Cachalia, Amina
Amina Cachalia (b. Amina Asvat; June 28, 1930 Vereeniging, South Africa – d. January 31, 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa) was a longtime friend and ally of Nelson Mandela. Her late husband was political activist Yusuf Cachalia.
Cachalia was born Amina Asvat, the ninth of eleven children in Vereeniging, South Africa, on June 28, 1930. Her parents were political activists Ebrahim and Fatima Asvat. She began campaigning against Apartheid and racial discrimination as a teenager. She became a women's rights activist, often focusing on economic issues, such as financial independence for women.
Amina and Yusuf Cachalia were friends of Nelson Mandela before his imprisonment at Robben Island in 1962. She became a staunch anti-apartheid activist. She spent fifteen years under house arrest throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She was the treasurer of the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw), a leading supporter of the Federation of Transvaal Women, and a member of both the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress and Transvaal Indian Congress during the Apartheid era.
In 1995, Mandela asked Cachalia to marry him. At the time, he had been separated from his wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Cachalia turned down Mandela's proposal because she said that "I'm my own person and that I had just recently lost my husband whom I had enormous regard for". Mandela divorced Madikizela-Mandela a year later and married Graca Machel in 1998.
Cachalia was elected to the National Assembly of South Africa in the 1994 South African general election, the country's first with universal adult suffrage. In 2004, she was awarded the Order of Luthuli in Bronze for her contributions to gender and racial equality and democracy.
After her death, in March 2013, her autobiography When Hope and History Rhyme was published.
Cachalia died at Milpark Hospital in Parktown West, Johannesburg, January 31, 2013, aged 82. The cause of death was complications following an emergency operation due to a perforated ulcer.
Her funeral was held in her home in Parkview, Johannesburg, according to traditional Muslim customs. It was attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC Deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, former First Lady Graca Machel, former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and fellow activisti Ahmed Kathrada, among others.
Cafre
Cafre. Black slave, often a Muslim, brought to Brazil from Africa.
Cafre. Black slave, often a Muslim, brought to Brazil from Africa.
Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel (in Arabic, Qabil wa-Habil). Two sons of Adam who are mentioned in the Qur’an at Sura 5:30-35. It is the story of Cain and Abel which forms the basis for the prohibition against murder in Islam.
Cain and Abel have long been understood as the first and second sons of Adam and Eve in the religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Their story is told in the Bible and Torah at Genesis 4:1-16 and the Qur'an at 5:26-32. However the Greek New Testament says of Cain that "he was from the wicked one". This assertion is also found in Jewish legend, that the serpent (Hebrew nahash) from the Garden of Eden was father to firstborn Cain.
In all versions, Cain is an arable farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother, after God has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel.
The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century Dead Sea Scrolls. Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts, and the story is the subject of various interpretations. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as a progenitor of evil. A few scholars suggest the pericope may have been based on a Sumerian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers. Others think that it may refer to the days in which agriculture began to replace the ways of the hunter-gatherer.
Allusions to Cain and Abel as an archetype of fratricide persist in numerous references and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day fiction.
Cain and Abel are traditional English renderings of the Hebrew names Qayin and Havel. The original text did not provide vowels. Abel's name has the same three consonants as a root thought to have originally meant "breath", but is known from the Bible primarily as a metaphor for what is "elusive", especially the "vanity" of human enterprise. In the Islamic tradition, Abel is named as Hābīl, while Cain is named as Qābīl. Although their story is cited in the Quran, neither of them is mentioned by name. Cain is called Qayen in the Ethiopian version of Genesis. The Greek of the New Testament refers to Cain three times, using two syllables ka-in for the name.
The inherent selfishness of Cain, his jealousy, rivalry, and aggression are central to the story. The disconnection between Cain and his higher nature is so great that he fails to understand and master his lower self even in the face of God's wisdom and hospitality. The account in The Qur'an [5.27-32], similar to one given in The Torah, also strongly implies that Cain's motivation was the rejection of his offering to God, but this is an implication and not explicitly clear.
Though Genesis depicts Cain's motive in killing Abel as simply being one of jealousy concerning God's favoritism of Abel, this is not the view of many extra-biblical works. The Midrash and the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan both record that the real motive involved the desire of women. According to Midrashic tradition, Cain and Abel each had twin sisters, whom they were to marry. The Midrash records that Abel's promised wife was the more beautiful. Cain would not consent to this arrangement Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God rejected Cain's sacrifice, signifying His disapproval of his marriage with Aclima, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy.
