Caliphate

Caliphate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A caliphate (Arabic: khilfa) is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph (Arabic:
khalfah pronunciation)a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet,
Muhammad (Muhammad ibn Abdullh), and a leader of the entire Muslim community.[1] The Rashidun
caliphs, who directly succeeded Muhammad as leaders of the Muslim community, were chosen through
shura, a process of community consultation that some consider to be an early form of Islamic
democracy.[2] During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, almost all of
them hereditary monarchies, have claimed to be caliphates.[1]
The Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or
their representatives.[3] Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by
God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the "Family of the House", Muhammad's direct descendants).
Contents
1 Etymology
2 Rashidun Caliphate (632661)
2.1 Succession to Muhammad
2.2 Rashidun Caliphs
2.3 Ali's caliphate and the rise of the Umayyad dynasty
3 Umayyad Caliphate (661750)
4 Abbasid Caliphate (7501258, 12611517)
4.1 Abbassid Caliphs at Baghdad
4.2 Under the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo (12611517)
5 Parallel caliphates to the Abbasids
5.1 Fatimid Caliphate (9091171)
5.2 Umayyad Caliphate of Crdoba (9291031)
5.3 Almohad Caliphate (11471269)
6 Ottoman Caliphate (15171924)
6.1 Abolition of the Caliphate (1924)
7 Sokoto Caliphate (18041903)
8 Khilafat Movement (191924)
9 Sharifian Caliphate (192425)
10 Non-political caliphates
10.1 Sufi caliphates
10.2 Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908-present)
11 Religious basis
11.1 Qur'an
11.2 Hadith
11.3 Prophesied Caliphate of the Mahd
11.4 The Sahaba of Muhammad
11.5 Sayings of Islamic theologians
12 Period of dormancy
12.1 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014present)

12.1 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014present)
12.2 Ahmadiyya view
12.3 Islamic call
12.4 al-Qaeda's Caliphate goals
12.5 Opposition
13 Government
13.1 Electing or appointing a Caliph
13.2 Sunni belief
13.3 Shi'a belief
13.4 Majlis al-Shura (parliament)
13.5 Accountability of rulers
13.6 Rule of law
13.7 Economy
14 Notable caliphs
15 See also
16 References
16.1 Citations
16.2 Sources
17 Further reading
18 External links
Etymology
Before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik (King, ruler), or another
from the same root.[1]
The term caliph (/kelf, klf/),[4] derives from the Arabic word khalfah (, pronunciation), which
means "successor", "steward", or "deputy" and has traditionally been considered a shortening of either the
term khalifat Allah ("successor to God") or khalifat rasul Allah ("successor of the messenger of God]").
However, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was "successor
selected by God."[1]
Rashidun Caliphate (632661)

Succession to Muhammad
In his book The Early Islamic Conquests (1981), Fred Donner argues that the standard Arabian practice at
the time was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and elect
a leader from amongst themselves. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation.
Candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men
who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir.
Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper
procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community
consensus.
The Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his
The Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his
spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla (the Imam and the Caliph) of all Muslims in the event of
Ghadir Khumm. Here Mohammad called upon the around 100,000 gathered returning pilgrims to give
their bay'ah (oath of allegiance) to Ali in his very presence and thenceforth to proclaim the good news of
Ali's succession to his (Muhammad's) leadership to all Muslims they should come across.
The caliph was often known as Amir al-Mu'minin (Arabic: " Commander of the Believers").
Muhammad established his capital in Medina; after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun
Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival
claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, and divisions between the Shi'i and Sunni
communities.
According to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Mu'minin was Abu Bakr, followed by
Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the same title, while the Shi'a
consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph, of these four men.[5]
After the first four caliphs, the Caliphate was claimed by the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate,
and the Ottoman Empire, and for relatively short periods by other, competing dynasties in al-Andalus,
North Africa, and Egypt. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatrk officially
abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam (the Ottoman Empire) as part of his secular reforms and
founded the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-
Mu'minin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate.
Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of
a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, which briefly acknowledged Ottoman suzerainty.[6]
Consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the
authority of the Caliph.
Rashidun Caliphs
Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his
successor on his deathbed. Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a
Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected
by a council of electors (majlis). Uthman was killed by members of a
disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally
accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt, and later by some of
his own guard. He faced two major rebellions and was assassinated
Rashidun Caliphate at its greatest
by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Ali's tumultuous rule lasted
extent, under Caliph Uthman's rule
only five years. This period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic
civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shi'a ("shiaat Ali",
[7]
partisans of Ali. ) minority sect of Islam and reject the legitimacy of the first 3 caliphs. The followers of
all four Rashidun Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) became the majority Sunni sect.
Under the Rashidun each region (Sultanate, Wilayah, or Emirate) of the Caliphate had its own governor
(Sultan, Wli or Emir). Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor (Wali) of Syria, succeeded Ali as
Caliph. Muawiyah transformed the caliphate into a hereditary office, thus founding the Umayyad dynasty.
In areas which were previously under Sasanian Empire or Byzantine rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes,
provided greater local autonomy (to their delegated governors), greater religious freedom for Jews, and
some indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by the casualties
and heavy taxation that resulted from the decades of Byzantine-Persian warfare.[8]
Ali's caliphate and the rise of the Umayyad dynasty
Ali's reign was plagued by great turmoil and internal strife. The primary one came from a
misunderstanding on the part of Mu'awiyah, the governor of Damascus. The Persians, taking advantage of
this, infiltrated the two armies and attacked the other army causing chaos and internal hatred between
the companions at the Battle of Siffin. The battle lasted several months, resulting in a stalemate. In order
to avoid further bloodshed, Ali agreed to negotiate with Mu'awiyah. This caused a faction of
approximately 4,000 people that would be known as the Kharijites, to abandon the fight. After defeating
the Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan, Ali was later assassinated by the Kharijite Ibn Muljam. Ali's son
Hasan was elected as the next caliph, but handed his title to Mu'awiyah a few months later. Mu'awiyah
became the fifth (or second by Shia reckoning) caliph, establishing the Umayyad Dynasty,[9] named after
the great-grandfather of Uthman and Mu'awiyah, Umayya ibn Abd Shams.[10]
Umayyad Caliphate (661750)

Under the Umayyads, the Caliphate grew rapidly in territory,
incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and
most of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world. At
its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 5.17 million
square miles (13,400,000km2), making it the largest empire the
world had yet seen, and the sixth-largest ever to exist in history.[11]
The Caliphate, 622750
Expansion under Muhammad, Geographically, the empire was divided into several provinces, the
622632 borders of which changed numerous times during the Umayyad reign.
Expansion during the Rashidun Each province had a governor appointed by the caliph. However, for a
variety of reasons, including that they were not elected by Shura and
Caliphs, 632661
suggestions of impious behaviour, the Umayyad dynasty was not
Expansion during the Umayyad
universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported
Caliphate, 661750 prominent early Muslims like Al-Zubayr; others felt that only
members of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim, or his own lineage,
the descendants of Ali, should rule.
There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks
(notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays). Allegedly, Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan killed Ali's son Hussein
and his family at the Battle of Karbala in 680, solidifying the Shia-Sunni split.[7] Eventually, supporters of
the Banu Hashim and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750.
However, the Shiat Al, "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-Muttalib and not from Ali.
Abbasid Caliphate (7501258, 12611517)

