 4 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
Doctrines, 7 claims: 2 well-attested, 2 critiqued Here, 3 general references.
Denominations, 6 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 3 general references.
Rituals, 5 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.