In Islam tradition as enunciated in Ibn Hisham's summary of Ibn Ishaq's Sirah, Adam and Eve had forty children consisting of twenty pairs of twins. Each pair of twins consisted of one male and one female and the twin brother and sister were considered married to each other. However, in the case of Cain and Abel, Adam commanded Cain to marry the twin sister of Abel, and Abel to marry the twin sister of Cain. Abel agreed with this arrangement and was happy with it, but Cain did not. Cain's twin was deemed to be beautiful and Cain wanted her for himself. According to Islamic tradition, Adam attempted to mediate the dispute by requiring Cain and Abel to make sacrifices to God. Whichever sacrifice God chose would indicate the one who would have Cain's twin as a mate. In accord with the Biblical story, God favored Abel's sacrifice. Cain in a fit of jealous rage slew Abel.
According to the Qur'an, Cain (Kabil) buried Abel (Habil), prompted to do so by a single raven scratching the ground, on God's command. The Qur'an states that upon seeing the raven, Cain regretted his action [al-Ma'idah:27-31], and that rather than being cursed by God, since He had not done so before, God chose to create a law against murder:
"If anyone slew a person – be it for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people; and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."
According to Shi'a Muslim belief, Abel is buried in Nabi Habeel Mosque, located west of Damascus, in Syria.
Habil wa-Qabil see Cain and Abel
Qabil wa-Habil see Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel (in Arabic, Qabil wa-Habil). Two sons of Adam who are mentioned in the Qur’an at Sura 5:30-35. It is the story of Cain and Abel which forms the basis for the prohibition against murder in Islam.
Cain and Abel have long been understood as the first and second sons of Adam and Eve in the religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Their story is told in the Bible and Torah at Genesis 4:1-16 and the Qur'an at 5:26-32. However the Greek New Testament says of Cain that "he was from the wicked one". This assertion is also found in Jewish legend, that the serpent (Hebrew nahash) from the Garden of Eden was father to firstborn Cain.
In all versions, Cain is an arable farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother, after God has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel.
The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century Dead Sea Scrolls. Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts, and the story is the subject of various interpretations. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as a progenitor of evil. A few scholars suggest the pericope may have been based on a Sumerian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers. Others think that it may refer to the days in which agriculture began to replace the ways of the hunter-gatherer.
Allusions to Cain and Abel as an archetype of fratricide persist in numerous references and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day fiction.
Cain and Abel are traditional English renderings of the Hebrew names Qayin and Havel. The original text did not provide vowels. Abel's name has the same three consonants as a root thought to have originally meant "breath", but is known from the Bible primarily as a metaphor for what is "elusive", especially the "vanity" of human enterprise. In the Islamic tradition, Abel is named as Hābīl, while Cain is named as Qābīl. Although their story is cited in the Quran, neither of them is mentioned by name. Cain is called Qayen in the Ethiopian version of Genesis. The Greek of the New Testament refers to Cain three times, using two syllables ka-in for the name.
The inherent selfishness of Cain, his jealousy, rivalry, and aggression are central to the story. The disconnection between Cain and his higher nature is so great that he fails to understand and master his lower self even in the face of God's wisdom and hospitality. The account in The Qur'an [5.27-32], similar to one given in The Torah, also strongly implies that Cain's motivation was the rejection of his offering to God, but this is an implication and not explicitly clear.
Though Genesis depicts Cain's motive in killing Abel as simply being one of jealousy concerning God's favoritism of Abel, this is not the view of many extra-biblical works. The Midrash and the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan both record that the real motive involved the desire of women. According to Midrashic tradition, Cain and Abel each had twin sisters, whom they were to marry. The Midrash records that Abel's promised wife was the more beautiful. Cain would not consent to this arrangement Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God rejected Cain's sacrifice, signifying His disapproval of his marriage with Aclima, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy.
In Islam tradition as enunciated in Ibn Hisham's summary of Ibn Ishaq's Sirah, Adam and Eve had forty children consisting of twenty pairs of twins. Each pair of twins consisted of one male and one female and the twin brother and sister were considered married to each other. However, in the case of Cain and Abel, Adam commanded Cain to marry the twin sister of Abel, and Abel to marry the twin sister of Cain. Abel agreed with this arrangement and was happy with it, but Cain did not. Cain's twin was deemed to be beautiful and Cain wanted her for himself. According to Islamic tradition, Adam attempted to mediate the dispute by requiring Cain and Abel to make sacrifices to God. Whichever sacrifice God chose would indicate the one who would have Cain's twin as a mate. In accord with the Biblical story, God favored Abel's sacrifice. Cain in a fit of jealous rage slew Abel.
According to the Qur'an, Cain (Kabil) buried Abel (Habil), prompted to do so by a single raven scratching the ground, on God's command. The Qur'an states that upon seeing the raven, Cain regretted his action [al-Ma'idah:27-31], and that rather than being cursed by God, since He had not done so before, God chose to create a law against murder:
"If anyone slew a person – be it for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people; and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."