Abbassid Caliphs at Baghdad
In 750, the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown by another family of Meccan origin, the Abbasids. Their
time was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. Islamic art and music also flourished
significantly during their reign. Their major city and capital Baghdad began to flourish as a center of
knowledge, culture and trade. This period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by
the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid Caliphate had however lost its effective power outside Iraq
already by c. 920.[12] By 945, the loss of power became official when the
Buyids conquered Baghdad and all of Iraq. The empire fell apart and its parts
were ruled for the next century by local dynasties.[13]
In the 9th century, the Abbasids created an army loyal only to their caliphate,
composed predominantly of Turkic Cuman, Circassian, and Georgian slave
origin known as Mamluks. By 1250 the Mamluks came to power in Egypt.
The Mamluk army, though often viewed negatively, both helped and hurt the
caliphate. Early on, it provided the government with a stable force to address
domestic and foreign problems. However, creation of this foreign army and
al-Mu'tasim's transfer of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra created a
division between the caliphate and the peoples they claimed to rule. In
addition, the power of the Mamluks steadily grew until Ar-Radi (93441)
Al-Mustansiriya University
was constrained to hand over most of the royal functions to Muhammad ibn
in Baghdad
Ra'iq.
Under the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo (12611517)

In 1261, following the devastation of Baghdad at the hands of the Mongols, the Mamluk rulers of Egypt
tried to gain legitimacy for their rule by declaring the re-establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo.
The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt had little to no political power; they continued to maintain the symbols of
authority, but their sway was confined to religious matters. The first Abbasid caliph of Cairo was Al-
Mustansir (r. JuneNovember 1261). The Abbasid caliphate of Cairo lasted until the time of Al-Mutawakkil
III, who ruled as caliph from 1508 to 1516, then he was deposed briefly in 1516 by his predecessor Al-
Mustamsik, but was restored again to the caliphate in 1517.
The Ottoman Great Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate, and made Egypt part of the Ottoman
Empire in 1517. Al-Mutawakkil III was captured together with his family and transported to
Constantinople as a prisoner where he had a ceremonial role. He died in 1543, following his return to
Cairo.[14]
Parallel caliphates to the Abbasids

The Abbasid dynasty lost effective power over much of the Muslim realm by the first half of the tenth
century.
The Shia Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descent from Muhammad
through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa.
Initially controlling Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150
years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbasid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid
rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171.
The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over Al-Andalus, reclaimed the title of Caliph
in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.
Fatimid Caliphate (9091171)
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ili Shi'i caliphate that spanned a vast area of the Arab world. Originally
based in Tunisia, the Fatimid dynasty extended their rule across the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and
ultimately made Egypt the centre of their caliphate. At its height, in addition to Egypt, the caliphate
included varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant and the
included varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant and the
Hejaz.
The Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia and made it their
capital city, before conquering Egypt, and building the city of Cairo
there in 969. Thereafter, Cairo became the capital of the caliphate,
with Egypt becoming the political, cultural and religious centre of the
state. Islam scholar Louis Massignon dubbed the 4th century AH
Map of the Fatimid Caliphate at its
/10th century CE as the "Ismaili century in the history of Islam".[15] largest extent in the early 11th
century
The term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the citizens of this
caliphate. The ruling elite of the state belonged to the Ismaili branch
of Shi'ism. The leaders of the dynasty were Ismaili Imams and had a religious significance to Ismaili
Muslims. They are also part of the chain of holders of the office of the Caliphate, as recognized by some
Muslims. Therefore, this constitutes a rare period in history in which the descendants of Ali (hence the
name Fatimid, referring to Ali's wife Fatima) and the Caliphate were united to any degree, excepting the
final period of the Rashidun Caliphate under Ali himself.
The caliphate was reputed to exercise a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam
as well as towards Jews, Maltese Christians and Copts.[16]
Umayyad Caliphate of Crdoba (9291031)

During the Umayyad dynasty, the Iberian Peninsula was an integral
province of the Umayyad Caliphate ruling from Damascus. The
Umayyads lost the position of Caliph in Damascus in 750, and Abd al-
Rahman I became Emir of Crdoba in 756 after six years in exile.
Intent on regaining power, he defeated the existing Islamic rulers of
the area who defied Umayyad rule and united various local fiefdoms
into an emirate.
Rulers of the emirate used the title "emir" or "sultan" until the 10th
century, when Abd al-Rahman III was faced with the threat of invasion
by the Fatimid Caliphate. To aid his fight against the invading
Fatimids, who claimed the caliphate in opposition to the generally Map of the Caliphate of Cordoba c.
recognized Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad, Al-Mu'tadid, Abd al-Rahman III 1000
claimed the title of caliph himself. This helped Abd al-Rahman III gain
prestige with his subjects, and the title was retained after the
Fatimids were repulsed. The rule of the Caliphate is considered as the heyday of Muslim presence in the
Iberian peninsula, before it fragmented into various taifas in the 11th century. This period was
characterized by a remarkable flourishing in technology, trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of
al-Andalus were constructed in this period.
Almohad Caliphate (11471269)
The Almohad Caliphate (Berber: Imweden, from Arabic al-Muwaidun, "the Monotheists" or
"the Unifiers") was a Moroccan[17][18] Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century.[19]
The Almohad movement was started by Ibn Tumart among the Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco. The
The Almohad movement was started by Ibn Tumart among the Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco. The
Almohads first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.[19] The
Almohads succeeded in overthrowing the Almoravid dynasty in governing Morocco by 1147, when Abd al-
Mu'min (r. 1130-1163) conquered Marrakech and declared himself Caliph. They then extended their
power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of Africa and all Islamic Iberia was
under Almohad rule by 1172.[20]
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad al-Nasir (11991214) was
defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes
of Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon
after, with the great Moorish cities of Crdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248,
respectively.
The Almohads continued to rule in northern Africa until the piecemeal loss of territory through the revolt
of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies, the Marinid dynasty, in 1215. The
last representative of the line, Idris al-Wathiq, was reduced to the possession of Marrakesh, where he
was murdered by a slave in 1269; the Marinids seized Marrakesh, ending the Almohad domination of the
Western Maghreb.
Ottoman Caliphate (15171924)

