Caliphate Totally Explained

Everything about Caliphate totally explained

A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. The Caliph, the political leader of the community (Ummah), has a position based on the notion of a successor (the Quranic and initial meaning of "caliphate") to Muhammad's political authority.
According to Sunnis he's ideally a member of the Quraysh tribe elected by Muslims or their representatives; and according to Shia Islam, an Imam descended in a line from the Ahl ul-Bayt. From the time of Muhammad until 1924, successive aned contemporary caliphates were held by various dynasties, including the Umayyads (who were driven from Damascus to Córdoba), the Abbasids (who ruled from Baghdad and drove away the Umayyads from Damascus), the Fatimids (who ruled from Cairo), and finally the Ottomans.
The caliphate is the only form of governance that has full approval in traditional Islamic theology, and "is the core political concept of Sunni Islam, by the consensus of the Muslim majority in the early centuries."

History

The caliph, or head of state, was often known as Amīr al-Mu'minīn (أمير المؤمنين) "Commander of the Believers", Imam al-Ummah, Imam al-Mu'minīn (إمام المؤمنين), or more colloquially, leader of all the Muslims. Each member state (Sultanate, Wilayah, or Emirate) of the Caliphate had its own governor (Sultan, Wali or Emir). Dar al-Islam (دار الإسلام 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 as Dar al-Kufr (lit. land of non-Islam), even if its inhabitants were Muslims, because they were not citizens under Islamic law. The first capital of the Caliphate after Prophet Muhammad died was in Medina. At times in Muslim history there 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 the Rashidun (Rightly Guided) Caliphs, were Prophet Muhammad's Sahaba (companions); Abu Bakr, then Umar ibn al-Khattab, then Uthman ibn Affan, and the fourth was Ali ibn Abi Talib. Sunni Muslims consider Abu-Bakr to be the first legitimate Caliph, Shi'a consider Ali to have been the first truly legitimate Caliph, although they concede that Ali accepted his predecessors, because he eventually sanctioned Abu-Bakr.
After the first four caliphs, the Caliphate was claimed by the dynasties such as Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans, and for relatively short periods by other, competing dynasties in al-Andalus, Northern Africa, and Egypt. Mustafa Kemal officially abolished the last Caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, and founded the Republic of Turkey, in 1924. The Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amīr al-Mu'minīn for Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate.

Rashidun, 632-661

Abū Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, and there was consensus in the Muslim community to his choice. His successor, Uthman, was elected by 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. ˤAlī then took control, and although very popular, he wasn't universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt, and later by some of his own guard. He had two major rebellions and was assassinated after a tumultuous rule of only five years. This period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. North Africa and into Hispania and eastward through Persia and ultimately to Sindh and Punjab in modern day Pakistan. This made it one of the largest unitary states in history and one of the few states to ever extend direct rule over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). Although not ruling all of the Sahara, homage was paid to the Caliph by Saharan Africa usually via various nomad Berber tribes.
Largely due to the fact that they were not elected via Shura, the Umayyad dynasty wasn't universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported prominent early Muslims like az-Zubayr; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the Banū Hisham, or his own lineage, the descendants of ˤAlī, should rule. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays). Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hisham and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the Shiˤat ˤAlī, "the Party of ˤAlī", 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 ˤAlī. Following this disappointment, the Shiˤat ˤAlī finally split from the majority Sunni Muslims and formed what are today the several Shiˤa denominations.
The Umayyad Caliphate emerged as the rulers of the Islamic world. Although they maintained the Sasanians' administrative practices, the Umayyads considered Islam as primarily an Arab religion and were wary of Persian culture. They enforced use of the Arabic language in Persia, leading to the demise of the Middle Persian or Pahlavi alphabet in favor of the new Arabic/Persian alphabet in use to this day. They attempted to assimilate Persians as they'd "Arabized" and assimilated the Egyptians and the Assyrians, but with much less success.