According to Shi'a Muslim belief, Abel is buried in Nabi Habeel Mosque, located west of Damascus, in Syria.
Habil wa-Qabil see Cain and Abel
Qabil wa-Habil see Cain and Abel
Calafate
Calafate (Manoel Calafate). Brazilian Muslim slave who played a leading role in the unsuccessful Hausa uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Brazil.
Manoel Calafate see Calafate
Calafate, Manoel see Calafate
Calafate (Manoel Calafate). Brazilian Muslim slave who played a leading role in the unsuccessful Hausa uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Brazil.
Manoel Calafate see Calafate
Calafate, Manoel see Calafate
caliphs
caliphs. Supreme leaders of the Muslim community. The caliphs were deemed to be the successors of the Prophet Muhammad. Under Muhammad, the Muslim state was a theocracy with the sharia, the religious and moral principles of Islam, as the law of the land. The caliphs, Muhammad’s successors, were both secular and religious leaders. They were not empowered, however, to promulgate dogma, because it was considered that the revelation of the faith had been completed by Muhammad.
The Sunnites (followers of the Sunna, the body of Islamic custom or the Way of the Prophet) who constitute a majority of Muslims, generally consider the period of the first four caliphs the golden age of Islam. Other sects, however, as they were formed, came to regard this period and subsequent caliphates differently, and as a result great hostility has frequently arisen between the Sunnites and other Muslims, such as the Shi‘ites, concerning the caliphate. During the course of Islamic history the issue of the caliphate probably has created more dissension than any other article of faith.
Based on the examples of the first four Rashidun – “rightly guided” -- caliphs and companions of the Prophet, the Sunnites formulated the following requirements of the caliphate: the caliph should be an Arab of the Prophet Muhammad’s tribe, the Quraysh. He should be elected to his office and approved by a council of elders representing the Muslim community; and he should be responsible for enforcing divine law and spreading Islam by whatever means necessary, including war. In the history of the caliphate, however, all these requirements were rarely met.
The Shi‘ites, in contrast, believing that the Prophet himself had designated his son-in-law, ‘Ali, as both his temporal and spiritual successor, accepted only Ali’s descendants (by Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter) as legitimate claimants to the caliphate.
Muhammad died in 632, leaving no instructions for the future government of the Muslim community. A group of Islamic leaders met in Medina (now in Saudi Arabia), the capital of the Muslim world at that time, and elected Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s father-in-law and closest associate, to lead the community. Abu Bakr took for himself the title khalifat Rasul Allah (in Arabic, “successor to the Messenger of God”), from which the term caliph (in Arabic, khalifah, -- “successor”) is derived.
Umar I (581?-644) became the second caliph in 634. On his deathbed, Abu Bakr had designated Umar as his successor, and all the important members of the Muslim community immediately accepted Umar’s succession. Under his leadership, the first great expansion of Islam outside of Arabia took place. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and the northern part of Mesopotamia became Islamic territories, and the armies of the Persian Empire were routed several times. Umar added the title amir-al-muminin (in Arabic, “commander of the believers”) to that of caliph.
After Umar’s death in 644, Uthman ibn Affan (575?-656), Muhammad’s son-in-law and one of his first converts, was appointed the third caliph by a panel of six Meccan electors. Although an elderly man, he carried on Umar’s policy of territorial expansion. Eventually, however, Uthman earned the enmity of many of his subjects, who felt he favored the Meccan aristocracy in political and commercial affairs. Uthman also antagonized the Islamic preachers by issuing an official text of the Qur’an, with an accompanying order to destroy all other versions. Rebellious Muslim troops from al-Kufah (Iraq) and Egypt besieged Uthman in Medina and assassinated him in 656.
'Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was acknowledged as the fourth caliph by the Medinans and the rebellious Muslim troops. Muawiyah I (d. 680), then governor of Syria, refused to recognize 'Ali as caliph and called for vengeance for the death of Uthman who was Muawiyah’s kinsman. In 657, the rival parties met at Siffin, on a plain in northern Syria, near the site of the modern city of ar-Raqqah. There, after an inconclusive battle, they agreed to arbitrate the dispute. 'Ali found himself being considered as a mere candidate for the caliphate on equal grounds with Muawiyah. Angered by this indignity, and with 'Ali for submitting to it, a group of his followers, later known as the Kharijites, deserted and vowed to assassinate both 'Ali and Muawiyah. They succeeded in killing only 'Ali. 'Ali’s son, al-Hasan (c.624-669), then claimed (in 661) the still disputed caliphate but abdicated within a few months under pressure from Muawiyah’s supporters, who greatly outnumbered 'Ali’s followers, the Shi‘ites.