The caliphate was claimed by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire beginning with Murad I (reigned 1362 to
1389),[21] while recognizing no authority on the part of the Abbasid caliphs of the Mamluk-ruled Cairo.
Hence the seat of the caliphate moved to the Ottoman capital of Edirne. In 1453, after Mehmed the
Conqueror's conquest of Constantinople, the seat of the Ottomans moved to Constantinople, present-day
Istanbul. In 1517, the Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated and annexed the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo into
his empire.[22][23] Through conquering and unifying Muslim lands, Selim I became the defender of the
Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, which further strengthened the Ottoman claim to the caliphate in the
Muslim world. Ottomans gradually came to be viewed as the de facto leaders and representatives of the
Islamic world. However, the earlier Ottoman caliphs did not officially bear the title of caliph in their
documents of state, inscriptions, or coinage.[23] It was only in the late eighteenth century that the claim
to the caliphate was discovered by the sultans to have a practical use, since it allowed them to counter
Russian claims to protect Ottoman Christians with their own claim to protect Muslims under Russian
rule.[24][25]
According to Barthold, the first time the title of "caliph" was used as a political instead of symbolic
religious title by the Ottomans was the Treaty of Kk Kaynarca with the Russian Empire in 1774, when
the Empire retained moral authority on territory whose sovereignty was ceded to the Russian Empire.
The British supported and propagated the view that the Ottomans were Caliphs of Islam among Muslims
in British India and the Ottoman Sultans helped the British by issuing pronouncements to the Muslims of
India telling them to support British rule from Sultan Ali III and Sultan Abdlmecid I.[26]
The outcome of the Russo-Turkish War of 176874 was disastrous for the Ottomans. Large territories,
including those with large Muslim populations, such as Crimea, were lost to the Russian Empire. However,
the Ottomans under Abdul Hamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by being allowed to remain the religious
leaders of Muslims in the now-independent Crimea as part of the peace treaty; in return Russia became
the official protector of Christians in Ottoman territory.
Around 1880 Sultan Abdul HamidII reasserted the title as a way of countering Russian expansion into
Around 1880 Sultan Abdul HamidII reasserted the title as a way of countering Russian expansion into
Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Muslims of British India. By the eve of World
WarI, the Ottoman state, despite its weakness relative to Europe, represented the largest and most
powerful independent Islamic political entity. The sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders
of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India, and Central Asia.
In 1899 John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State, asked the American ambassador to Ottoman Turkey, Oscar
Straus, to approach Sultan Abdul Hamid II to use his position as caliph to order the Tausg people of the
Sultanate of Sulu in the Philippines to submit to American suzerainty and American military rule; the
Sultan obliged them and wrote the letter which was sent to Sulu via Mecca. As a result, the "Sulu
Mohammedans ... refused to join the insurrectionists and had placed themselves under the control of our
army, thereby recognizing American sovereignty."[27][27][28]
Abolition of the Caliphate (1924)

After the Armistice of Mudros of October 1918 with the
military occupation of Constantinople and Treaty of Versailles
(1919), the position of the Ottomans was uncertain. The
movement to protect or restore the Ottomans gained force
after the Treaty of Svres (August 1920) which imposed the
partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and gave Greece a powerful
position in Anatolia, to the distress of the Turks. They called for
help and the movement was the result. The movement had
collapsed by late 1922.
On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic,

Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, as part of Atatrk's Reforms,
constitutionally abolished the institution of the caliphate.[22] Its
powers within Turkey were transferred to the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey, the parliament of the newly formed
Turkish Republic. The title was then claimed by Hussein bin Ali,
Sharif of Mecca of Hejaz, leader of the Arab Revolt, but his
kingdom was defeated and annexed by ibn Saud in 1925.
A summit was convened at Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival

Abdlmecid II was the last Caliph of Islam
of the Caliphate, but most Muslim countries did not participate
from the Ottoman dynasty.
and no action was taken to implement the summit's
resolutions.
Though the title Ameer al-Mumineen was adopted by the King of Morocco and by Mohammed Omar,
former head of the Taliban of Afghanistan, neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims
outside the borders of their respective countries.
Since the end of the Ottoman Empire, occasional demonstrations have been held calling for the
reestablishment of the Caliphate. Organisations which call for the re-establishment of the Caliphate
include Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood.[29]
Sokoto Caliphate (18041903)
The Sokoto Caliphate was an Islamic state in what is now Nigeria led by Usman dan Fodio. Founded
The Sokoto Caliphate was an Islamic state in what is now Nigeria led by Usman dan Fodio. Founded
during the Fulani War in the early 19th century, it controlled one of the most powerful empires in sub-
Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization. The caliphate remained extant through the
colonial period and afterwards, though with reduced power. The current head of the Sokoto Caliphate is
Sa'adu Abubakar.
Khilafat Movement (191924)

The Khilafat Movement was launched by Muslims in British India to defend the Ottoman Caliphate at the
end of the First World War and it spread throughout the British colonial territories. It was strong in British
India where it formed a rallying point for some Indian Muslims as one of many anti-British Indian political
movements. Its leaders included Mohammad Ali Jouhar, his brother Shawkat Ali, and Abul Kalam Azad,
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, and Barrister Muhammad Jan Abbasi. For a time it was supported by Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, who was a member of the Central Khilafat Committee.[30][31] However, the
movement lost its momentum after the arrest or flight of its leaders, and a series of offshoots splintered
off from the main organization.
Sharifian Caliphate (192425)

The Sharifian Caliphate (Arabic: ) was an Arab caliphate proclaimed by the Sharifian rulers
of Hejaz in 1924, in lieu of the Ottoman Caliphate. The idea of the Sharifian Caliphate had been floating
around since at least the 15th century.[32] Toward the end of the 19th century, it started to gain
importance due to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which was heavily defeated in the Russo-Turkish
War of 187778. There is little evidence, however, that the idea of a Sharifian Caliphate ever gained wide
grassroots support in the Middle East or anywhere else for that matter.[33]
Non-political caliphates
Though non-political, some Sufi orders and the Ahmadiyya movement[34] define themselves as caliphates.
Their leaders are thus commonly referred to as khalifas (caliphs).
Sufi caliphates
In Sufism, tariqas (orders) are led by spiritual leaders (khilafah ruhaniyyah), the main khalifas, who
nominate local khalifas to organize zaouias.[35]
Sufi caliphates are not necessarily hereditary. Khalifas are aimed to serve the silsilah in relation to spiritual
responsibilities and to propagate the teachings of the tariqa.
Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908-present)

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is an Islamic revivalist movement founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad of Qadian, India, who claimed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi, awaited by Muslims. He also
claimed to be a follower-prophet subordinate to Muhammad the prophet of Islam. After his death in
1908, his first successor, Hakeem Noor-ud-Din became the caliph of the community and assumed the
title of Khalifatul Masih (Successor or Caliph of the Messiah).
Ahmadi Muslims believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate

