CHAPTER 3: THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS
CHAPTER 3: THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS
Key points from this chapter:
Abu Bakr (RA) assumed the Caliphate after the passing of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and ruled for 2 years
Umar ibn Al Khattab (RA) was appointed as the successor by Abu Bakr (RA) and ruled for 10 years
‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan was appointed by a council of 6 eminent Companions as ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattab’s successor and ruled for 12 years
‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib was also elected by the senior companions in Madinah and ruled for 6 years
The 3rd chapter in the book attempts to briefly summarise the reigns of the first 4 Khulafaa (Caliphs). Their Khilafa (Caliphate) was titled the Rashidun Khilafa. The word Rashidun translates to ‘rightly guided’. Although many will say the Abbasid era was the golden age in Islam, the era of the rightly guided Khulafaa was a golden age in so many different aspects that the Abbasid era was not. The author does not mention this but it is my view1 that the Rashidun Era was the golden age in Islamic history – particularly the reign of Umar ibn Al Khattab (RA). The summary of this chapter will be chronologically divided into 4 sections with each looking at the reigns of the 4 rulers.
Following the death of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Muslims were, for the first time, without a ruler and guide. Disagreement over who should rule the newly established Muslim state threatened to tear the Ummah. Many options were put forward, including having two rulers. However, Umar (RA) resolved this issue by recommending Abu Bakr (RA) for the office of the Khalifah. No one “could dispute his qualifications” and so the Muslim nation pledged their allegiance to him. A more detailed account of the story can be found in Ibn Kathir’s “The Lives of The Noble Caliphs”. Before moving forward with the account of his reign, the author highlights the qualities that a Khalifa should have. He says “The caliph was expected to be someone who is an adept leader, capable of efficiently managing the affairs of the Muslim state, as well as someone who can preserve the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and inspire people to follow it to the best of their abilities”. This is a perfect criterion for deciding if someone is fit to assume the office of the Khalifah as it ensures that they take into account both the spiritual and material well-being of their subjects. After assuming the office of the Khalifah, Abu Bakr (RA) ensured that one of the final commands of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was carried out and so the army of Usmah (RA) was dispatched to Syria. However, problems soon began to arise when some Arab tribes rebelled against their new ruler. The author gives two reasons for this. The first was because of the dislike the Arabs had for an organised central government and the second was because they felt their treaty and alliance was only with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and did not feel compelled to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr (RA). Matters further deteriorated with the rise of the four fake prophets. The rebellious tribes stopped praying and paying zakat and realising this could cause deviations in accepted Islamic practices, Abu Bakr (RA) resolved to fight them. This led to the Ridda War or War of Apostasy in which the Muslims emerged victorious. The author notes that the war showed three key things. Firstly it showed that the “spiritual unity of Islam was of paramount importance”. Secondly, it ensured the political unity of the Muslim world and thirdly, the authority of the central government was established. The author then says “The Arabian Peninsula was situated between two world powers – the Byzantines and the Sassanids. If they were to survive in the international arena, unity was necessary.” Therefore, the war was a key turning point in Islamic History as it paved the way for much-needed unity that would facilitate expansion into Byzantine and Sassanid territory. Following the key battle of Yamama in the Ridda War, the order was given by Abu Bakr (RA) to compile the Quran into one book as many of those who had completed the entire Quran to memory were martyred in that battle. During the last days of his life, Abu Bakr (RA), going against the tradition of the Arabs, chose the man he thought was best suited for office: Umar Ibn Al Khattab (RA). Although the Khilafah of Abu Bakr (RA) lasted only two years, he managed to stabilise the Muslim state after the death of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and primed it to take advantage of weakening imperial powers in the north.
With the unity of the Muslims secured and the Ridda war boosting the confidence of the Muslim state in its military power, Umar Ibn Al Khattab (RA) had assumed the position of the Khalifah at a time when he could maximise the resources of the Muslim world. A more organised military campaign was launched against the Byzantines and Sassanids simultaneously. Khalid Ibn Waleed (RA) led the conquest of Persia whilst Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah led the Muslim army into Syria. These campaigns were very different to the ones the Sassanids and Byzantines had been waging against each other. They were not destructive but were “combined with the calls for justice and social harmony consistent with the message of Muhammad ﷺ.” Both campaigns were met with early success and in an attempt to stop the invasion of Syria, Emperor Heraclius mobilised the imperial army and marched against the Muslims. In response to this, Khalid (RA) was immediately ordered to march to Syria and assume command there. The two armies met on the fields of Ajnadyan in the summer of 634 and the Muslims achieved a complete victory. The Byzantines fled to their castles leaving the countryside defenceless. With their initial plans shattered, the Byzantines lost Damascus in 635 to the Muslims. A treaty was signed which ensured the safety of the citizens and gave them many rights in return for the Jizya (a small tributary payment). This sent a message to the Byzantine citizens that the war was not against them but against their rulers and armies. Heraclius raised an even larger army in response to the fall of Damascus but this too was defeated in the decisive encounter at Yarmouk in 636C.. No longer possessing the manpower or funds to raise another army against the Muslims, Heraclius was forced to flee Syria. By 638, all of Syria was now under the control of the burgeoning Rashidun Khilafah. The Muslims then turned their attention to Egypt which they swiftly brought under their rule by 642CE. For a more detailed account for the beginner student of Islamic