The Umayyad caliphs were descendants of aristocratic caravan merchants, the Umayya, to which Muawiyah, the first Umayyad caliph, belonged. Muawiyah (r. 661-680) restored stability to the Muslim community after 'Ali’s assassination. He moved the capital of Islam from Medina to Damascus, bringing the Muslim rulers into contact with the more advanced cultural and administrative traditions of the Byzantine Empire. Muawiyah also dispensed with the practice of electing the caliph by designating his son Yazid (d. 683) as heir apparent. The principle of election was acknowledged formally, however, by having the council of elders pledge to support the designated heir. The practice of hereditary succession continued throughout the Umayyad dynasty and in subsequent dynasties as well. Many Muslims, however, later disapproved of it as a deviation from the essential nature of Islam.
Yazid I (r. 680-683) succeeded his father but was faced immediately with two rebellions, each supporting a rival claimant to the caliphate. The Kufan Shi‘ites recognized 'Ali’s second son (and the Prophet’s grandson), al-Husayn (c. 629-669), as caliph. Thus encouraged, al-Husayn left Medina for al-Kurah, despite warning that Yazid’s troops had quelled the Kufic uprising. On the plain of Karbala, in Iraq, he and his small escort were intercepted and slaughtered. This event, more than any other, marks the true beginning of the Shi‘ite schism. A second rebellion by Meccans was not finally quelled until the caliphate of Abdal-Malik (r. 685-705), Yazid’s third successor.
Shi‘ite, Kharijite, and other groups of Muslims and non-Arabic converts (in Arabic, mawali) frequently revolted against the Umayyads. The mawali accused the Umayyads of religious laxity and of indifference to their demands for full brotherhood in the Muslim community. Umayyad caliphs, nevertheless, vastly enlarged the Muslim empire and created a bureaucracy capable of administering it. Under the Umayyads, Muslim armies swept eastward to the borders of India and China, westward across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, then northward through Spain and over the Pyrenees Mountains into France, where the Frankish infantry under the Carolingian ruler Charles Martel checked them near Poitiers in 732.
The Umayyads were overthrown by a combination of Shi‘ite, Iranian, and other Muslim and non-Muslim groups dissatisifed with the Umayyad regime. The rebels were led by the Abbasid family, descendant of the Prophet’s uncle Abbas. From about 718, the Abbasids had plotted to take the caliphate, sending agents into various parts of the Muslim empire to spread propaganda against the Umayyads. By 747, they had secured enough support to organize a rebellion in northern Iran that led to the defeat of the Umayyad caliphate three years later. The Abbasids executed most of the Umayyad family, moved the capital of the empire to Baghdad, and assimilated much of the pomp and ceremony of the former Persian monarchy into their own courts.
Beginning in 750 with Abu al-Abbas (721?-754), the Abbasid caliphate lasted five centuries. It is the most durable and most famous Islamic dynasty. The Abbasids became patrons of learning and encouraged religious observance. They were the first Muslim rulers to become leaders of an Islamic civilization and protectors of the religion rather than merely an Arab aristocracy imposing an Arab civilization on conquered lands. Under their caliphate Baghdad replaced Medina as the center of theological activity, industry and commerce developed greatly, and the Islamic empire reached a peak of material and intellectual achievement.
The eighth and ninth century caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and his son Abdullah al-Mamun (r. 813-833) are especially renowned for their encouragement of intellectual pursuit and for the splendor of their courts. During their reigns, scholars were invited to the court to debate various topics, and translations were made from Greek, Persian, and Syriac works. Embassies also were exchanged with Charlemagne, emperor of the West.
Later in the ninth century, the Abbasid caliphs increasingly began to delegate administrative responsibility to ministers of state and other government officials and to lose control over their Baghdad guards. As they gradually gave up personal political power, the caliphs placed more and more emphasis on their role as protectors of the faith. One result of this change in emphasis was the increased persecution of heretics and non-Muslims. About the same time, several successful revolts in the eastern provinces led to the establishment of independent principalities. And independent caliphates were subsequently established in North Africa and in Spain. Eventually, the power of the Abbasids barely extended outside Baghdad, and by the middle of the tenth century, the Abbasid caliphs had virtually no power, serving merely as figureheads at the mercy of the military commanders. The final defeat of the Abbasid dynasty came from outside the Muslim world, when al-Mustasim (r. 1242-1258) was put to death by the invading Mongols at the order of Hulagu Khan (1217-1265), the grandson of Jenghiz Khan.
When the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, two members of the Abbasid family escaped to Egypt, where they took refuge with Baybars I, the Mameluke sultan. Each was named caliph, successively, by the sultan, but they were allowed to assume only religious duties, and the descendants of the second caliph remained politically powerless under the Mameluke sultans.