Ahmadi Muslims believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate
established after the passing of the community's founder
is the re-establishment of the Rashidun Caliphate.[36] The
Ahmadiyya caliphate has spanned over a century, seen five
caliphs and continues to operate under this structure,
with the caliph having overall authority for all religious and
organizational matters. According to Ahmadiyya thought,
it is not essential for a caliph to be the head of a state,
rather the religious and organisational significance of the
The Ahmadiyya flag, first designed in 1939,
caliphate is emphasised. It is above all a religious office,
during the leadership of the Second Caliph.
with the purpose to uphold, strengthen and spread Islam
and maintain the high moral standards within the Muslim
community established by Muhammad, who was not merely a political leader but primarily a religious
leader. The caliphate is understood as a system dealing with the organisation of believers and relating to
the administration (nizm) of the Muslim community whether or not it involves a governmental role.[37]
Being based on the 'precepts of Prophethood', the institution of caliphate can therefore, like prophethood,
exist and flourish without a state.[38] If a caliph does happen to bear governmental authority as a head of
state, it is incidental and subsidiary in relation to his overall function as caliph which is applicable to
believers transnationally and not limited to one particular state or political entity. The system of caliphate
in Islam, thus understood, transcends national sovereignty and ethnic divide, forming a universal supra-
national entity.[37][38] According to Ahmadi Muslims, the caliphate seeks to establish God's authority on
earth and the caliph strives to uphold that authority within the community of followers. It is required that
the caliph carry out his duties through consultation and taking into consideration the views of the
members of the Majlis-ash-Shura (consultative body). However, it is not incumbent upon him to always
accept the views and recommendations of the members. The caliph has overall authority for all religious
and organisational matters and is bound to decide and act in accordance with the Qur'an and sunnah.
After Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first caliph, the title of the Ahmadiyya caliph continued under Mirza
Mahmud Ahmad, who led the community for over 50 years. Following him were Mirza Nasir Ahmad and
then Mirza Tahir Ahmad who were the third and fourth caliphs respectively. The current caliph is Mirza
Masroor Ahmad, who lives in London[39] with a following of 10 to 20 million in over 200 countries and
territories of the world.[40]
Religious basis
Qur'an
The Quran uses the term khalifa twice. First, in al-Baqara, 30, it refers to God creating humanity as his
khalifa on Earth. Second, in Sad, 26, it addresses King David as God's khalifa and reminds him of his
obligation to rule with justice.[41]
In addition, the following excerpt from the Quran, known as the 'Istikhlaf Verse', is used by some to argue
for a Quranic basis for Caliphate:
God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a
certainty, He will make them Khulifa on earth, even as He caused [some of] those who lived
before them to become Khulifa; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for them the
religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause
their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security [seeing that] they worship
their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security [seeing that] they worship
Me [alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me. But all who, after [having
understood] this, choose to deny the truth it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!" (An-Nur,
55)
In the above verse, the word Khulifa (the plural of Khalifa) has been variously translated as "successors"
and "ones who accede to power".
Small subsections of Sunni Islamism argue that to govern a state by Sharia is, by definition, to rule via 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
[Quran005:049]
O you who believe! Obey God, and obey the messenger and then those among you who are in
authority; and if you have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to God and the
messenger's rulings, if you are (in truth) believers in God and the Last Day. That is better and
more seemly in the end.
[Quran004:059]
Hadith
The following hadith from Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal can be understood to prophesy two eras of
Caliphate (both on the lines/precepts of prophethood).
Hadhrat Huzaifa narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: Prophethood will remain among
you as long as Allah wills. Then Caliphate (Khilafah) on the lines of Prophethood shall
commence, and remain as long as Allah wills. Then corrupt/erosive monarchy would take
place, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and
it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, the Caliphate (Khilafah) shall come once again based
on the precept of Prophethood.[42]
In the above, the first era of Caliphate is commonly accepted by Muslims to be that of the Rashidun
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 (when atrocities 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 a tradition I heard from the Messenger of Allah. I heard him say: One who
withdraws his band from obedience (to the Amir) will find no argument (in his defence) when
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 the days of
Jahiliyyah. Sahih Muslim, Book 020, Hadith 4562.
Hisham ibn Urwah reported on the authority of Abu Saleh on the authority of Abu Hurairah that
Muhammad said:
Leaders will take charge of you after me, where the pious (one) will lead you with his piety
and the impious (one) with his impiety, so only listen to them and obey them in everything
which conforms with the truth (Islam). If they act rightly it is for your credit, and if they acted
wrongly 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 a shield from behind whom the people fight and by whom
they defend themselves.
Muslim reported 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 children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another Prophet
succeeded him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will be Khalifahs and they will
number many. They asked: What then do you order us? He said: Fulfil the
bay'ah(transaction/sale) to them one after the other and give them their due. Surely God will
ask them about what He entrusted them with.
Prophesied Caliphate of the Mahd

For information about Caliph the Mahd, see "Mahdi", "Islamic eschatology" (Section Islamic
eschatology#Major figures), and "Second Coming" (Section Second Coming#Islam).
The Sahaba of Muhammad
Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir said, when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of Muhammad, (at the
thaqifa hall) of Bani Saida:
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 addressed the Muslims.[43][44][45][46][47][48]
It has additionally been reported[49] that Abu Bakr went on to say on the day of Al-Saqifa:
It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for this would cause differences in their affairs
and concepts, their unity would be divided and disputes would break out amongst them. The
Sunnah would then be abandoned, the bidaa (innovations) would spread and Fitna would
grow, and that is in no ones interests.
The Sahaba agreed to this and selected Abu Bakr as their first Khaleef. Habbab ibn Mundhir who
suggested the idea of two Ameers corrected himself and was the first to give Abu Bakr the Bay'ah. This
indicates an Ijma as-Sahaba of all of the Sahaba. Ali ibni abi Talib, who was attending the body of
Muhammad at the time, also consented to this.
Imam Ali whom the Shia revere said:[50]
People must have an Amir...where the believer works under his Imara (rule) and under which
the unbeliever would also benefit, until his rule ended by the end of his life (ajal), the booty
(fayi) would be gathered, the enemy would be fought, the routes would be made safe, the
strong one will return what he took from the weak till the tyrant would be contained, and not
bother anyone.
Sayings of Islamic theologians
Al-Mawardi says:[51]
It is forbidden for the Ummah (Muslim world) to have two leaders at the same time.
Al-Nawawi says:[52]
It is forbidden to give an oath to two leaders or more, even in different parts of the world and
even if they are far apart.
Ahmad al-Qalqashandi says:[53]
It is forbidden to appoint two leaders at the same time.
Ibn Hazm says:[54]
It is permitted to have only one leader (of the Muslims) in the whole of the world.
Al-sharani says:[55]
It is forbidden for Muslims to have in the whole world and at the same time two leaders
whether in agreement or discord.
Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad (a Mutazela scholar), says:[56]
It is forbidden to give the oath to more than one.
Al-Joziri says:[57]
The Imams (scholars of the four schools of thought)- may Allah have mercy on them- agree
that the Caliphate is an obligation, and that the Muslims must appoint a leader who would
implement the injunctions of the religion, and give the oppressed justice against the
oppressors. It is forbidden for Muslims to have two leaders in the world whether in agreement
or discord.
The Shia schools of thought and others expressed the same opinion about this.[58][59][60][61] However,
the Shia school of thought believe that the leader (Imam) must not be appointed by the Islamic ummah,
but must be appointed by God.
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafsir[62] of the verse, "Indeed, man is made upon this earth a Caliph"[63] that:
This Ayah is a source in the selection of an Imaam, and a Khaleef, he is listened to and he is
obeyed, for the word is united through him, and the Ahkam (laws) of the Caliph are
implemented through him, and there is no difference regarding the obligation of that between
the Ummah, nor between the Imams except what is narrated about al-Asam, the Mu'tazzili ...
Al-Qurtubi also said:
The Khilafah is the pillar upon which other pillars rest
An-Nawawi said:[64]
(The scholars) consented that it is an obligation upon the Muslims to select a Khalif
Al-Ghazali when writing of the potential consequences of losing the Caliphate said:[65]
The judges will be suspended, the Wilayaat (provinces) will be nullified, ... the decrees of
those in authority will not be executed and all the people will be on the verge of Haraam
Ibn Taymiyyah said[66]:
It is obligatory to know that the office in charge of commanding over the people (ie: the post
of the Khaleefah) is one of the greatest obligations of the Deen. In fact, there is no
establishment of the Deen except by it....this is the opinion of the salaf, such as Al-Fuayl ibn
Iy, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others
Period of dormancy
Once the subject of intense conflict and rivalry amongst Muslim rulers, the caliphate laid dormant and
largely unclaimed since the 1920s. For the vast majority of Muslims the caliph as leader of the ummah, "is
cherished both as memory and ideal"[67] as a time when Muslims "enjoyed scientific and military
superiority globally".[68] The Islamic prophet Muhammad is reported to have prophesied:
Prophethood will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain, then Allah will raise it
up whenever he wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a Caliphate that follows the
guidance of Prophethood remaining with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, He
will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a reign of violently
oppressive rule and it will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, there
will be a reign of tyrannical rule and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then,
Allah will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Then, there will be a Caliphate that
follows the guidance of Prophethood.
As-Silsilah As-Sahihah, vol. 1, no. 5
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014present)

