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Rashidun CALIPHS  ARTICLE INFO PRINT CITE FEEDBACK FEEDBACK Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Select feedback type: SUBMIT FEEDBACK SHARE SHARE Rashidun CALIPHS WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica See Article History Rashidun, (Arabic: “Rightly Guided,” or “Perfect”), the first four caliphs of the Islāmic community, known in Muslim history as the orthodox or patriarchal caliphs: Abū Bakr (reigned 632–634), ʿUmar (reigned 634–644), ʿUthmān (reigned 644–656), and ʿAlī (reigned 656–661). The 29-year rule of the Rashidun was Islām’s first experience without the leadership of the Prophet Muḥammad. His example, however, in both private and public life, came to be regarded as the norm (sunnah) for his successors, and a large and influential body of anṣār (companions of the Prophet) kept close watch on the caliphs to insure their strict adherence to divine revelation (the Qu...

Islamic Golden Age From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Scholars at an Abbasid library, from the Maqamat of al-Hariri by Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, Baghdad, 1237 CE The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century.[1][2][3] This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 to 809) with the inauguration of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where scholars from various parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds were mandated to gather and translate all of the world's classical knowledge into the Arabic language.[4][5] This period is traditionally said to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due to Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258 AD.[6] A few contemporary scholars place the end of the Islamic Golden Age as late as the e...

The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs of Islam A caliphate in Arabic “Khilafa” is the state which is ruled by an Islamic leader who is known as caliph (Khalifah). A caliph is a person who is considered as the religious successor of the last Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and rules the entire Muslim community. A caliph’s job was to provide Muslims with the most desired leadership according to the commandments of Allah Almighty and Prophet Muhammad (SAW).  Those Caliphs who truly followed in the Prophet’s (PBUH) footsteps are called “The Rightly Guided Caliphs” in Arabic Al-Khulafa-ur Rashidun. The first four Caliphs are Hazrat Abu Bakar (RA), Hazrat Umar (RA), Hazrat Uthman (RA) and Hazrat Ali (RA). The first four caliphs were among the earliest and closest Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). They lived simple and righteous lives and strove hard for the religion of Allah (SWT). Their justice was impartial, their treatment of others was kind and merciful, and they were one with the people –...

The Four Caliphs were the first four leaders of Islam that succeeded the Prophet Muhammad. They are sometimes called the "Rightly Guided" Caliphs because each of them learned about Islam directly from Muhammad. They also served as Muhammad's closest friends and advisors during the early years of Islam. The Rashidun Caliphate The time period under the leadership of the Four Caliphs is called the Rashidun Caliphate by historians. The Rashidun Caliphate lasted for 30 years from 632 CE to 661 CE. It was followed by the Umayyad Caliphate. The city of Medina served as the first capital of the Caliphate. The capital was later moved to Kufa. Islamic Empire under Abr Bakr 1. Abu Bakr The first caliph was Abu Bakr who ruled from 632-634 CE. Abu Bakr was the father-in-law of Muhammad and was an early convert to Islam. He was known as "The Truthful." During his short reign as caliph, Abu Bakr put down rebellions by various Arab tribes after Muhammad died and est...

Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, Islam was lead by a series of four caliphs who had known the Prophet. These caliphs, known collectively by the Sunnis as the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, led the Islamic world and greatly expanded its territory for the next 29 years. Abu Bakr: Abu Bakr was Muhammad’s father-in-law and served as one of his senior advisors. He was called Al-Siddiq (the truthful) by the Prophet as well as by later generations of Muslims. Abu Bakr is mentioned in the Qur’an as the “second of the two who lay in the cave.” This was in reference to an event of hijra with the Prophet Muhammad where they hid in the cave in Jabal Thawr from the Meccan search party that had been sent after them. Abu Bakr was afraid that they would be found, but a spider spun a web over the cave entrance. The search party passed by the cave, assuming that it was unoccupied because of the spider’s web. Abu Bakr was the first adult male to revert to Islam. He was a success...

KEY POINTS As Islam spread in Mecca, the ruling tribes began to oppose Muhammad’s preaching and his condemnation of idolatry. The Quraysh tribe controlled the Kaaba and drew their religious and political power from its polytheistic shrines, so they began to persecute the Muslims and many of Muhammad’s followers became martyrs. When Muhammad’s wife Khadijah and uncle Abu Talib both died in 619 CE, Abu Lahab assumed leadership of the Banu Hashim clan and withdrew the clan’s protection from Muhammad. In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Yathrib in the Hijra to escape persecution, renaming the city Medina in honor of the prophet. Among the first things Muhammad did to ease the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was draft a document known as the Constitution of Medina. TERMS Banu Hashim clan One of Mecca’s prominent families and part of the Quraysh tribe. Mecca The birthplace of Muhammad and the site of Muhammad’s first revelation of the Quran, this c...

The early rise of Islam (632-700) The Muslim community spread through the Middle East through conquest, and the resulting growth of the Muslim state provided the ground in which the recently revealed faith could take root and flourish. The military conquest was inspired by religion, but it was also motivated by greed and politics. Men fought for their religion, the prospect of booty and because their friends and fellow tribesmen were also doing it. Hugh Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State, 2001 But this mixture of motives combined to form a process that forged Islamic and Arab ideals and communities into a fast-growing religious and political identity. The history problem There are many accounts from the period about the early Muslim conquests, but much of the material is unreliable and written to present things in a way that glorified the victors and their God... As explanations for the great events of the seven...