During the decline of Abbasid power, two rival caliphates were established, one in North Africa and another in Spain. The first, ruled by the Fatimid dynasty, was founded by Ubayd Allah (d. 933), who proclaimed himself caliph in Tunisia in 909. The Fatimids were Shi‘ites, claiming descent from Fatima (thus the name Fatimid), Muhammad’s daughter, and her husband 'Ali, the fourth caliph. At the height of its power, in the latter half of the tenth century, the Fatimid caliphate constituted a serious threat to the Abbasids in Baghdad. The Fatimids ruled most of northern Africa from Egypt to present-day Algeria, as well as Sicily and Syria. In addition the Fatimids claimed allegiance of other Shi‘ites, both within and outside their domain. They sent missionaries from their capital in Cairo to the rest of the Muslim world, proclaiming the Fatimid caliphs to be infallible and sinless and the bearers of divine illumination handed down directly from 'Ali. Their dynasty was overthrown in 1171 by Saladin, sultan of Egypt.
The second rival caliphate was established by Abd ar-Rahman III, who proclaimed himself caliph in Spain in 929. He was the descendant of an Umayyad prince who fled the Abbasid massacre of his family and settled (in 755) in Spain. The Umayyad dynasty of Spain, responsible for a brilliant period in Spanish history, ruled from its capital in Cordoba until 1031, when the caliphate broke up into numerous petty states.
From about the thirteenth century various monarchs throughout the Muslim world, particularly the Ottoman sultans, assumed the title caliph indiscriminately without regard to the prescribed requirements of the caliphate. The title held little significance for the Ottoman sultans until their empire began to decline. In the nineteenth century, with the advent of Christian powers in Southwest Asia, the sultan began to emphasize his role as caliph in an effort to gain the support of Muslims living outside his realm. The Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, Turkish nationalists deposed the Sultan, and the caliphate was finally abolished (March 1924) by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The abolition of the caliphate brought consternation to many sections of the Muslim world, and protests were directed against the action of the Turkish government. Subsequently, King Hussein ibn 'Ali (1856-1931) of al-Hijaz (Hejaz, now part of Saudi Arabia) laid claim to the title by virtue of his direct descent from the Prophet and his control of the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina. His claim, however, received little attention outside of Palestine, Syria, and parts of Arabia. The conquest (1925) of al-Hijaz by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, ruler of Najd, Arabia, made Hussein’s claim even less significant.
An international Muslim congress held in Cairo in 1926 to choose an acceptable successor to the caliphate proved abortive, resulting only in an appeal to the Muslims of the world to work together to re-establish a caliphate. Ever since World War II, however, the preoccupation of Muslim nations has been with national independence and economic problems, and the issue of the caliphate has been tabled.
Sunni (Rashidun) Caliphs
Abu Bakr 632-634
Umar 634-644
Uthman 644-656
‘Ali 656-661
Ummawiyya (Umayyad) Caliphs
Mu‘awiyya I 661-680
Yazid I 680-683
Mu‘awiyya II 683-684
Marwan ibn al-Hakam 684-685
Abu al-Malik 685-705
Al-Walid 705-715
Sulayman 715-717
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz 717-720
Yazid II 720-724
Hisham 724-743
Al-Walid II 743-744
Yazid III 744
Ibrahim 744
Marwan al-Himar 744-750
Abbasids
As-Saffah 749-754
Al-Mansur 754-775
Muhammad al-Mahdi 775-785
Al-Hadi 785-786
Harun ar-Rashid 786-809
Al-Amin ibn Harun 809-813
Al-Ma‘mun ibn Harun 813-833
Al-Mu‘tasim ibn Harun 833-842
Al-Wathiq 842-847
Al-Mutawakkil 847-861
Al-Muntasir 861-862
Al-Musta’in 862-866
Al-Mu’tazz 866-869
Al-Muhtadi 869-870
Al-Mu‘tamid 870-892
Al-Mu‘tadid 892-902
Al-Muktafi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 902-908
Muqtadir bi’llahi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 908-932
Al-Qahir bi’llahi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 932-934
Al-Radi bi’llahi ibn al-Muqtadir 934-940
Al-Mutaqqi li’llahi ibn al-Muqtadir 940-944
Al-Mustakfi bi’llahi ibn al-Muktafi 944-946
Al-Muti’ ibn al-Muqtadir 946-974
Al-Tai’i’ ibn al-Mut’ 974-991
Al-Qadir bi-amri’llah 991-1031
Al-Qa’im 1031-1075
Al-Muqtadi 1075-1094
Al-Mustazhir 1094-1118
Al-Mustarshid 1118-1135
Ar-Rashid 1135-1136
Al-Muqtafi 1136-1160
Al-Mustanjid 1160-1170
Al-Mustadi’ 1170-1180
An-Nasir li-Dini llah 1180-1225
Az-Zahir 1225-1226
Al-Mustansir 1226-1242
Al-Musta’sim 1242-1258
caliphs. Supreme leaders of the Muslim community. The caliphs were deemed to be the successors of the Prophet Muhammad. Under Muhammad, the Muslim state was a theocracy with the sharia, the religious and moral principles of Islam, as the law of the land. The caliphs, Muhammad’s successors, were both secular and religious leaders. They were not empowered, however, to promulgate dogma, because it was considered that the revelation of the faith had been completed by Muhammad.