The group Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad
al-Rafidayn formed as an affiliate of Al-
Qaeda network of Islamist militants during
the Iraq War. The group eventually
expanded into Syria and rose to
prominence as the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil
War. In the summer of 2014, the group
launched the Northern Iraq offensive,
seizing the city of Mosul.[69][70] The group ISIL's claimed Caliphate at its extent in May 2015 (left), and
declared itself a caliphate under Abu Bakr current situation, with ISIL's Caliphate in grey, as of November
al-Baghdadi on June 29, 2014 and 16, 2016 (right)
renamed itself as the "Islamic
State".[71][72][73]
ISIL's claim to be the highest authority of Muslims has not been widely recognized beyond the territory it
controls with 10 million people,[74] and the group has been at war with armed forces including the Iraqi
Army, the Syrian Army, the Free Syrian Army, Al-Nusra Front, Syrian Democratic Forces, and Iraqi
Kurdistan's Peshmerga and People's Protection Units (YPG) along with a 60 nation coalition in its efforts to
Kurdistan's Peshmerga and People's Protection Units (YPG) along with a 60 nation coalition in its efforts to
establish a de facto state on Iraqi and Syrian territory.[75]
Ahmadiyya view
The members of the Ahmadiyya community believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate (Arabic: Khilfah) is the
continuation of the Islamic Caliphate, first being the Rshidn (rightly guided) Caliphate (of Righteous
Caliphs). This is believed to have been suspended with Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad and re-
established with the appearance of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908, the founder of the movement)
whom Ahmadis identify as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.
Ahmadis maintain that in accordance with Quranic verses (such as [Quran24:55 (https://quran.com/24:55)]) and
numerous ahadith on the issue, Khilfah can only be established by God Himself and is a divine blessing
given to those who believe and work righteousness and uphold the unity of God, therefore any movement
to establish the Khilfah centered on human endeavours alone is bound to fail, particularly when the
condition of the people diverges from the precepts of prophethood and they are as a result disunited,
their inability to establish a Khilfah caused fundamentally by the lack of righteousness in them. Although
the khalifa is elected it is believed that God himself directs the hearts of believers towards an individual.
Thus the khalifa is designated neither necessarily by right (i.e. the rightful or competent one in the eyes of
the people at that time) nor merely by election but primarily by God.[76]
According to Ahmadiyya thought, a khalifa need not be the head of a state; rather the Ahmadiyya
community emphasises the spiritual and organisational significance of the Khilfah. It is primarily a
religious/spiritual office, with the purpose of upholding, strengthening and spreading Islam and of
maintaining the high spiritual and moral standards within the global community established by Muhammad
- who was not merely a political leader but primarily a religious leader. If a khalifa does happen to bear
governmental authority as a head of state, it is incidental and subsidiary in relation to his overall function
as khalifa which is applicable to believers transnationally and not limited to one particular state.[77][78]
Ahmadi Muslims believe that God has assured them that this Caliphate will endure to the end of time,
depending on their righteousness and faith in God. The Khalifa provides unity, security, moral direction
and progress for the community. It is required that the Khalifa carry out his duties through consultation
and taking into consideration the views of the members of the Shura (consultative body). However, it is
not incumbent upon him to always accept the views and recommendations of the members. The
Khalifatul Masih has overall authority for all religious and organisational matters and is bound to decide
and act in accordance with the Qur'an and sunnah.
Islamic call
A number of Islamist political parties and mujahideen called for the restoration of the caliphate by uniting
Muslim nations, either through political action (e.g., Hizb ut-Tahrir), or through force (e.g., al-Qaeda).[79]
Various Islamist movements gained momentum in recent years with the ultimate aim of establishing a
Caliphate. In 2014, ISIL/ISIS made a claim to re-establishing the Caliphate. Those advocating the re-
establishment of a Caliphate differed in their methodology and approach. Some were locally oriented,
mainstream political parties that had no apparent transnational objectives.
Abul A'la Maududi believed the caliph was not just an individual ruler who had to be restored, but was
man's representation of God's authority on Earth:
Khilafa means representative. Man, according to Islam is the representative of "people", His
(God's) viceregent; that is to say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him, and within the
limits prescribed by the Qu'ran and the teaching of the prophet, the caliph is required to
exercise Divine authority.[80]
The Muslim Brotherhood advocates pan-Islamic unity and the implementation of Islamic law. Founder
Hassan al-Banna wrote about the restoration of the Caliphate.[81]
One transnational group whose ideology was based specifically on restoring the caliphate as a pan-Islamic
state is Hizb ut-Tahrir (literally, "Party of Liberation"). It is particularly strong in Central Asia and Europe
and is growing in strength in the Arab world. It is based on the claim that Muslims can prove that God
exists[82] and that the Qur'an is the word of God.[83][84] Hizb ut-Tahrir's stated strategy is a non-violent
political and intellectual struggle.
In Southeast Asia, groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah aimed to establish a Caliphate across Indonesia,
Malaysia, Brunei and parts of Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia.
al-Qaeda's Caliphate goals
Al-Qaeda has as one of its clearly stated goals the re-establishment of a caliphate.[85] Its former leader,
Osama bin Laden, called for Muslims to "establish the righteous caliphate of our umma".[86] Al-Qaeda
chiefs released a statement in 2005, under which, in what they call "phase five" there will be "an Islamic
state, or caliphate".[87] Al-Qaeda has named its Internet newscast from Iraq "The Voice of the
Caliphate".[88] According to author and Egyptian native Lawrence Wright, Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's
mentor and al-Qaeda's second-in-command until 2011, once "sought to restore the caliphate... which had
formally ended in 1924 following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire but which had not exercised real
power since the thirteenth century." Zawahiri believes that once the caliphate is re-established, Egypt
would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the jihad against the West. "Then
history would make a new turn, God willing", Zawahiri later wrote, "in the opposite direction against the
empire of the United States and the world's Jewish government".[89]
Opposition
Scholar Olivier Roy writes that "early on, Islamists replace the concept of the caliphate ... with that of the
emir." There were a number of reasons including "that according to the classical authors, a caliph must be
a member of the tribe of the Prophet (the Quraysh) ... moreover, caliphs ruled societies that the Islamists
do not consider to have been Islamic (the Ottoman Empire)."[90] This is not the view of the majority of
Islamist groups, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir view the Ottoman state as a
caliphate.[91][92]
Government
Electing or appointing a Caliph
In his book The Early Islamic Conquests (1981), Fred Donner argues that the standard Arabian practice
In his book The Early Islamic Conquests (1981), Fred Donner argues that the standard Arabian practice
during the early Caliphates was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a
leader's death and elect a leader from amongst themselves, although there was no specified procedure
for this shura, or consultative assembly. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased
leader, but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an
ineffectual direct heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunni view that the head of state or governor
should be chosen based on lineage alone.
This argument is advanced by Sunni Muslims, who believe that Muhammad's companion Abu Bakr was
elected by the community and that this was the proper procedure. They further argue that a caliph is
ideally chosen by election or community consensus.
Traditionally, Sunni Muslim madhhabs all agreed that a Caliph must be a descendant of the Quraysh.[93]
Al-Baqillani has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority. The founder of the
biggest Sunni legal school, Abu Hanifa, also wrote that the Caliph must be chosen by the majority.[3]
Sunni belief
Following the death of Muhammad, a meeting took place at Saqifah. At that meeting, Abu Bakr was
elected caliph by the Muslim community. Sunni Muslims developed the belief that the caliph is a temporal
political ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic law (Sharia). The job of adjudicating
orthodoxy and Islamic law was left to mujtahids, legal specialists collectively called the Ulama. Many
Muslims call the first four caliphs the Rashidun, meaning the Rightly-Guided, because they are believed to
have followed the Qur'an and the sunnah (example) of Muhammad.
Shi'a belief
The Shia believe in the Imamate, a principle by which rulers are Imams who are divinely chosen, infallible,
and sinless and must come from the Ahl al-Bayt regardless of majority opinion, shura or election. They
claim that before his death, Muhammad had given many indications, in the hadith of the pond of Khumm
in particular, that he considered Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as his successor. For the Twelvers, Ali and
his eleven descendants, the twelve Imams, are believed to have been considered, even before their birth,
as the only valid Islamic rulers appointed and decreed by God.
After these Twelve Imams, the potential Caliphs, had passed, and in the absence of the possibility of a
government headed by their Imams, some Twelvers believe it was necessary that a system of Shi'i Islamic
government based on the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist be developed, due to the need for some form
of government, where an Islamic jurist or faqih rules Muslims, suffices. However this idea, developed by
the marja' Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and established in Iran, is not universally accepted among the Shia.
Ismailis believe in the Imamate principle mentioned above, but they need not be secular rulers as well.
The Nizari continue to have a living Imam; the current Imam is the Aga Khan.
The Taiyabi Ismaili have, since the year 1130, followed the Imam's chief officer, the Dai al-Mutlaq, as
they believe the Imams are in a state of hiding.
Majlis al-Shura (parliament)

