Rashidun

The Rashidun are the first four leaders, called caliphs, who guided the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad. These leaders were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. They ruled from the year 632 to 661, a time known as the Rashidun Caliphate.

In Sunni Islam, the time of these four caliphs is seen as a perfect example to follow. It is called "rightly guided," meaning people look back on it as a good and fair time. Shia Muslims, however, believe that Ali was especially chosen to be Muhammad's successor.

These four caliphs helped build and organize the Muslim community during a very important period. Their actions and decisions still influence many people today.

History

Abu Bakr

Main article: Abu Bakr

Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (Arabic: عبد الله بن أبي قحافة, romanized: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʾAbī Quḥāfa), c. 573 CE unknown exact date 634/13 AH), better known by his kunya Abu Bakr (Arabic: أَبُو بَكْرٍ), was a senior companion of Muhammad (sahabah) and his father-in-law. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632 to 634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death. As caliph, Abu Bakr continued the political and administrative functions previously exercised by Muhammad. Abu Bakr was called As-Siddiq (Arabic: اَلـصِّـدِّيْـق, "The Truthful"), and was known by that title among later generations of Sunni Muslims. He prevented the recently converted Muslims from dispersing, kept the community united, and consolidated Islamic grip on the region by containing the Ridda, while extending the Dar Al Islam all the way to the Red Sea.

Umar

Main article: Umar

Umar ibn al-Khattab (Arabic: عمر ابن الخطاب, romanized: ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, c. 586–590 – 644^: 685 ) c. 2 November (Dhu al-Hijjah 26, 23 Hijri) was a leading companion and adviser to Muhammad. His daughter Hafsa bint Umar was married to Muhammad; thus he became Muhammad's father-in-law. He became the second Muslim caliph after Muhammad's death and ruled for 10 years. He succeeded Abu Bakr on 23 August 634 as the second caliph, and played a significant role in Islam. Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire, and brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years. This marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. Among his conquests are Jerusalem, Damascus, and Egypt.

Uthman

Main article: Uthman

Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان ابن عفان, romanized: ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān) (c. 579 – 17 June 656) was one of the early companions and son in law of Muhammad. Two of Muhammad and Khadija daughters Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were married to him one after another. Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraysh tribe. He became caliph at the age of 70. Under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars (present-day Iran) in 650 and some areas of Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan) in 651, and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s. His rule ended when he was assassinated.

Uthman is perhaps best known for forming the committee which was tasked with producing copies of the Quran based on text that had been gathered separately on parchment, bones and rocks during the lifetime of Muhammad and also on a copy of the Quran that had been collated by Abu Bakr and left with Muhammad's widow after Abu Bakr's death. The committee members were also reciters of the Quran and had memorised the entire text during the lifetime of Muhammad. This work was undertaken due to the vast expansion of Islam under Uthman's rule, which encountered many different dialects and languages. This had led to variant readings of the Quran for those converts who were not familiar with the language. After clarifying any possible errors in pronunciation or dialects, Uthman sent copies of the sacred text to each of the Muslim cities and garrison towns, and destroyed variant texts.

Ali

Main articles: Ali, Ali as Caliph, and First Fitna

Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: علي ابن أبي طالب, romanized: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib) was Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. In Mecca, a young Ali was the first male to embrace Islam and the person who offered his support when Muhammad first presented Islam to his relatives. Later, he facilitated Muhammad's safe escape to Medina by risking his life as the decoy. In Medina, Ali swore a pact of brotherhood with Muhammad and later took the hand of Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah, in marriage. Ali commonly acted as Muhammad's secretary in Medina, and served as his deputy during the expedition of Tabuk. Ali is often considered the most able warrior in Muhammad's army and the two were the only Muslim men who represented Islam against a Christian delegation from Najran. Ali's role in the collection of the Quran, the central text of Islam, is deemed as one of his key contributions. The fourth successive Rashidun in Sunni Islam, Ali is considered in Shia Islam however as the direct rightful successor of Muhammad, whose appointment was announced at the event of Ghadir Khumm and earlier in his prophetic mission.

Shortly after Uthman's assassination in Medina, the crowds turned to Ali for leadership and were turned down initially. The explanation of Will Durant for Ali's initial reluctance is that, "Genial and charitable, meditative and reserved; he [Ali] shrank from drama in which religion had been displaced by politics, and devotion by intrigue." In the absence of any serious opposition and urged particularly by the Ansar and the Iraqi delegations, Ali eventually took up the mantle on 25th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 656 CE, and Muslims filled the Prophet's Mosque and its courtyard to pledge their allegiance to him.

It has been suggested that Ali inherited the grave internal problems of Uthman's reign. After his appointment as the caliph, Ali transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in the present-day Iraq. Ali also dismissed most of Uthman's governors whom he considered corrupt, including Muawiya, Uthman's cousin. Under a lenient Uthman, Muawiya had built a parallel power structure in Damascus that, according to Madelung, mirrored the despotism of the Roman Byzantine empire. Muawiya defied Ali's orders and, once the negotiations failed, the two sides engaged in a bloody and lengthy civil war, which is known as the First Fitnah.

Military expansion

Further information: Arab–Byzantine wars

The Rashidun Caliphate helped spread Islam far beyond Arabia. During this time, they conquered many lands including Persia, Syria in 637, Armenia in 639, Egypt in 639, and Cyprus in 654. This expansion brought many new people into the Muslim community.

Social policies

During the time of Abu Bakr, a special fund called the Bayt al-Mal was created to help manage the money for the community. Umar later grew this fund and built a special building to take care of the government's money.

When new areas were taken under control, the leaders often had to build and fix roads and bridges. This helped keep the people safe and loyal.

Civil activities

Helping people during hard times began with building and fixing water sources like wells. The leaders repaired many old wells in the places they took over.

Besides wells, many water tanks and canals were built. Some canals were for everyone to use, while others were kept for special groups like monks or those in need. Important canals, like the Saad canal for Anbar and the Abi Musa Canal for Basra, were made to bring water to new places.

When there was not enough food, Umar ordered a canal to be built in Egypt connecting the Nile to the sea. This made it easier to send food to Arabia by water instead of by land. The canal was built quickly, and it helped end famines in Arabia for a long time.

After some big floods in Mecca, Umar built two dams to protect a very important building called the Kaaba. He also built a dam near Medina to stop floods from damaging water sources there.

Settlements

The place called Basra had very few people living there when it was taken over. Umar thought it was a good spot for a military base, and later people began to live there and built a mosque.

When Muslims took over Madyan, they settled there, but the land was very hard to live on. Umar decided to move the 40,000 people to Kufa and build homes from mud bricks instead of reeds, which were common but could catch fire easily.

In Egypt, the area of Fustat was used as a base by the Muslim army. After taking over Alexandria, they returned and settled in the same place. At first, the land was used for animals, but later buildings were constructed there.

In already populated places like Mosul, more structures were added. Arfaja al-Bariqi, following Umar's orders, built a fort, a few churches, a mosque, and a special area for Jewish people to live.

Religious significance

The first four caliphs are very important in discussions among Muslims today. For Sunni Muslims, these leaders were excellent examples of good rule. They were close friends of Muhammad and relatives, showing that leadership was chosen by council or the caliph himself, not passed down in a family.

In Shia Muslims belief, Muhammad directly chose his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, to lead after him. They think the leadership should have stayed within Muhammad’s family. Over time, different groups of Muslims have had different views on these early leaders. Some Shia Muslims once spoke negatively about the first three caliphs, which created tension with nearby Sunni Muslims.

The Nizari Ismailis now accept the first three caliphs under the guidance of the Aga Khans, though this was not always the case.