Caliph

Caliph or Khalifa (from Arabic خليفة khalifa, "representative") is the successor and delegate of the Prophet Muhammad in the direction of the Muslim community, without the status of his prophet. Sometimes it is translated as "successor". His mission was to exercise authority in the community of believers according to the model and precedents created by Muhammad.Traditionally in the West a caliph has been considered to have the same rank as an emperor, although politically their prerogatives are very different.

Meaning

The title carries a double function of political and spiritual leadership, which makes it similar to other institutions, such as the pope in the Catholic Church or the dalai lama in Tibetan Buddhism. After Muhammad's death in 632, until 1924 those who succeeded him as head of the Umma or community of Muslims were considered caliphs. However, not all those who have held this title were fully recognized by the community, since throughout history there have been many disagreements about the legitimacy of such leadership, which has led to the coexistence of various caliphs, each one recognized by a sector other than Muslims, as well as the existence of communities that have not recognized any of the caliphs as legitimate.

On Muhammad's death, he was succeeded as caliph and by consensus of the Muslim community, Abū Bakr, who was recognized for his humanity and faith among the Islamic community. It is said that he was the best of Muhammad's companions. His title, jalīfa rasūl Allāh, indicated that he was the successor and delegate of the "Envoy of God" (the Prophet Muhammad). The second caliph changed the title to Amīr al-Muslimīn ("the one who exercises authority among the believers"), which clarified the only power really inherited from the prophet by the person who held the position. The caliph had to limit himself to directing the community of believers according to the precedents accepted by this. However, with the expansion of Islam and the integration of people from different cultures, the requirements and obligations of the caliph became more complicated, studied by the jurisconsults (alfaquis and ulema).

The caliphs were to be both political and religious leaders. As religious, they had no power to prescribe any dogma, since divine revelation was considered to have been completed and made manifest through Muhammad. There was nothing to add. As political leaders, the caliphs of Baghdad, the most recognized and long-standing caliphate, soon lost their powers in favor of the various sultans, who were the effective rulers of the territories under the aegis of the caliph.

The position gradually weakened until, during the Abbasid period, Caliph Al-Mustaqfi permanently delegated his powers to Ahmad ibn Buya, founder of the Buyid dynasty, with the title of "emir of emirs". Since then, jurists had to face the division between religious legitimacy —still embodied in the caliph— and the exercise of the powers of office —in the hands of people or dynasties without legitimacy for it— and develop theories that justified this separation..

According to Sunni thought, the first four caliphs of the Islamic world constituted a golden age and were called the "rightly guided" or "four just caliphs". They also imposed some requirements (summarized, for example, by the jurist Al-Mawardi) to access the caliphate:

• The caliph should be Arabic and belong to the tribe of Quraish (to which Muhammad belonged).
• A council of elders representing the Islamic community would elect the successor.
• The caliph had as a mission the diffusion of Islam.

Al-Mawardi himself listed ten responsibilities or duties of imams, among which he considers the caliph as the supreme representative:

• Preserve religion according to established bases.
• Judging between the disputed parties.
• Guarantee public security and protect the weak.
• Execute corporal punishment.
• Defend borders.
• Fight against those who fight Islam, whether to convert or are willing to live under Muslim protection by paying a tax.
• Collect compulsory charity payments (the steward).
• Distribute the benefits of the treasure of the State to which they deserve them.
• Designate honest and sincere people in positions of responsibility.
• Supervising matters directly, without delegating their responsibilities.

According to Shia thought, Muhammad himself had designated a successor before he died. This successor was his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib, married to his daughter Fatima. Ali and his successors would therefore be the legitimate caliphs for the Shiites. Ali was elected caliph in fourth place, but after his election a fitna or civil war (Al-Fitna al-Kubra) broke out, which led to the division of the umma into three blocks: Ali's supporters, henceforth called Shiites; Muawiyah's supporters, his opponent and the first Umayyad caliph, who would constitute the majority and would eventually be called Sunnis; a third group, the Kharijites, opposed to both, and in favor of the choice of the caliph among all Muslims.

Caliphates of Islam

The following caliphates arose or were created, until their abolition in 1924.

• Orthodox Caliphate (632-661). Caliphs chosen by "consensus". Unique caliphate recognized by Sunni, Shia and Jariyis.
• Omeya Caliphate (661-750). First "heriteditarian" caliphate of Sunni orientation. His capital was Damascus.
• Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258). Caliphs “designated” by his predecessor, although the appointed one used to be one of the children. Sunni orientation. His capital was Kufa (750-762), then Baghdad (762-1258) and finally Cairo (1258-1517).
• Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171). Shiite ismailite orientation. Its capitals were Kairouan (909-973) and Cairo (973-1171).
• Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031). Sunni orientation.
• Ottoman Empire (1517-1924). Sunni orientation. In 1517 the last Abbasid caliph, Al-Mutawakkil III, transferred the title of caliph to Sultan Selim I. His capital was Istanbul. Turkey. Abdul Mejid II was the last Ottoman caliph since the caliphate was definitely abolished on March 3, 1924

In addition, the Almohad Empire (1145-1269), with its capital in Marrakech, although it was not officially a caliphate nor did its ruler bear the title of caliph, did use a title usually associated with the caliph: that of prince of the believers (later inherited by the sultan of Morocco, until today). In the Qur'an there are no exact provisions on the tasks and functions of the caliph. The title of caliph was used by the Ottomans from Murad I onwards, as well as other non-Ottoman Muslim rulers of his time.

On the other hand, Husayn ibn Ali, Sherif of Mecca, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and in the midst of the debates that swept through the Islamic world about the recovery of the recently abolished caliphate, used for a few years, until his death, the title of caliph. The title of caliph disappeared when the Republic of Turkey replaced the Ottoman Empire in 1924.

In the 21st century, the leader of the jihadist proto-state Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi he proclaimed himself caliph of the entire Muslim world in the 2010s.