Traditional Sunni Islamic lawyers agree that shura, loosely translated as "consultation of the people", is a
function of the caliphate. The Majlis al-Shura (literally "consultative assembly") or parliament was a
representation of this idea of consultative governance. The importance of this is premised by the
following verses of the Qur'an:
following verses of the Qur'an:
"...those who answer the call of their Lord and establish the prayer; and who conduct their affairs by
Shura [are loved by God]."[42:38 (https://quran.com/42:38)]
"...consult them (the people) in their affairs. Then when you have taken a decision (from them), put
your trust in Allah"[3:159 (https://quran.com/3:159)]
The majlis is also the means to elect a new caliph.[3] Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis
should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph
from a bad one, and have sufficient wisdom and judgment to select the best caliph. Al-Mawardi also said
that in emergencies when there is no caliphate and no majlis, the people themselves should create a
majlis and select a list of candidates for caliph; then the majlis should select a caliph from the list of
candidates.[3]
Some Islamist interpretations of the role of the Majlis al-Shura are the following: In an analysis of the
shura chapter of the Qur'an, Islamist author Sayyid Qutb argues that Islam only requires the ruler to
consult with some of the representatives of the ruled and govern within the context of the Sharia.
Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, the founder of a transnational political movement devoted to the revival of the
Caliphate, writes that although the Shura is an important part of "the ruling structure" of the Islamic
caliphate, "(it is) not one of its pillars", meaning that its neglect would not make a Caliph's rule un-Islamic
such as to justify a rebellion. However, the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic movement in Egypt,
has toned down these Islamist views by accepting in principle that in the modern age the Majlis al-Shura
is democracy but during its governance of Egypt in 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood did not put that
principle into practice.
Accountability of rulers
Sunni Islamic lawyers have commented on when it is permissible to disobey, impeach or remove rulers in
the Caliphate. This is usually when the rulers are not meeting their obligations to the public under Islam.
Al-Mawardi said that if the rulers meet their Islamic responsibilities to the public the people must obey
their laws, but a Caliph or ruler who becomes either unjust or severely ineffective must be impeached via
the Majlis al-Shura. Similarly, Al-Baghdadi believed that if the rulers do not uphold justice, the ummah via
the majlis should warn them, and a Caliph who does not heed the warning can be impeached. Al-Juwayni
argued that Islam is the goal of the ummah, so any ruler who deviates from this goal must be impeached.
Al-Ghazali believed that oppression by a caliph is sufficient grounds for impeachment. Rather than just
relying on impeachment, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani stated that the people have an obligation to rebel if the
caliph begins to act with no regard for Islamic law. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said that to ignore such a
situation is haraam and those who cannot revolt from inside the caliphate should launch a struggle from
outside. Al-Asqalani used two ayahs from the Qur'an to justify this:
"...And they (the sinners on qiyama) will say, 'Our Lord! We obeyed our leaders and our chiefs,
and they misled us from the right path. Our Lord! Give them (the leaders) double the
punishment you give us and curse them with a very great curse'..."[33:6768 (https://quran.com/33:6
7)]
Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down after being impeached through the
Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down after being impeached through the
Majlis, becoming dictators through the support of a corrupt army, if the majority is in agreement they
have the option to launch a revolution. Many noted that this option is to be exercised only after factoring
in the potential cost of life.[3]
Rule of law
The following hadith establishes the principle of rule of law in relation to nepotism and accountability[94]
Narrated Aisha: The people of Quraish worried about the lady from Bani Makhzum who had
committed theft. They asked, "Who will intercede for her with Allah's Apostle?" Some said,
"No one dare to do so except Usama bin Zaid the beloved one to Allah's Apostle." When
Usama spoke about that to Allah's Apostle; Allah's Apostle said: "Do you try to intercede for
somebody in a case connected with Allahs Prescribed Punishments?" Then he got up and
delivered a sermon saying, "What destroyed the nations preceding you, was that if a noble
amongst them stole, they would forgive him, and if a poor person amongst them stole, they
would inflict Allah's Legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad
(my daughter) stole, I would cut off her hand."
Various Islamic lawyers, however, place multiple conditions and stipulations on the execution of such a
law, making it difficult to implement. For example, the poor cannot be penalized for stealing out of
poverty, and during a time of drought in the Rashidun caliphate, capital punishment was suspended until
the effects of the drought passed.
Islamic jurists later formulated the concept that all classes were subject to the law of the land, and no
person is above the law; officials and private citizens alike have a duty to obey the same law. Furthermore,
a Qadi (Islamic judge) was not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of religion, race, colour, kinship or
prejudice. In a number of cases, Caliphs had to appear before judges as they prepared to render their
verdict.[95]
According to Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University, the system of legal scholars and
jurists responsible for the rule of law was replaced by the codification of Sharia by the Ottoman Empire in
the early 19th century:[96]
Economy
During the Muslim Agricultural Revolution, the Caliphate understood that real incentives were needed to
increase productivity and wealth and thus enhance tax revenues. A social transformation took place as a
result of changing land ownership[97] giving individuals of any gender,[98] ethnic or religious background
the right to buy, sell, mortgage, and inherit land for farming or any other purpose. Based on the Quran,
signatures were required on contracts for every major financial transaction concerning agriculture,
industry, commerce, and employment. Copies of the contract were usually kept by both parties
involved.[97]
There are similarities between Islamic economics and leftist or socialist economic policies. Islamic jurists
have argued that privatization of the origin of oil, gas, and other fire-producing fuels, agricultural land,
and water is forbidden. The principle of public or joint ownership has been drawn by Muslim jurists from
the following hadith of Muhammad:
Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "All Muslims are partners in three things- in water,
Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "All Muslims are partners in three things- in water,
herbage and fire." (Narrated in Abu Daud, & Ibn Majah)[99] Anas added to the above hadith, "Its price is
Haram (forbidden)."
Jurists have argued by qiyas that the above restriction on privatization can be extended to all essential
resources that benefit the community as a whole.
Aside from similarities to socialism, early forms of proto-capitalism and free markets were present in the
Caliphate,[100] since an early market economy and early form of merchant capitalism developed between
the 8th and 12th centuries, which some refer to as "Islamic capitalism".[101] A vigorous monetary
economy developed based on the circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar) and the
integration of previously independent monetary areas. Business techniques and forms of business
organization employed during this time included early contracts, bills of exchange, long-distance
international trade, early forms of partnership (mufawada) such as limited partnerships (mudaraba), and
early forms of credit, debt, profit, loss, capital (al-mal), capital accumulation (nama al-mal),[102] circulating
capital, capital expenditure, revenue, cheques, promissory notes,[103] trusts (waqf), startup
companies,[104] savings accounts, transactional accounts, pawning, loaning, exchange rates, bankers,
money changers, ledgers, deposits, assignments, the double-entry bookkeeping system,[105] and
lawsuits.[106] Organizational enterprises similar to corporations independent from the state also existed in
the medieval Islamic world.[107][108] Many of these concepts were adopted and further advanced in
medieval Europe from the 13th century onwards.[102]
The concepts of welfare and pension were introduced in early Islamic law as forms of Zakat (charity), one
of the Five Pillars of Islam, since the time of the Rashidun caliph Umar in the 7th century. The taxes
(including Zakat and Jizya) collected in the treasury (Bayt al-mal) of an Islamic government were used to
provide income for the needy, including the poor, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled.
The demographics of medieval Islamic society varied in some significant aspects from other agricultural
societies, including a decline in birth rates as well as a change in life expectancy. Other traditional agrarian
societies are estimated to have had an average life expectancy of 20 to 25 years,[109] while ancient Rome
and medieval Europe are estimated at 20 to 30 years.[110] The life expectancy of Islamic society diverged
from that of other traditional agrarian societies, with several studies on the lifespans of Islamic scholars
concluding that members of this occupational group enjoyed a life expectancy between 69 and 75
years.[111] Such studies have given the following estimates for the average lifespans of religious scholars
at various times and places: 72.8 years in the Middle East, 6975 years in 11th century Islamic Spain,[112]
75 years in 12th century Persia,[113] and 5972 years in 13th century Persia.[114] However, Maya
Shatzmiller considers these religious scholars to be a misleading sample who are not representative of
the general population.[115] Conrad I. Lawrence estimates the average lifespan in the early Islamic
Caliphate to be above 35 years for the general population.[116]
The early Islamic Empire also had the highest literacy rates among pre-modern societies, alongside the
city of classical Athens in the 4th century BC,[117] and later, China after the introduction of printing from
the 10th century.[118] One factor for the relatively high literacy rates in the early Islamic Empire was its
parent-driven educational marketplace, as the state did not systematically subsidize educational services
until the introduction of state funding under Nizam al-Mulk in the 11th century.[119] Another factor was
the diffusion of paper from China,[120] which led to an efflorescence of books and written culture in
Islamic society; thus papermaking technology transformed Islamic society (and later, the rest of Afro-
Islamic society; thus papermaking technology transformed Islamic society (and later, the rest of Afro-
Eurasia) from an oral to scribal culture, comparable to the later shifts from scribal to typographic culture,
and from typographic culture to the Internet.[121] Other factors include the widespread use of paper
books in Islamic society (more so than any other previously existing society), the study and memorization
