Despite the fact that Islam is one of the youngest religions on the planet, it has a very interesting history filled with bright events and facts. Many experts believe that the once powerful and influential Arab Caliphate owes its appearance to the successful work of the Prophet, who managed to unite a large number of previously disparate tribes in a single faith. The best period of this theocratic state can be considered the decades when the righteous caliphs were at the head. All of them were the closest associates and followers of Muhammad, who were related to him by blood. This period of formation and development of the caliphate is considered by historians to be the most interesting, often it is even called the “golden era”. Today we will talk in detail about all four righteous caliphs and their most significant achievements at the head of the Muslim community.
The concept of "caliphate": a brief description
At the beginning of the seventh century, the Prophet created a small community of fellow believers, spread over the territory of Western Arabia. This proto-state was called the ummah. Initially, no one imagined that thanks to the military campaigns and conquests of Muslims, it would noticeably expand its borders and become one of the most powerfulassociations over several centuries.
The words "caliphate" and "caliph" in Arabic mean about the same thing - "heir". All the rulers of the Islamic state were considered the successors of the Prophet himself and were very revered among ordinary Muslims.
Among historians, the period of the existence of the Arab Caliphate is usually called the "golden age of Islam", and the first thirty years after the death of Muhammad were the era of the righteous caliphs, which we will tell readers about today. After all, it was these people who did a lot to strengthen the positions of Islam and the Muslim state.
Righteous caliphs: names and dates of reign
The first caliphs converted to Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet. They were well aware of all the nuances of life in the community, because they always helped Muhammad in matters of managing the ummah and were directly involved in military campaigns.
The four righteous caliphs were so respected by the people during their lifetime and after death that later a special title was coined for them, literally meaning "walking the righteous path." This phrase fully reflects the attitude of Muslims towards their first rulers. Further caliphs of this title were not awarded, as they did not always come to power in an honest way and were not close relatives of the Prophet.
By years of reign, the list of caliphs is as follows:
- Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (632-634).
- Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Faruq (634-644).
- Uthman ibn Affan (644-656).
- Ali ibn AbuTalib (656-661).
During his reign of the Caliphate, each of the Muslims listed above did everything possible for the prosperity of the state. Therefore, I want to talk about them in more detail.
The first righteous caliph: the path to the heights of power
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was one of the first who believed the Prophet with all his heart and followed him. Before meeting Muhammad, he lived in Mecca and was quite rich. His main activity was trade, which he continued to engage in after converting to Islam.
Even in Mecca, he began active work on the development of the Muslim community. The righteous caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq spent huge sums of money on this and was engaged in the ransom of slaves. It is noteworthy that each of the slaves received freedom, but in exchange he had to become orthodox. We think it is not necessary to say that this deal was very beneficial for the slaves. Therefore, the number of Muslims in Mecca grew rapidly.
After the Prophet decided to move to Medina, the future caliph followed him and even accompanied Muhammad when he was hiding in a cave from sent assassins.
The Prophet later married the daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, making them blood relatives. After that, he went on military campaigns with Muhammad more than once, performed Friday prayers and led pilgrims.
In the year 632, the Prophet died without heirs and without appointing a new successor, and the Muslim community faced the choice of a new leader.
The years of Abu Bakr's reign
Muhammad's companions could not agree on the candidacy of the caliph, and only after they remembered Abu Bakr's numerous services to the Muslim community, the choice was made.
It is worth noting that the righteous caliph was a very kind and absolutely not conceited person, so he attracted other followers of the Prophet to the management, distributing the circle of duties among them.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq came to power at a very difficult time. After the death of Muhammad, many people and tribes turned away from Islam, who felt that now they could return to their former lives. They broke their treaty obligations to the caliphate and stopped paying taxes.
For twelve years, Abu Bakr took action to preserve and expand the boundaries of the Caliphate. Under him, a regular army was formed, which managed to advance to the borders of Iran. At the same time, the caliph himself always admonished his soldiers, forbidding them to kill women, babies and the elderly, as well as to mock enemies.
In the thirty-fourth year of the seventh century, the army of the caliphate began to conquer Syria, but the ruler of the state at that time was dying. In order to prevent conflicts in the caliphate, he himself chose a successor among his closest associates.
Second Caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Farouk ruled a Muslim country for ten years. Initially, he was very skeptical against Islam, but one day he happened to read a surah, and he became interested in the personalityProphet. After meeting him, he was imbued with faith and was ready to follow Muhammad anywhere in the world.