The Sunnites (followers of the Sunna, the body of Islamic custom or the Way of the Prophet) who constitute a majority of Muslims, generally consider the period of the first four caliphs the golden age of Islam. Other sects, however, as they were formed, came to regard this period and subsequent caliphates differently, and as a result great hostility has frequently arisen between the Sunnites and other Muslims, such as the Shi‘ites, concerning the caliphate. During the course of Islamic history the issue of the caliphate probably has created more dissension than any other article of faith.
Based on the examples of the first four Rashidun – “rightly guided” -- caliphs and companions of the Prophet, the Sunnites formulated the following requirements of the caliphate: the caliph should be an Arab of the Prophet Muhammad’s tribe, the Quraysh. He should be elected to his office and approved by a council of elders representing the Muslim community; and he should be responsible for enforcing divine law and spreading Islam by whatever means necessary, including war. In the history of the caliphate, however, all these requirements were rarely met.
The Shi‘ites, in contrast, believing that the Prophet himself had designated his son-in-law, ‘Ali, as both his temporal and spiritual successor, accepted only Ali’s descendants (by Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter) as legitimate claimants to the caliphate.
Muhammad died in 632, leaving no instructions for the future government of the Muslim community. A group of Islamic leaders met in Medina (now in Saudi Arabia), the capital of the Muslim world at that time, and elected Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s father-in-law and closest associate, to lead the community. Abu Bakr took for himself the title khalifat Rasul Allah (in Arabic, “successor to the Messenger of God”), from which the term caliph (in Arabic, khalifah, -- “successor”) is derived.
Umar I (581?-644) became the second caliph in 634. On his deathbed, Abu Bakr had designated Umar as his successor, and all the important members of the Muslim community immediately accepted Umar’s succession. Under his leadership, the first great expansion of Islam outside of Arabia took place. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and the northern part of Mesopotamia became Islamic territories, and the armies of the Persian Empire were routed several times. Umar added the title amir-al-muminin (in Arabic, “commander of the believers”) to that of caliph.
After Umar’s death in 644, Uthman ibn Affan (575?-656), Muhammad’s son-in-law and one of his first converts, was appointed the third caliph by a panel of six Meccan electors. Although an elderly man, he carried on Umar’s policy of territorial expansion. Eventually, however, Uthman earned the enmity of many of his subjects, who felt he favored the Meccan aristocracy in political and commercial affairs. Uthman also antagonized the Islamic preachers by issuing an official text of the Qur’an, with an accompanying order to destroy all other versions. Rebellious Muslim troops from al-Kufah (Iraq) and Egypt besieged Uthman in Medina and assassinated him in 656.
'Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was acknowledged as the fourth caliph by the Medinans and the rebellious Muslim troops. Muawiyah I (d. 680), then governor of Syria, refused to recognize 'Ali as caliph and called for vengeance for the death of Uthman who was Muawiyah’s kinsman. In 657, the rival parties met at Siffin, on a plain in northern Syria, near the site of the modern city of ar-Raqqah. There, after an inconclusive battle, they agreed to arbitrate the dispute. 'Ali found himself being considered as a mere candidate for the caliphate on equal grounds with Muawiyah. Angered by this indignity, and with 'Ali for submitting to it, a group of his followers, later known as the Kharijites, deserted and vowed to assassinate both 'Ali and Muawiyah. They succeeded in killing only 'Ali. 'Ali’s son, al-Hasan (c.624-669), then claimed (in 661) the still disputed caliphate but abdicated within a few months under pressure from Muawiyah’s supporters, who greatly outnumbered 'Ali’s followers, the Shi‘ites.