The Caliphate in Hispania

During the Ummayad period Hispania was an integral province of the Ummayad Caliphate ruled from Damascus, Syria. Later the caliphate was won by the Abbasids and Al-Andalus (or Hispania) split from the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad to form their own caliphate. The Caliphate of Córdoba (خليفة قرطبة) ruled the Iberian peninsula from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in technology, trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Spain were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba. The title Caliph (خليفة) was claimed by Abd-ar-Rahman III on January 16, 929; he was previously known as the Emir of Córdoba (أمير قرطبة). All Caliphs of Córdoba were members of the Umayyad dynasty; the same dynasty had held the title Emir of Córdoba and ruled over roughly the same territory since 756. The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula, before it split into taifas. Spain possessed a significant native Muslim population until 1610 with the success of the Catholic-instigated Spanish Inquisition, which expelled any remnants of Spanish Muslim (Morisco) or Jewish populations.

Abbasids, 8th-13th century

The Abbasids had an unbroken line of Caliphs for over three centuries, consolidating Islamic rule and cultivating great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East. By 940 the power of the Caliphate under the Abbasids was waning as non-Arabs, particularly the Berbers of North Western Africa, the Turkish, and later the Mamluks in Egypt in the latter half of the 13th century, gained influence, and sultans and emirs became increasingly independent. However, the Caliphate endured as both a symbolic position and a unifying entity for the Islamic world.During the period of the Abassid dynasty, Abassid claims to the caliphate didn't go unchallenged. The Shiˤa Said ibn Husayn of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descendency of Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbassid 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 the Muslim provinces of Spain, reclaimed the title of Caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.

Shadow Caliphate, 13th-16th century

1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim by Mongol forces 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 religious matters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" Caliphate.

Ottomans, 16th-20th century

Ottoman rulers were known primarily by the title of Sultan and used the title of Caliph only sporadically. Mehmed II and his grandson Selim used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries. As the Ottoman Empire grew in size and strength, Ottoman rulers beginning with Selim I began to claim Caliphal authority.
Ottoman rulers used the title "Caliph" symbolically on many occasions but it was strengthened when the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517 and took control of most Arab lands. The last Abbasid Caliph at Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was taken into custody and was transported to İstanbul, where he reportedly surrendered the Caliphate to Selim I. 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 peace treaty with Russia in 1774. The outcome of this war 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 Abdulhamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by assigning themselves the protectors of Muslims in Russia as part of the peace treaty. This was the first time the Ottoman caliph was acknowledged as having political significance outside of Ottoman borders by a European power. As a consequence of this diplomatic victory, as the Ottoman borders were shrinking, the powers of the Ottoman caliph increased.
Around 1880 Sultan Abdulhamid II reasserted the title as a way of countering the spread of European colonialism in Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Muslims of British India. By the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman state, despite its weakness vis-à-vis Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. But the sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia.

Khilafat Movement, 1920

In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to defend the Ottoman Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularly strong in British India, where it formed a rallying point for Indian Muslims and was the one of the many anti-British Indian political movements to enjoy widespread support. Its leaders included Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar, his brother Shawkat Ali, and Maulana abul kalam azad, Dr MA Ansari, and Hasrat Mohani. For a time it worked in alliance with Hindu communities and was supported by Gandhi who was a member of the Central Khilafat Committee. 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.

End of Caliphate, 1924

On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as part of his reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. Its powers within Turkey were transferred to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (parliament) of the newly formed Turkish Republic and the title has since been inactive.
Scattered attempts to revive the Caliphate elsewhere in the Muslim World were made in the years immediately following its abandonment by Turkey, but none were successful. Hussein bin Ali, a former Ottoman governor of the Hejaz who aided the British during World War I and revolted against Istanbul, declared himself Caliph two days after Turkey relinquished the title. But his claim was largely ignored, and he was soon ousted and driven out of Arabia by the Saudis, a rival clan that had no interest in the Caliphate. The last Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI made a similar attempt to re-establish himself as Caliph in the Hejaz after leaving Turkey, but he was also unsuccessful. A summit was convened at Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival of the Caliphate, but most Muslim countries didn't participate 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 Mullah Mohammed Omar, former head of the now-defunct Taliban regime of Afghanistan, neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims outside the borders of their respective countries. The closest thing to a Caliphate in existence today is the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an international organization with limited influence founded in 1969 consisting of the governments of most Muslim-majority countries.