of the Qur'an, flourishing commercial activity, and the emergence of the Maktab and Madrasah
educational institutions.[122]
Notable caliphs
Rashidun ("Righteously Guided")
Abu Bakr, first Rashidun Caliph. Subdued rebel tribes in the Ridda wars.
Umar (Umar ibn al-Khattab), second Rashidun Caliph. During his reign, the Islamic empire
expanded to include Egypt, Jerusalem and Persia.
Uthman Ibn Affan, third Rashidun Caliph. The various written copies of the Qur'an were
standardized under his direction. Killed by rebels.
Ali (Ali ibn Abu Talib), fourth Rashidun Caliph. Considered by Shi'a Muslims however to be the
first Imam. His reign was fraught with internal conflict, with Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
(Muawiyah I) and Amr ibn al-As controlling the Levant and Egypt regions independently of Ali.
Hasan ibn Ali, fifth Caliph. Considered as "rightly guided" by several historians. He abdicated his right
to the caliphate in favour of Muawiyah I in order to end the potential for ruinous civil war.
Muawiyah I, first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. Muawiyah instituted dynastic rule by appointing his
son Yazid I as his successor, a trend that would continue through subsequent caliphates.
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (Umar II), Umayyad caliph who is considered one of the finest rulers in Muslim
history. He is also considered by some (mainly Sunnis) to be among the "rightly guided" caliphs.
Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph during whose reign Baghdad became the world's prominent centre
of trade, learning, and culture. Harun is the subject of many stories in the famous One Thousand and
One Nights. He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom").
Al-Ma'mun, a great Abbasid patron of Islamic philosophy and science.
Mehmed II, an Ottoman caliph who brought an end to the Byzantine Empire.
Suleiman the Magnificent, an Ottoman caliph during whose reign the Ottoman Empire reached its
zenith.
Abdul Hamid II, last Ottoman caliph to rule with independent, absolute power.
Abdlmecid II, last caliph of the Ottoman dynasty. Nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman
dynasty.
See also
Al-Muhajiroun
Emirate
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Shah
Shaykh al-Islm
List of transcontinental countries
Worldwide caliphate
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09896-8, "At the same time, the demographic behaviour of the Islamic society as an agricultural society varied
in some significant aspects from other agricultural societies, particularly in ways which could explain a decline
in birth rate. It is agreed that all agricultural societies conform to a given demographic pattern of behaviour,
which includes a high birth-rate and a slightly lower death-rate, significant enough to allow a slow population
increase of 0.5 to 1.0 per cent per year. Other demographic characteristics of this society are high infant
mortality, with 200500 deaths per 1000 within the first year of birth, a lower average life expectancy, of
twenty to twenty-five years, and a broadly based population pyramid, where the number of young people at
the bottom of the pyramid is very high in relationship to the rest of the population, and that children are set to
work at an early stage. Islamic society diverged from this demographic profile in some significant points,
although not always consistently. Studies have shown that during certain periods, such factors as attitudes to
marriage and sex, birth control, birth and death rates, age of marriage and patterns of marriage, family size and
migration pattems, varied from the traditional agricultural model. [...] Life expectancy was another area where
Islamic society diverged from the suggested model for agricultural society."
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"Life expectancy was another area where Islamic society diverged from the suggested model for agricultural
society. No less than three separate studies about the life expectancy of religious scholars, two from 11th
century Muslim Spain, and one from the Middle East, concluded that members of this occupational group
enjoyed a life expectancy of 69, 75, and 72.8 years respectively!"
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Kevin Jaques", Journal of Islamic Studies, 18 (2): 246248 [246], doi:10.1093/jis/etm005
115. Shatzmiller, Maya (1994), Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, Brill Publishers, p.66, ISBN90-04-09896-8,
"This rate is uncommonly high, not only under the conditions in medieval cities, where these ulama lived, but
also in terms of the average life expectancy for contemporary males. [...] In other words, the social group
studied through the biographies is, a priori, a misleading sample, since it was composed exclusively of
individuals who enjoyed exceptional longevity."
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47564-3
117. Andrew J. Coulson, Delivering Education (PDF), Hoover Institution, p.117, retrieved 2008-11-22, "Reaching
further back through the centuries, the civilizations regarded as having the highest literacy rates of their ages
were parent-driven educational marketplaces. The ability to read and write was far more widely enjoyed in the
early medieval Islamic empire and in fourth-century-B.C.E. Athens than in any other cultures of their times."
118. Edmund Burke (June 2009), "Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity",
Journal of World History, University of Hawaii Press, 20 (2): 165186 [1778], doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0045, "The
spread of written knowledge was at least the equal of what it was in China after printing became common
there in the tenth century. (We should note that Chinese books were printed in small editions of a hundred or
so copies.)"
119. Andrew J. Coulson, Delivering Education (PDF), Hoover Institution, p.117, retrieved 2008-11-22, "In neither
case did the state supply or even systematically subsidize educational services. The Muslim worlds eventual
introduction of state funding under Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century was quickly followed by partisan
religious squabbling over education and the gradual fall of Islam from its place of cultural and scientific
preeminence."
Journal of World History, University of Hawaii Press, 20 (2): 165186 [177], doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0045,
"According to legend, paper came to the Islamic world as a result of the capture of Chinese paper makers at the
751 C.E. battle of Talas River."
Journal of World History, University of Hawaii Press, 20 (2): 165186 [177], doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0045,
"Whatever the source, the diffusion of paper-making technology via the lands of Islam produced a shift from
oral to scribal culture across the rest of Afroeurasia that was rivaled only by the move from scribal to
typographic culture. (Perhaps it will prove to have been even more important than the recent move from
typographic culture to the Internet.) The result was remarkable. As historian Jonathan Bloom informs us, paper
encouraged "an efflorescence of books and written culture incomparably more brilliant than was known
anywhere in Europe until the invention of printing with movable type in the fifteenth century."
Journal of World History, University of Hawaii Press, 20 (2): 165186 [178], doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0045, "More so
than any previously existing society, Islamic society of the period 10001500 was profoundly a culture of
books. [...] The emergence of a culture of books is closely tied to cultural dispositions toward literacy in Islamic
societies. Muslim young men were encouraged to memorize the Qur'an as part of their transition to adulthood,
and while most presumably did not (though little is known about literacy levels in pre-Mongol Muslim
societies), others did. Types of literacy in any event varied, as Nelly Hanna has recently suggested, and are best
studied as part of the complex social dynamics and contexts of individual Muslim societies. The need to
conform commercial contracts and business arrangements to Islamic law provided a further impetus for
literacy, especially likely in commercial centers. Scholars often engaged in commercial activity and craftsmen or
tradesmen often spent time studying in madrasas. The connection between what Brian Street has called
"maktab literacy" and commercial literacy was real and exerted a steady pressure on individuals to upgrade their
reading skills."
Sources
Arnold, T. W. (1993). "Khalfa". In Houtsma, M. Th. E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 19131936.
Volume IV. Leiden: BRILL. pp.881885. ISBN978-90-04-09790-2. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
Crone, Patricia; Hinds, Martin (1986), God's Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam,
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-32185-3
Donner, Fred McGraw (1981), The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton, N.J: Princeton University
Press, ISBN978-0-691-05327-1
Goeje, Michael Jan de (1911). "Caliphate". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopdia Britannica. 5 (11th
ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Wright, Lawrence (2007) [2006], The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, London:
Vintage, ISBN978-1-4000-3084-2
Further reading
The theory of government in Islam (http://www.studyislam.com/isp/jsp/IslamBasic/Islamic_State.ht
ml), by The Internet Islamic University
The History of Al-Khilafah Ar-Rashidah (The Rightly Guided Caliphates) (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=YnDEQSxryykC&pg=PA1) School Textbook, By Dr. 'Abdullah al-Ahsan, Àbdullah Ahsan
The Crisis of the Early Caliphate (https://books.google.com/books?id=oALIyvjV0fEC&pg=PA1) By
Richard Stephen Humphreys, Stephen (EDT) Humphreys from The History of al-Tabari
The Reunification of the Abbasid Caliphate (https://books.google.com/books?id=4J3PJZDYBMoC&p
g=PA1) By Clifford Edmund (TRN) Bosworth, from The History of al-Tabari
Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad (https://books.google.com/books?id=GcKhwo8SmlMC&pg=PR
25) By Franz Rosenthal from The History of al-Tabari
Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (18771924) (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=s04pus5jBNwC&pg=RA1-PA2) By Azmi zcan
Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate from Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=riIDwZ3K85AC&pg=RA1-PR23) By Guy Le Strange
The Fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba: Berbers and Andalusis in conflict (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=m-Wvg__iHPAC&pg=PA1) By Peter C. Scales
Khilafat and Caliphate (http://www.alislam.org/topics/khilafat/khilafat-and-caliphate.pdf), By
Mubasher Ahmad
The abolition of the Caliphate (http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id
=11829711), From The Economist Mar 8th 1924
The Clash of the Caliphates: Understanding the real war of ideas, By Tony Corn, Small Wars Journal,
March 2011
External links
The return of the caliphate (https://www.theguardian.com/com Wikimedia Commons has
ment/story/0,3604,1605653,00.html), The Guardian. media related to
Islamists urge caliphate revival (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ Caliphates.
south_asia/6943070.stm), BBC News.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caliphate&oldid=762636542"
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12.1 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014present)