The Umayyad caliphs were descendants of aristocratic caravan merchants, the Umayya, to which Muawiyah, the first Umayyad caliph, belonged. Muawiyah (r. 661-680) restored stability to the Muslim community after 'Ali’s assassination. He moved the capital of Islam from Medina to Damascus, bringing the Muslim rulers into contact with the more advanced cultural and administrative traditions of the Byzantine Empire. Muawiyah also dispensed with the practice of electing the caliph by designating his son Yazid (d. 683) as heir apparent. The principle of election was acknowledged formally, however, by having the council of elders pledge to support the designated heir. The practice of hereditary succession continued throughout the Umayyad dynasty and in subsequent dynasties as well. Many Muslims, however, later disapproved of it as a deviation from the essential nature of Islam.
Yazid I (r. 680-683) succeeded his father but was faced immediately with two rebellions, each supporting a rival claimant to the caliphate. The Kufan Shi‘ites recognized 'Ali’s second son (and the Prophet’s grandson), al-Husayn (c. 629-669), as caliph. Thus encouraged, al-Husayn left Medina for al-Kurah, despite warning that Yazid’s troops had quelled the Kufic uprising. On the plain of Karbala, in Iraq, he and his small escort were intercepted and slaughtered. This event, more than any other, marks the true beginning of the Shi‘ite schism. A second rebellion by Meccans was not finally quelled until the caliphate of Abdal-Malik (r. 685-705), Yazid’s third successor.
Shi‘ite, Kharijite, and other groups of Muslims and non-Arabic converts (in Arabic, mawali) frequently revolted against the Umayyads. The mawali accused the Umayyads of religious laxity and of indifference to their demands for full brotherhood in the Muslim community. Umayyad caliphs, nevertheless, vastly enlarged the Muslim empire and created a bureaucracy capable of administering it. Under the Umayyads, Muslim armies swept eastward to the borders of India and China, westward across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, then northward through Spain and over the Pyrenees Mountains into France, where the Frankish infantry under the Carolingian ruler Charles Martel checked them near Poitiers in 732.
The Umayyads were overthrown by a combination of Shi‘ite, Iranian, and other Muslim and non-Muslim groups dissatisifed with the Umayyad regime. The rebels were led by the Abbasid family, descendant of the Prophet’s uncle Abbas. From about 718, the Abbasids had plotted to take the caliphate, sending agents into various parts of the Muslim empire to spread propaganda against the Umayyads. By 747, they had secured enough support to organize a rebellion in northern Iran that led to the defeat of the Umayyad caliphate three years later. The Abbasids executed most of the Umayyad family, moved the capital of the empire to Baghdad, and assimilated much of the pomp and ceremony of the former Persian monarchy into their own courts.
Beginning in 750 with Abu al-Abbas (721?-754), the Abbasid caliphate lasted five centuries. It is the most durable and most famous Islamic dynasty. The Abbasids became patrons of learning and encouraged religious observance. They were the first Muslim rulers to become leaders of an Islamic civilization and protectors of the religion rather than merely an Arab aristocracy imposing an Arab civilization on conquered lands. Under their caliphate Baghdad replaced Medina as the center of theological activity, industry and commerce developed greatly, and the Islamic empire reached a peak of material and intellectual achievement.
The eighth and ninth century caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and his son Abdullah al-Mamun (r. 813-833) are especially renowned for their encouragement of intellectual pursuit and for the splendor of their courts. During their reigns, scholars were invited to the court to debate various topics, and translations were made from Greek, Persian, and Syriac works. Embassies also were exchanged with Charlemagne, emperor of the West.
Later in the ninth century, the Abbasid caliphs increasingly began to delegate administrative responsibility to ministers of state and other government officials and to lose control over their Baghdad guards. As they gradually gave up personal political power, the caliphs placed more and more emphasis on their role as protectors of the faith. One result of this change in emphasis was the increased persecution of heretics and non-Muslims. About the same time, several successful revolts in the eastern provinces led to the establishment of independent principalities. And independent caliphates were subsequently established in North Africa and in Spain. Eventually, the power of the Abbasids barely extended outside Baghdad, and by the middle of the tenth century, the Abbasid caliphs had virtually no power, serving merely as figureheads at the mercy of the military commanders. The final defeat of the Abbasid dynasty came from outside the Muslim world, when al-Mustasim (r. 1242-1258) was put to death by the invading Mongols at the order of Hulagu Khan (1217-1265), the grandson of Jenghiz Khan.
When the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, two members of the Abbasid family escaped to Egypt, where they took refuge with Baybars I, the Mameluke sultan. Each was named caliph, successively, by the sultan, but they were allowed to assume only religious duties, and the descendants of the second caliph remained politically powerless under the Mameluke sultans.