Ahmadiyya Caliphate, 1908-present

The Ahmadiyya movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India, who claimed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi, the one awaited by followers of all major religions. After his demise in 1908, his first successor, Maulvi Hakeem Noor-ud-Din became head of the community and assumed the title of caliph. The line of successors continues to this day, the current head being Mirza Masroor Ahmad, residing in London. From the outset the Ahmadiyya community has been viewed as heretical by other Muslim groups due to the founder's claim to prophethood. Muslims hold the view that Prophet Muhammad was the final prophet and no apostle can come after him, as is stated in the Quran that he's the seal of the prophets. Ahmadis however call themself Muslims and claim to practice Islam in its pristine form.
Although the Ahmadiyya caliphate isn't recognised by Muslims the community continues to operate under this structure, with the caliph having overall authority for all religious and organisational matters. According to Ahmadiyya thought, it isn't essential for a Caliph to be the head of a state, rather the spiritual and religious significance of the Caliphate is emphasised.

Religious Basis

Quran

The following excerpt from the Quran, known as the 'The Istikhlaf Verse', forms the basis of the Quranic concept of Caliphate:

"Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors (Khalifas) in the earth, as He made Successors (Khalifas) from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which 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 won't associate anything with Me. Then who so is ungrateful after that, that'll be the rebellious."[24:55] (Surah Al-Nur, Verse 55)

Sunni's argue that to govern a state by Islamic law (Shariah) is, by definition, to rule via the Caliphate, and use the following verses to sustain their claim. ||}} ||}}

Hadith

The following Hadith from Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal prophesies 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 (Khilafat) on the lines of Prophethood shall commence, and remain as long as Allah wills. Then corrupt/erosive monarchy would take place, and it'll remain as long as Allah wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and it'll remain as long as Allah wills. 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 the Muslims as that of the Rashidun.
Nafi'a reported saying:
Hisham ibn Urwa reported on the authority of Abu Saleh on the authority of Abu Hurairah that Muhammad said:
Muslim narrated on the authority of al-A'araj, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Muhammad said:
Muslim reported on the authority of Abu Hazim, who said,

The Sahaba of Muhammad

Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir said when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of the Prophet (at the thaqifa hall) of Bani Sa’ida: Upon this Abu Bakr replied:
Then he got up and addressed the Muslims.


   It has additionally been reported that Abu Bakr went on to say on the day of Al-Saqifa:
The Sahabah (ra) agreed to this and selected Abu Bakr (ra) as their first Khaleef. Habbab ibn Mundhir (ra) who suggested the idea of two Ameers corrected himself and was the first to give Abu Bakr the Baya. This indicates an Ijma as-Sahaba of all of the Sahabah (ra) and thus is a divine source for us. Ali ibni abi Talib (ra), who was attending the body of the Prophet at the time, also consented to this. Imam Ali whom the Shia revere said:

The sayings of Islamic Scholars

Al-Mawardi says:
Al-Nawawi says:
Al Qalqashandi says:
Ibnu Hazm says:
Al-sha’rani says:
Al-Qadhi Abdul-Jabbar (he is a Mu’tazela scholar), says:
Al-Joziri says:
The Shia schools of thought and others expressed the same opinion about this Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer of the verse, "Indeed, man is made upon this earth a Caliph" that:
Al-Qurturbi (rh.a.) also said:
An-Nawawi (rh.a.) said: Al-Ghazali (rh.a.) when writing of the potential consequences of losing the Caliphate said: Ibn Taymiyyah (rh.a.) said:

