The Rashidun (Rightly Guided) Caliphs

The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often quoted as the Khalifah Rashidun.

The Rashidun were either elected by a council or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor. In the order of succession, the rashidun were:

  • Abu Bakr (632-634 CE)
  • Umar ibn al-Khattab, (Umar І) (634-644 CE)
  • Uthman ibn Affan (644-656 CE)
  • Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661 Ce)

Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death. As Caliph, Abu Bakr succeeded to the political and administrative functions previously exercised by the Prophet, since the religious function and authority of prophethood ended with Muhammad's death according to Islam. Abu Bakr was called Al-Siddiq (The Truthful) and was known by that title among later generations of Muslims.

Umar was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and became the second Muslim Khalifa after Muhammad's death and ruled for 10 years. He succeeded Caliph 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, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. He was killed by a Persian captive.

`Uthman was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraish tribe. He was a companion of Muhammad who became caliph at the age of 70. Under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars in 650 (present-day Iran), 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 compiled the basic text of the Qur'an as it exists today, based on text that had been gathered separately on parchment, bones and rocks during the life time of Muhammad and also on a copy of the Qur'an 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 Qur'an 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 Qur'an 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. It is also important to mention that this text was not questioned by any of the followers of Islam, even those who were alive during the time of Muhammad.

Alithe son of Abu Talib, Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of Islamic prophet Muhammad and the first male convert to Islam. He ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661 CE which was one of the hardest periods in Muslim history that coincided with the first Muslim civil war. He reigned over Rashidun empire which was extended from Central Asia in the east to North Africa in the west. Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shias regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of which are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shia branches.