Samanir Imchen

Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient and Medieval World- II

Dr. Malay Neerav

22 July 2022

The Rashidun Caliphate

With their beloved Prophet gone, the Muslim community, in mourning, had to firstly
agree on a successor to Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah. He did not leave behind a plan of
succession and made it clear that he was the last and greatest Prophet. Hence, no one could
possibly inherit this role of his. However, the Shias believed that the Prophet had declared
Ali his successor. Ali was Muhammad’s cousin (he was the son of Abu Talib, Muhammad’s
uncle) and son-in-law (Fatima) and now, after Muhammad’s death, he was the head of the
house of Muhammad’s clan, Hashim. Tensions were starting to break out in the Muslim
community, especially between the Ansaar and the Muhajirun. The Ansaars were afraid
that the Muhajirun would join with their relatives from the Quraysh of Mecca to control the
umma, leaving only a meager role to the Ansaar. Eventually, in a private meeting, Abu Bakr,
Muhammad’s old friend, was named Khalifa tul Rasool Allah (successor to the Prophet of
Allah). Ali was not present in this meeting and so a successor was appointed without the
consultation of the new head of Muhammad’s house. This was like the beginning of the Shia
Sunni split.

Abu Bakr became the first Caliph (Caliph or Khalifa means successor). Bakr’s reign
lasted for about 27 months. He was very close to the Prophet and had immense knowledge
on tribes and tribal genealogy and politics, using them to his advantage. After Muhammad’s
death, various tribes tried to break away from the umma. Why was this?

These tribal groups had their reasons:

 Some tribal communities wished to retain their independence and refused to be a

small part of a larger community. Some young people also claimed to be prophets,
creating further division.

 Arabs had lived in tribal, nomadic fashion for a long time and an idea of one large,
unified community may have been a sudden change.
So, Bakr firstly consolidated his power over all of Arabia by crushing all these rebellions.
This was known as the Riddah wars, which means apostasy. He also continued in
Muhammad’s line of expansion, determined that the expedition to Syria should go on, since
the Prophet had ordered it. He entrusted Khalid to be commander of the Muslim army and
started piercing into the Byzantine Empire.

Before dying in 634 AD, Abu Bakr appointed Umar as the Khalifa, probably to avoid
tumult over the issue of succession. Large scale territorial expansion outside Arabia ensued
under Umar, conquering Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine. This rapid expansion by Arabs
can be attributed to the declining power of the Byzantine and Persian Empire, the use of
camels (since they could move easily through desert terrain), and also their religious zeal
which served as motivation. In 637, Jerusalem fell to the Muslims. It was during Umar’s
reign that the Islamic state developed a proper administrative system, including a regular
army, garrison cities, political and judicial systems. He also brought about notable reforms,
including the diwan system (which paid the conquerors monetarily rather than distributing
lands among them). According to Lapidus, Umar pursued an ‘Islamic’ policy, favouring the
long-established members of the Muhajirun. This meant that great prestige was accorded
to those with sabiqa (precedence in Islam). He was killed by a Persian slave, Abu Lulu, who
bore personal grievances against him.

Umar had appointed a committee of six people to choose a successor. Two

candidates emerged: Ali and Uthman. It seemed that they wanted the successor to continue
the policies of his predecessors, i.e, a predominance of the Quraysh leadership. Ali refused
this condition perhaps because he realized that the continued grip of the Meccan
aristocracy was dividing the umma. Uthman had no problem with this and he became the
third Caliph, though great opposition came from the supporters of Ali. The conquest of Iran
completed under Uthman, though the rate of expansion began to decline after 650. Uthman
reversed Umar’s ‘Islam’ policy and he also made himself unpopular by allowing members of
his clan (Umayyad) to occupy all major official positions. These invoked revolts in Egypt,
Kufa and Basra, where Uthman was accused of nepotism. In 656, Uthman was assassinated
by the rebels, the first Caliph to be killed by his own community.

Ali became the fourth Caliph, backed by his supporters and the rebels. His accession
resulted in factions led by Zubayr (an associate of Muhammad), Aisha (Prophet’s wife), and
most prominently, Muawiya (Governor of Syria, Uthman’s cousin). They called for revenge
for Uthman and the punishment of his killers. This led to the battle of Siffin (657), which is
considered as the first Fitna (civil war). The battle led to nothing and then both sides
agreed to arbitration. However, Ali’s acceptance of arbitration and withdrawal from Siffin
led to another faction- the Kharijis (secessionists). They were an extremist group who
believed in their own interpretation of the Quran and did not see Ali as fit to be a leader
since he compromised with Muawiya instead of killing him. They were a constant source of
trouble for him along with Muawiya. Ali died in 661 after being attacked by a Khariji, while
praying in the mosque.

These first 4 leaders (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali) were known as the
Rashidun or ‘rightly guided’ because each of the learned about Islam directly from the
Prophet. They were also Muhammad's closest friends and advisors during the early years
of Islam. After Ali’s death, his son, Imam Hassan, was forced to hand over the rulership to
Muawiya for the sake of ending the ongoing civil war. Therefore with Muawiya’s rule,
‘heriditary leadership’ or ‘government by force’ began. He was more of a Caliph that came
to power through politics and force rather than being chosen for his pious character and
mutual consent. Hence all successors of the Prophet that ruled till Muawiya were
considered as ‘rightly guided’ and with Ali’s death, the Rashiduns came to an end, opening
the gate for the Umayyad dynasty.

Bibliography
 Lapidus, I.M. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(2002)
 Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East
from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. Pearson Longman (2008)
 Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time. HarperCollins UK (2009)
 Khan, Syed Muhammad. “Ridda Wars.” World History Encyclopedia,
https://www.worldhistory.org#Organization, 18 July 2022,
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ridda_Wars/.