Reestablishment

Once the subject of intense conflict and rivalry amongst Muslim rulers, the caliphate has lain dormant and largely unclaimed since the 1920s. In recent years though, interest among Muslims in international unity and the Caliphate has grown. For many ordinary Muslims the caliph as leader of the community of believers, "is cherished both as memory and ideal" as a time when Muslims "enjoyed scientific and military superiority globally," though "not an urgent concern" compared to issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Various Islamist movements have gained momentum in recent years with the ultimate aim of establishing a Caliphate; however, they differ in their methodology and approach. Some are locally-oriented, mainstream political parties that have no apparent transnational objectives.
Pioneer Islamist Abul Ala Maududi believed the caliph wasn't 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) vicergent; that's 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 (peace upon him), the caliph is required to exercise Divine authority.

One of al-Qaeda's clearly stated goals is the re-establishment of a caliphate. Bin Laden has called for Muslims to "establish the righteous caliphate of our umma." Al Qaeda recently named its Internet newscast from Iraq "The Voice of the Caliphate."
   According to author Lawrence Wright, Ayman al-Zawahiri, an active member of the Muslim Brothers, "sought to restore the caliphate, the rule of Islamic clerics, which had formally ended in 1924 following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire but which hadn't exercised real power since the thirteenth century. Once caliphate was established, Zawahiri believed, 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.”"
   In Pakistan the Tanzeem-e-Islami, an Islamist organization founded by Dr. Israr Ahmed, calls for a Caliphate.
   The Muslim Brotherhood advocates pan-Islamic unity and implementing Islamic law, it's the largest and most influential Islamic group in the world, and its offshoots form the largest opposition parties in most Arab governments. Founder Hasan al-Banna wrote about the restoration of the Caliphate, but officially sanctioned Islamic institutions in the Muslim world generally don't consider the Caliphate a top priority and have instead focused on other issues. Islamists argue it's because they're tied to the current Muslim regimes.
   One transnational group whose ideology is 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, Europe and growing in strength in the Arab World and is based on the claim that Muslim can prove that God exists and that the Qur'an is the word of God. Hizb-Ut-Tahrir believes in a non-violent political and intellectual struggle, that's both a ground up and top down approach in the Muslim World, whilst in the West its aim is an intellectual struggle to show Islam as an alternative system to capitalism and a solution to regulate the natural environment and global warming. In the Muslim world view of this party, foundations of beliefs, rationality and causes are looked into rather than plain political analysis, which can be ideologically biased.

Opposition

Scholar Olivier Roy writes that "early on, Islamists replace the concept of the caliphate ... with that of the amir." 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) (This isn't the view of all Islamist groups, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir view the Ottoman state as a caliphate.) Also they state that to be from the Quraishi tribe is sunnah but not obligatory to the validity of the caliphate.
A non-Muslim, United States President George W. Bush has mentioned the Caliphate in speeches on the War on Terror claiming it as an integral part of the radical Islamic ideology at war with Western freedom.
U.S. President Bush has said that Al Qaeda terrorists and those that share their ideology

hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call caliphate, where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology ... This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Political system

Electing or appointing a Caliph

Fred M. Donner, in his book The Early Islamic Conquests (1981), 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, even though the caliphate soon became a hereditary office, or the prize of the strongest general. Al-Mawardi has written that the caliph should be Qurayshi. Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority. Abu Hanifa also wrote that the leader must come from the majority.

Shi'a belief

Shi'a Muslims believe in the Imamate, in which the rulers are selected from the Prophet's Ahlul Bayt. Before his death, Muhammad had given many indications, in Ghadir Khumm particularly, that he considered Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as his divinely chosen successor. [[Abū Bakr had seized power by threating and using force against Ali, and so Shi'a Muslims consider the three caliphs before ˤAlī as usurpers. ˤAlī and his descendants, the Twelve Imams, are believed to have been the only proper leaders.