Rashidun Caliphate (632661)

Umayyad Caliphate (661750)

Abbasid Caliphate (7501258, 12611517)

Under the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo (12611517)

Parallel caliphates to the Abbasids

Fatimid Caliphate (9091171)

Umayyad Caliphate of Crdoba (9291031)

Almohad Caliphate (11471269)

Ottoman Caliphate (15171924)

Abolition of the Caliphate (1924)

On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic,

A summit was convened at Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival

Sokoto Caliphate (18041903)

Khilafat Movement (191924)

Sharifian Caliphate (192425)

Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908-present)

Ahmadi Muslims believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate

Nafi'a reported saying:

Muslim reported on the authority of Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, who said:

Prophesied Caliphate of the Mahd

The Sahaba of Muhammad

Upon this Abu Bakr replied:

It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)...

Imam Ali whom the Shia revere said:[50]

Sayings of Islamic theologians

Ahmad al-Qalqashandi says:[53]

It is forbidden to appoint two leaders at the same time.

Ibn Hazm says:[54]

Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad (a Mutazela scholar), says:[56]

It is forbidden to give the oath to more than one.

Al-Qurtubi also said:

The Khilafah is the pillar upon which other pillars rest

As-Silsilah As-Sahihah, vol. 1, no. 5

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014present)

al-Qaeda's Caliphate goals

Majlis al-Shura (parliament)

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Categories: Caliphates Islamic states by type Pan-Islamism Religious leadership roles

This page was last modified on 29 January 2017, at 22:51.

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