Note on
Usage and Spelling
Throughout this book, I have used ɹrst names for major
ɹgures rather than full names, in order to avoid the
“Russian novel eʃect,” where English readers suʃer the
confusion of multiple unfamiliar names. Thus, for
instance, I have used Ali instead of Ali ibn Abu Talib,
Aisha instead of Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Omar instead of
Omar ibn al-Khattab, and so on. I have used fuller names
only where there is a risk of confusion; thus, the son of
the ɹrst Caliph, Abu Bakr, is referred to as Muhammad
Abu Bakr, itself abbreviated from Muhammad ibn Abu
Bakr.
I have used the spelling “Quran” instead of the more
familiar English rendering “Koran” for the sake of both
accuracy and consistency, and in order to respect the
diʃerence between the Arabic letters qaf and kaf.
Otherwise, wherever possible, I have used more familiar
English spellings for the names of major ɹgures
(Othman, for instance, instead of Uthman or Uttman,