In the absence of a Caliphate headed by their Imams, some Shi'a believe that the system of Islamic government based on Vilayat-e Faqih, where an Islamic jurist or faqih rules Muslims, suffices. However this idea, developed by the Ayatollah Khomeini and established in Iran, isn't universally accepted among Shi'as.

Sunni belief

Immediately following the death of Muhammad, a secret meeting took place at Saqifah, of which Ali, who was appointed by Muhammad as his successor at Ghadir Khumm, had no knowledge. At that meeting, Abu Bakr was elected caliph by chiefs of Arab clans. Sunni Muslims developed the belief that the caliph is a temporal political ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic law (Shariah), and not necessarily qualified in Islamic law. The job of adjudicating orthodoxy and Islamic law (Shariah) was left to Islamic lawyers, judiciary, or specialists individually termed as Mujtahids and collectively named the Ulema. The first four caliphs are called the Rashidun meaning the Rightly Guided Caliphs, because they're believed to have followed the Qur'an and the sunnah (example) of Muhammad in all things.

Majlis al-Shura: Parliament

or Majlis-e-Shoora Traditional Sunni Islamic lawyers agree that shura, loosely translated as 'consultation of the people', is a function of the caliphate. The Majlis al-Shura advise the caliph. The importance of this is premised by the following verses of the Quran:

The majlis is also the means to elect a new caliph. Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, they must have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one, and must have sufficient wisdom and judgment to select the best caliph. Al-Mawardi also said in emergencies when there's no caliphate and no majlis, the people themselves should create a majlis, select a list of candidates for caliph, then the majlis should select from the list of candidates.
   The founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a transnational political movement devoted to the revival of the Caliphate, Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, writes that Shura is important and part of the "the ruling structure" of the Islamic caliphate, "but not one of its pillars." If the caliph "neglects it," by not paying much or any attention, as happened after the first four caliphs "he would be negligent, but the ruling system would remain Islamic" not liable to any Muslim uprising.
   Under the Hizb ut-Tahrir constitution non-Muslims may also be part of the majlis. Though they may not serve as caliph or any other ruling official, nor vote for these officials, they may voice "complaints in respect to unjust acts performed by the rulers or the misapplication of Islam upon them."
   The Islamist author Sayyid Qutb, in a rigorous analysis of the shura chapter of the Qur'an, Qutb argued Islam requires only that the ruler to consult with at least some of the ruled (usually the elite), within the general context of God-made laws that the ruler must execute.

Accountability of rulers

Sunni Islamic lawyers have commented on when it's permissible to disobey, impeach or remove rulers in the Caliphate. This is usually when the rulers are not meeting public responsibilities obliged upon them under Islam. Al-Mawardi said that if the rulers meet their Islamic responsibilities to the public, the people must obey their laws, but if they become either unjust or severely ineffective then the Caliph or ruler must be impeached via the Majlis al-Shura. Similarly Al-Baghdadi believed that if the rulers don't uphold justice, the ummah via the majlis should give warning to them, and if unheeded then the Caliph can be impeached. Al-Juwayni argued that Islam is the goal of the ummah, so any ruler that deviates from this goal must be impeached. Al-Ghazali believed that oppression by a caliph is enough for impeachment. Rather than just relying on impeachment, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani obliged rebellion upon the people if the caliph began to act with no regard for Islamic law. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said that to ignore such a situation is haraam, and those who can't revolt inside the caliphate should launch a struggle from outside. Al-Asqalani used two ayahs from the Quran to justify this:

Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down via successful impeachment through the Majlis, becoming dictators through the support of a corrupt army, if the majority agree they've the option to launch a revolution against them. Many noted that this option is only exercised after factoring in the potential cost of life.