During the decline of Abbasid power, two rival caliphates were established, one in North Africa and another in Spain. The first, ruled by the Fatimid dynasty, was founded by Ubayd Allah (d. 933), who proclaimed himself caliph in Tunisia in 909. The Fatimids were Shi‘ites, claiming descent from Fatima (thus the name Fatimid), Muhammad’s daughter, and her husband 'Ali, the fourth caliph. At the height of its power, in the latter half of the tenth century, the Fatimid caliphate constituted a serious threat to the Abbasids in Baghdad. The Fatimids ruled most of northern Africa from Egypt to present-day Algeria, as well as Sicily and Syria. In addition the Fatimids claimed allegiance of other Shi‘ites, both within and outside their domain. They sent missionaries from their capital in Cairo to the rest of the Muslim world, proclaiming the Fatimid caliphs to be infallible and sinless and the bearers of divine illumination handed down directly from 'Ali. Their dynasty was overthrown in 1171 by Saladin, sultan of Egypt.
The second rival caliphate was established by Abd ar-Rahman III, who proclaimed himself caliph in Spain in 929. He was the descendant of an Umayyad prince who fled the Abbasid massacre of his family and settled (in 755) in Spain. The Umayyad dynasty of Spain, responsible for a brilliant period in Spanish history, ruled from its capital in Cordoba until 1031, when the caliphate broke up into numerous petty states.
From about the thirteenth century various monarchs throughout the Muslim world, particularly the Ottoman sultans, assumed the title caliph indiscriminately without regard to the prescribed requirements of the caliphate. The title held little significance for the Ottoman sultans until their empire began to decline. In the nineteenth century, with the advent of Christian powers in Southwest Asia, the sultan began to emphasize his role as caliph in an effort to gain the support of Muslims living outside his realm. The Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, Turkish nationalists deposed the Sultan, and the caliphate was finally abolished (March 1924) by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The abolition of the caliphate brought consternation to many sections of the Muslim world, and protests were directed against the action of the Turkish government. Subsequently, King Hussein ibn 'Ali (1856-1931) of al-Hijaz (Hejaz, now part of Saudi Arabia) laid claim to the title by virtue of his direct descent from the Prophet and his control of the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina. His claim, however, received little attention outside of Palestine, Syria, and parts of Arabia. The conquest (1925) of al-Hijaz by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, ruler of Najd, Arabia, made Hussein’s claim even less significant.
An international Muslim congress held in Cairo in 1926 to choose an acceptable successor to the caliphate proved abortive, resulting only in an appeal to the Muslims of the world to work together to re-establish a caliphate. Ever since World War II, however, the preoccupation of Muslim nations has been with national independence and economic problems, and the issue of the caliphate has been tabled.
Sunni (Rashidun) Caliphs
Abu Bakr 632-634
Umar 634-644
Uthman 644-656
‘Ali 656-661
Ummawiyya (Umayyad) Caliphs
Mu‘awiyya I 661-680
Yazid I 680-683
Mu‘awiyya II 683-684
Marwan ibn al-Hakam 684-685
Abu al-Malik 685-705
Al-Walid 705-715
Sulayman 715-717
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz 717-720
Yazid II 720-724
Hisham 724-743
Al-Walid II 743-744
Yazid III 744
Ibrahim 744
Marwan al-Himar 744-750
Abbasids
As-Saffah 749-754
Al-Mansur 754-775
Muhammad al-Mahdi 775-785
Al-Hadi 785-786
Harun ar-Rashid 786-809
Al-Amin ibn Harun 809-813
Al-Ma‘mun ibn Harun 813-833
Al-Mu‘tasim ibn Harun 833-842
Al-Wathiq 842-847
Al-Mutawakkil 847-861
Al-Muntasir 861-862
Al-Musta’in 862-866
Al-Mu’tazz 866-869
Al-Muhtadi 869-870
Al-Mu‘tamid 870-892
Al-Mu‘tadid 892-902
Al-Muktafi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 902-908
Muqtadir bi’llahi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 908-932
Al-Qahir bi’llahi ibn al-Mu‘tadid 932-934
Al-Radi bi’llahi ibn al-Muqtadir 934-940
Al-Mutaqqi li’llahi ibn al-Muqtadir 940-944
Al-Mustakfi bi’llahi ibn al-Muktafi 944-946
Al-Muti’ ibn al-Muqtadir 946-974
Al-Tai’i’ ibn al-Mut’ 974-991
Al-Qadir bi-amri’llah 991-1031
Al-Qa’im 1031-1075
Al-Muqtadi 1075-1094
Al-Mustazhir 1094-1118
Al-Mustarshid 1118-1135
Ar-Rashid 1135-1136
Al-Muqtafi 1136-1160
Al-Mustanjid 1160-1170
Al-Mustadi’ 1170-1180
An-Nasir li-Dini llah 1180-1225
Az-Zahir 1225-1226
Al-Mustansir 1226-1242
Al-Musta’sim 1242-1258
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