who WereCaliphas ? Write a notes on their Authority
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Answer:
A caliph is a religious leader in Islam, believed to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. The caliph is the head of the "ummah," or the community of the faithful. Over time, the caliphate became a religiopolitical position, in which the caliph ruled over the Muslim empire.
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Answer:
Answer:
A caliph is a religious leader in Islam, believed to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. The caliph is the head of the "ummah," or the community of the faithful. Over time, the caliphate became a religiopolitical position, in which the caliph ruled over the Muslim empire.
At the time that the Prophet died, he had not appointed anyone to lead the Muslim community nor given any instructions as to how his successor was to be chosen. The choice was either consultation (election) by qualified electors or inheritance. The Prophet’s immediate companions decided on consultation – Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. They were succeeded by Ali and Hasan (632-661). Ali was a relative of the Prophet and Hasan was Ali’s son who turned over the caliphate to the Umayyad dynasty (661-750), leading to the split between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam. After the Umayyads, who were Sunni, the caliphate was claimed by the Abbasids (750-1258), who were also Sunni. From 1258 to 1517, the Abbasids who were caliphs had only spiritual power as successive waves of Mongols and then Turks conquered the Middle East.
An attempt was made to combine consultation/election with inheritance. Discussions among the ulama jurists concerned who constituted qualified electors and it was settled that there might only be one qualified elector, the caliph himself who theoretically embodied all of the qualities a caliph should have.
Thus the caliph could appoint his successor before he died or if he was, for one reason or another, incapable of discharging his duties successfully, for example if he was imprisoned. Under the Umayyads and Abbasids, the successor did not need to be the first born son since the principle of primogeniture did not exist.