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CALIPHATE [as a political-religious entity]
The caliph, or head of state,was often known as
(نيمؤلا ريمأ)"Commander of the Believers",
Imam al-Ummah
Imam al-Mu'minīn
(نيمؤلا مإ), or morecolloquially, leader of all the Muslims. Each member state (Sultanate,Wilayah,or Emirate)
of the Caliphate had its own governor (Sultan,Walior Emir ). Dar al-Islam(سا اد
lit. land of Islam
) was referred to as any land under the rule of the caliphate, including a land populated by non-Muslims and land not under rule of the caliphate was referred to asDar al-Kufr
(lit. land of non-Islam)
, even if its inhabitants were Muslims, because they were notcitizensunder Sharia(Islamic law). The first capital of the Caliphate after Muhammad died
was in Medina.At times inMuslim historythere have been rival claimant caliphs in different
parts of the Islamic world, and divisions between the Shi'a and Sunni parts.The first four caliphs, celebrated as theRashidun(The Rightly Guided Caliphs), wereMuhammad'sSahaba(companions); Abu Bakr , thenUmar (Umar ibn al-Khattab), then
Uthman Ibn Affan, and the fourth wasAli(Ali ibn Abi Talib). Sunni Muslims consider Abu-
Bakr to be the first legitimate Caliph, while Shi'a consider Ali to have been the first trulylegitimate Caliph, although they concede that Ali accepted his predecessors, because heeventually sanctioned Abu-Bakr.
After the first four caliphs, the Caliphate was claimed by the dynasties such asUmayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans, and for relatively short periods by other,competing dynasties inal-Andalus, North Africa, andEgypt.Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
officially abolished the last Caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, and founded theRepublic of Turkey,in 1924. TheKings of Morocco still label themselves with the title
Amir al-Mu'minin
Rashidun, 632-661
Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on hisdeathbed, and there wasconsensusin the Muslim community to his choice. Umar IbnKhattab, the second caliph was martyred by a slave. His successor, Uthman Ibn Affan, waselectedby a council of electors (Majlis), but was soon perceived by some to be ruling as a
"king" rather than an elected leader. Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group.Ali then took control, and although very popular, he was not universally accepted as caliph bythe governors of Egypt, and later by some of his own guard. He had two major rebellions andwas assassinated after a tumultuous rule of only five years. This period is known as theFitna,
or the first Islamic civil war.Muawiyah,a relative of Uthman, and governor
(Wali)
of Syria became one of Ali's
challengers. After Ali's death, Muawiyah managed to overcome other claimants to theCaliphate. Under Muawiyah, the caliphate became ahereditaryoffice for the first time. Hefounded the Umayyad dynasty. In areas which were previously under Persianor Byzantine
rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedomfor Jews, indigenousChristians, and brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by
the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare.
Umayyads, 7th-8th century
Under the Umayyads the Caliphate grew rapidly geographically. Islamic ruleexpanded westward across North Africa and intoHispaniaand eastward through Persia andultimately toSindhandPunjabin modern dayPakistan.This made it one of the largest
unitary states in history and one of the few states to ever extend direct rule over threecontinents (Africa,Europe, andAsia). Although not ruling all of theSahara, homage was paid
to the Caliph by Saharan Africa usually via variousnomad Berber tribes.
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Largely due to the fact that they were not elected viaShura, the Umayyad dynastywas not universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported prominentearly Muslims likeAl-Zubayr ; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, theBanu
Hashim, or his own lineage, the descendants of Ali, should rule. There were numerousrebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, therivalry between Yaman and Qays). Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hisham and thesupporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the
Shiat Alī
ˤ ˤ
, "the Party of Ali", were again disappointed when the Abbasid dynasty took power,as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle,`Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalibandnot from Ali. Following this disappointment, the Shiat Alī finally split from the majority
ˤ ˤ
Sunni Muslims and formed what are today the several Shia denominations.
ˤ
The Umayyad Caliphate emerged as the rulers of the Islamic world. Although theymaintained the Sasanians'administrative practices, the Umayyads considered Islam as
primarily an Arabreligion and were wary of Persian culture. They enforced use of the Arabic
language in Persia, leading to the demise of theMiddle Persianor Pahlavialphabet in favor
of the newArabic/Persian alphabetin use to this day. They attempted to assimilate Persians
as they had "Arabized" and assimilated theEgyptiansand theAssyrians, but with much less
success.