Rule of Law

The following hadith establishes the principle of rule of law in relation to nepotism and accountability
Various Islamic lawyers do however place multiple conditions, and stipulations e.g the poor can't be penalised for stealing out of poverty, before executing such a law, making it very difficult to reach such a stage. It is well known during a time of drought in the Rashidun caliphate period, capital punishments were suspended until the effects of the drought passed.

Economy and Banking

(External Link

).
The most well-known principles of Islamic Economics are:

The prohibition of interest or Riba mitigated by leasing, and hire purchase plans
Profit/risk sharing and equity investment
The prohibition of contracts or trade that rest primarily on chance or incalculable risk, rather than skill; all defined as gambling
Socially responsible investing (External Link)
The disincentives for hoarding wealth, and encouraging positive wealth circulation (External Link) In statements (Hadith) of Muhammad he said:
"The people share three things, fire based fuels, water and the green pastures"
"The child of man has no better right than that he should have a house wherein he may live, a piece of cloth by which he can hide his nakedness, and bread and water.")(External Link) Some Islamic scholars argue this means that the caliphate would nationalise oil, gas, electricity, any other fuels hidden in the land or sea, water, unused pasture land, and use revenue generated from these industries in addition to the Khums tax, for education, a health care system, transport, and other public utilities. The second statement also indicates evidence for the provision of a welfare state for those that can't sustain themselves(External Link)(External Link). Some argue that similarities between this can be made to socialism (External Link) The Bayt al-Mal or state treasury was the financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes, and state finance, similar to the modern national bank. It served as a treasury for the caliphs and sultans, managing personal finances and government expenditures. Further, it administered distributions of zakah revenues for public projects. Modern Islamic economists deem the institutional framework appropriate for contemporary Islamic societies. Among others, the taxes named Jizyah, Ushr, Kharaj, Khums and Zakah were traditionally levied by the Bayt al-Mal. Dr William Ballantyne of The Center of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, at SOAS of the University of London commented on the question 'Is the Islamic System Preferable?':
When they (Muslims) look at the world banking system, which is based essentially upon interest, and which may seem to them at times to be tottering on its base; when they see the most powerful nations in debt rather than in credit – may this not provide, apart from basic beliefs (in Islam) which exist anyway, a powerful argument that what the Prophet (Muhammad) uttered so long ago was entirely right, and that the principle of profit-sharing and partnership is better not only from the religious point of view but in practice? Is Islamic banking not true merchant banking? Why then, they may say, erode the principles of riba as they exist, when it may be contended that they provide the only solution to impending chaos?(External Link)

Famous caliphs

Abu Bakr - First rightly guided caliph of the Sunnis. Subdued rebel tribes in the Ridda Wars.

Umar ibn al-Khattab - Second rightly guided caliph. During his reign, the Islamic empire expanded to include Egypt, Jerusalem, and Persia.

Uthman ibn Affan - Third rightly guided caliph. The Qur'an was compiled under his direction. Killed by rebels.

Ali ibn Abu Talib - Fourth and last rightly guided caliph, and considered the first imam by Shi'a Muslims. His reign was fraught with internal conflict.

Hassan ibn Ali - Fifth Caliph (considered as "rightly guided" by many sunnis as well as shias). He ruled for 6 months only & handed the powers to Muawiya I in order to unite the muslims together again.]

Muawiya I - First caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. Muawiya instituted dynastic rule by appointing his son Yazid as his successor, a trend that would continue through subsequent caliphates.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz - Umayyad caliph considered by some (mainly Sunnis) to be a sixth true & legitimate caliph under Islamic Laws of electing Caliph.

Harun al-Rashid - Abbasid caliph during whose reign Baghdad became the world's preeminent centre of trade, learning, and culture. Haroon is the subject of many stories in the famous work 1001 Arabian Nights.

Suleiman the Magnificent - Early Ottoman Sultan during whose reign the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith.Further Information

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