Contemporaries of the second righteous caliph wrote that he was distinguished by incredible courage, honesty and disinterestedness. He was also very humble and pious. Very large sums of money passed through his hands as the Prophet's chief adviser, yet he never succumbed to the temptation to get rich.
Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Farooq often took part in military battles and even married his beloved daughter to Muhammad. Therefore, it is not surprising that on his deathbed, the first Caliph named Umar as his successor.
Achievements of Umar ibn al-Khattab
The second righteous caliph did a lot for the development of the administrative system of the Muslim state. He created a list of individuals who received an annual allowance from the state. This register included the companions of the Prophet, warriors and members of their families.
Umar also laid the foundations of the tax system. Interestingly, it concerned not only monetary payments, but also regulated relations between different citizens of the caliphate. For example, Christians did not have the right to build their dwellings higher than Muslim houses, have weapons and publicly display their creeds. Naturally, the faithful paid less taxes than the conquered peoples.
The merits of the second caliph include the introduction of a new calculation system, the legal system and the construction of military camps in the conquered territories to prevent uprisings.
Great attention to Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Farouk devoted himself to construction. He managed to fix the rules of urban planning at the legislative level. The example of Byzantium was taken as a basis, and most cities of that time were distinguished by slender and wide streets with beautiful houses.
During the ten years of his reign, the caliph laid the foundations of national and religious unity. He was merciless to his enemies, but at the same time he was remembered as a just and active ruler. Many historians believe that it was during this period of time that Islam declared itself as a strong and fully formed religious movement.
The third ruler of the Caliphate
Even during his lifetime, Umar created a council of six of his closest associates. It was they who had to choose a new ruler of the state, who would continue the victorious march of Islam.
Usman ibn Affan, who had been in power for about twelve years, became him. The third righteous caliph was not as active as his predecessor, but he belonged to a very ancient and noble family.
Uthman's family converted to Islam even before the Prophet moved to Medina. But relations between the aristocratic family and Muhammad were rather tense. Despite this, Usman ibn Affan would have been married to the daughter of the Prophet, and after her death he received an offer to marry his other daughter.
Many believe that Uthman's numerous connections made it possible to spread and strengthen Islam during Muhammad's lifetime. The future caliph knew many noble families and thanks to his active work, a large number of people converted to Islam.
This strengthened the position of the then small community and gave a powerful impetus to the creation of a religious state.
The reign of Caliph Usman
If we describe these years briefly, we can say that the third caliph deviated from the principles that his predecessors adhered to. He put family ties above all else, thereby throwing back the caliphate in the days of the proto-state.
Uthman's relatives and close associates had a penchant for acquisitiveness and sought to enrich themselves at the expense of other residents of the Caliphate. Naturally, this led to increased material inequality and unrest.
Surprisingly, during this difficult period, the borders of the caliphate continued to expand. This was facilitated by military conquests, but it was extremely difficult to keep the conquered peoples in obedience to the Caliph.
In the end, this led to an uprising, as a result of which the caliph was killed. After his death, a bloody period of civil strife began in the state.
The Fourth Caliph
Righteous caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib, who became the fourth ruler of the "golden era", was one of very unusual people. Of the entire galaxy of caliphs, he was the only blood relative of Muhammad. He was his cousin and the second person to convert to Islam.
It so happened that Ali and the Prophet were brought up together. Therefore, it is not surprising that the caliph married the daughter of Muhammad. Later, from their union, two boys were born, to whom the Prophet was very attached. He had long conversations with his grandchildren and was a frequent visitor to his daughter's family.
Ali often took part in military campaigns and was simply legendary for his bravery. However, until his election as caliph, he did not hold important government posts.
Ali ibn Abu Talib as caliph: historians' assessment
Ali's personality seems to experts to be extremely controversial. On the one hand, he did not possess organizational skills, political talents and a flexible mind. It was under him that the prerequisites for the collapse of the caliphate were outlined, and the Muslims were divided into Shiites and Sunnis. However, no one can deny his fanatical devotion to the cause of Muhammad and loy alty to the chosen path. In addition, untimely death elevated him to the rank of a martyr. Many feats and deeds worthy of a saint are attributed to him.
Based on the foregoing, historians conclude that Ali turned out to be a true Muslim, but could not contain the separatist mood in the caliphate.
