Concept in Definition ABC

At the urging of the Arab world, the caliph is he title received by the sovereigns, who as successors of Muhammad, appropriately exercised the authority religious and civil among muslims.

Taking as the only reference the Koran, what is the book sacred of Islam and the one that contains the sacred word of God or Allah, revealed to Muhammad, Muslims consider the first caliph on earth to have been Adam.

If we were to find you a parallel in the Christianity, the office of caliph would be the equivalent of that of Dad and if we did the same with Buddhism, we would talk about Dalai Lama, because like the Pope and the Dalai Lama, the Caliph has the dual role of Leader political and spiritual leader.

After the physical disappearance of Muhammad, in the year 632 and until the year 1924, those who succeeded him as head of the umma or community of believers of Islam, however, not all those who have held the title of caliph were recognized by completely by the community they represented, because throughout history there have been so many discussions about the

legitimacy of this leadership, a situation that in many situations generated the coexistence of several caliphs in the same community, each one defended and recognized by a different sector of Muslims or directly no faction of the community recognized the caliphs as authorities.

When Muhammad dies, one of his best companions succeeds him as Caliph. Abū Bakr.

Although they assumed a religious and political leadership, the caliphs were not allowed to prescribe any dogma, because it was considered that everything had already been revealed by Muhammad.

Meanwhile, the three main branches of Islam, Shiism, Sunnism and Khariyism have their own conception of succession. The Shiites maintain that Muhammad himself appointed a successor before he died: his son-in-law, his daughter's husband Fatima, Ali ibn Abi Talib, then, all that come from it will be considered authentic caliphs.

Following Ali's election, a civil war which divided the umma into the three blocks mentioned above, the Sunnis, then, were supporters of Ali's main opponent, MuawiyaWhile the third faction, the Khaariyies, opposed to both Sunnis and Shiites, propose that the caliph result from the election of all Muslims.

Since the year 632 until its abolition in 1924 there were six caliphates: Four Orthodox Caliphs (recognized by both Shiites and Sunnis), Umayyad Caliphate (Sunni), Abassi Caliphate (Sunni), Fatimid Caliphate (Shiite), Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (Sunni) and Ottoman Caliphate (Sunni).

Themes in Califa