During the Ummayad period Hispania was an integral province of the UmmayadCaliphate ruled from Damascus, Syria. Later the caliphate was won by the Abbasids and
Al- Andalus
Caliphate of Córdoba
(ةبطرق ةفخ) ruled the Iberian Peninsulafrom the city of Córdoba,
from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in technology, tradeand culture; many of the masterpieces of Spainwere constructed in this period, including thefamous Great Mosque of Córdoba.The title
Caliph
Emir of Córdoba
(ةيبطرق ريمأ). AllCaliphs of Córdoba were members of the Umayyad dynasty; the same dynasty had held thetitle Emir of Córdoba and ruled over roughly the same territory since 756. The rule of theCaliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula, before it splitintota if a s. Spain possessed a significant native Muslim population until 1610 with thesuccess of theCatholic-instigatedSpanish Inquisition, which expelled any remnants of
Spanish Muslim (Morisco) or Jewish populations.
Shadow Caliphate, 13th-16th century
1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abbasid caliphal-Musta'sim byMongolforces under Hulagu Khan. A surviving member of the Abbasid House was
installed as Caliph at Cairo under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate three years later;however, the authority of this line of Caliphs was confined to ceremonial and religiousmatters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" Caliphate.
Religious BasisQuran
The following excerpt from the Qur'an, known as the 'The Istikhlaf Verse', forms the
basis of the Quranic concept of Caliphate:"Allahhas promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He willsurely make them Successors (Khalifas) in the earth, as He made Successors (Khalifas) fromamong those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religionwhich He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me.
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Then who so is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious."[24:55] (Surah Al-Nur, Verse55)Sunni's argue that to govern a state by Islamic law (Shariah) is, by definition, to rulevia the Caliphate, and use the following verses to sustain their claim.So govern between the people by that which God has revealed (Islam), and follow not their vain desires, beware of them in case they seduce you from just some part of that which God has revealed to you—
O you who believe! Obey God, and obey the messenger and then those among youwho are in authority; and if you have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to God and themessenger's rulings, if you are (in truth) believers in God and the Last Day. That is better andmore seemly in the end.—
]
Hadith
The following Hadithfrom Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbalprophesies two eras of
Caliphate (both on the lines/precepts of prophethood)."Hadhrat Huzaifa narrated that theMessenger of Allah said: Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills. ThenCaliphate (Khilafat) on the lines of Prophethood shall commence, and remain as long asAllah wills. Then corrupt/erosive monarchy would take place, and it will remain as long asAllah wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and it will remain as long as Allahwills. Then, the Caliphate (Khilafat) shall come once again based on the precept of Prophethood."
In the above Hadith the first era of Caliphate is commonly accepted by theMuslims as that of theRashidun Caliphate. Nafi'a reported saying:It has been reported on the
authority of Nafi, that 'Abdullah b. Umar paid a visit to Abdullah b. Muti' in the days (whenatrocities were perpetrated on the People Of Medina) at Harra in the time of Yazid b.Mu'awiya. Ibn Muti' said: Place a pillow for Abu 'Abd al-Rahman (family name of 'Abdullah b. 'Umar). But the latter said: I have not come to sit with you. I have come to you to tell you atradition I heard from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I heard him say: Onewho withdraws his band from obedience (to the Amir) will find no argument (in his defence)when he stands before Allah on the Day of Judgment, and one who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to an Amir) will die the death of one belonging to thedays of Jahillyya. - Sahih Muslim, Book 020, Hadith 4562.Hisham ibn Urwahreported on theauthority of Abu Salehon the authority of Abu Hurairahthat Muhammad said:Leaders will
take charge of you after me, where the pious (one) will lead you with his piety and theimpious (one) with his impiety, so only listen to them and obey them in everything whichconforms with the truth (Islam). If they act rightly it is for your credit, and if they actedwrongly it is counted for you and against them.Muslim narrated on the authority of al-A'araj,on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Muhammad said:Behold, the Imam (Caliph) is but ashield from behind whom the people fight and by whom they defend themselves.Muslimreported on the authority of Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin,who said,I accompanied Abu Hurairah for
five years and heard him talking of Muhammd's saying: The Prophets ruled over the childrenof Israel, whenever a Prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be noProphet after me. There will beKhalifahsand they will number many. They asked: What thendo you order us? He said: Fulfil the baya'a to them one after the other and give them their due. Surely God will ask them about what He entrusted them with.
The Sahaba of Muhammad
Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir said, when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of Muhammad, (at the thaqifahall) of Bani Sa’ida:Let there be one Amir from us and one Amir
from you (meaning one from the Ansar and one from the Mohajireen).Upon this Abu Bakr replied:It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)...Then he got up and addressedthe Muslims.
It has additionally been reported
that Abu Bakr went on to sayon the day of Al-Saqifa:It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for this would causedifferences in their affairs and concepts, their unity would be divided and disputes would
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