Caliphate

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A caliphate is a state ruled by a Muslim monarch known as a caliph. This is a person claims to be a successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim Arab rule in the 7th century.

The Rashidun caliphs directly succeeded Muhammad as leaders of the Muslim community. They were chosen through shura, a process of community consultation that some think is an early form of Islamic democracy.^[1] During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, mostly hereditary monarchies, have claimed to be caliphates.^[2] Caliphs were not thought of as having the same prophetic power as Muhammad did.^[3]

In the Sunni branch of Islam a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives.^[4] Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the "Family of the House", Muhammad's direct descendants).

1. ↑ "The Roots of Democracy in Islam". Irfi.org. 2002-12-16. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
2. ↑ Kadi, Wadad & Shahin, Aram A. 2013. Caliph, caliphate, in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought: 81–86.
3. ↑ Pollard, Elizabeth; Rosenberg, Clifford; Tignor, Robert (2011). Worlds Together Worlds Apart. New York,New York: Norton. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-393-91847-2.
4. ↑ "Gharm Allah Al-Ghamdy". 2muslims.com. Retrieved 2011-06-05.