history, it is recommended to read Madinah to Jerusalem by Ismail Adam Patel. After the conquest of Syria, Umar (RA) turned his attention back to Persia which hadn’t received as much support from Madinah since the departure of Khalid bin Waleed (RA). Fresh reinforcements were sent under the command of a senior companion by the name of Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqaas. Despite initial setbacks due to the inability of the Muslim army in dealing with Sassanid war elephants, Sa’d (RA) and his army won a great victory at Qadisiyyah in 636 where they shattered the Persian army. With the path to Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sassanid empire, now open, the Muslims marched on the great city and conquered it in 637. The author does not mention this but the conquest of Ctesiphon marked the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He prophesied that the Muslims would conquer both Syria and Persia and within less than 10 years of his passing, the Muslims had done just that. The Sassanid government fled to Iran and Umar (RA) forbade any further expansion into Persia. This is because it was likely that further campaigns would not be met with the same success as it was expected that the locals in Iran were more loyal to their Sassanid rulers. The expansion was not the only success during the reign of Umar (RA). He personally travelled to Syria to accept the surrender of Jerusalem and tend to the civil administration there. One of his first actions was to demote Khalid Bin Waleed (RA) from commander as he believed that people started to give too much credit to the glorious commander; he wanted to remind people that victory is from Allah ﷻ and not due to the abilities of any human. Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan (RA) was made the governor of Syria and he turned the region into an economic powerhouse. The accomplishments of Umar (RA) run far beyond what has been mentioned. These include but are not limited to establishing the Bayt Al-Maal or the Public treasury. He also initiated things like child benefits and gave allowances for people who could not work. He was martyred in 644 after appointing a council of 6 men to elect a Khalifah from amongst them. They chose Uthman (RA). It is clear that “through ten years as the caliph of the Muslim world, Umar (RA) had taken the young Muslim state from a desert-based raiding society to a regional power”.
Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) assumed the position of Khalifah in 644 and had a relatively peaceful reign until his latter days. Seeing the success of Mu’awiyah (RA) in Syria, Uthman (RA) appointed more members of the Umayyad clan to key positions of authority. This was met with small calls of nepotism by the public. However, it was not very serious or something that carried an immediate threat to his rule. Under his reign, the first navy was built which invaded Cyprus and Crete. They received help from their Christian subjects who helped out of their own will, possibly due to the better treatment they received under Muslim rule as opposed to their former Byzantine masters. Land expansion also continued with Mu’awiyah (RA) conquering Armenia. Expansion into the east also continued but was less rapid due to greater resistance. However, within ten years of the victory at Qadisiyyah, the Muslims had taken Iran and Khorasan. Their expansion was not met with the same popularity as it had during the reign of Umar (RA). Trouble then began to fester due to greater calls of nepotism and a decreasing rate of expansion also led to economic stagnation. However, it would be wrong to assume that a revolution was brewing at this stage. This resistance was still very small. It wasn’t until a group of soldiers came from Egypt to present a dispute to Uthman (RA) in 656 that the situation became very serious. Uthman (RA) promised to resolve the issue but on their way back to Egypt, they received false information that Uthman (RA) had ordered their execution upon their return to Egypt. This led to them marching back to Madinah and besieging the house of Uthman (RA). Majority of the public still supported Uthman (RA) and Mu’awiyah (RA) even wanted to send an army to Madinah to put an end to the mutiny. However, Uthman (RA) prevented this and any other proposal that would lead to bloodshed in the city of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He was finally martyred whilst reading the Quran in his home.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib (RA) then accepted the position of Khalifah after having initially refused it when it was offered to him by the rebels. He did this because he did not want to accept the offer of the murderers of Uthman (RA). Senior companions then counselled him to accept the position as he was the most qualified man for the job. He rejected the calls to bring the killers of Uthman (RA) to justice in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed and so resolved towards looking for a peaceful solution. As the rebels were still in charge of Madinah, he moved the capital to Kufa, Iraq where he had a strong support base. Many did not take kindly to his refusal to bring the rebels to justice including the powerful governor of Syria, Mu’awiyah (RA), who refused to swear allegiance until justice was served. Furthermore, a force gathered from Madinah with the intention of convincing Ali (RA) to bring the rebels to justice. They were led by two senior companions Talha (RA) and Zubayr (RA) and were aided by A’isha (RA). Both parties wanted to reunify the Ummah but disagreed on how best to achieve this. The Khalifah believed that not killing the rebels would be the best way whilst opposing factions believed that killing the rebels was the only way to reunite the ummah. The two parties met and, in an attempt, to avoid bloodshed, Talha (RA) and Zubayr (RA) met with Ali (RA) and made an agreement. However, some “less pious-minded extremists” (p52) on both sides were eager to fight and so a battle finally broke out with both sides thinking the other initiated the battle. The battle was, however, indecisive with huge losses on both sides. Both Talha (RA) and Zubayr (RA) were martyred. Ali (RA) and A’isha (RA) managed to survive with the former providing an armed escort to return the latter to Madinah. A’isha (RA) would remain unaffiliated with the politics of the Muslim world until her passing in 678. Even after this battle, there was still opposition to Ali (RA) from Mu’awiyah who held onto his former stance. These two parties agreed to meet halfway between Iraq and Damascus and although it is difficult to know what exactly was discussed, it is clear that the two agreed that Ali (RA) would step down from the position of the Khalifah and a new ruler was to be elected. However, a faction from Ali (RA)’s supporters did not agree with the idea of humans electing a new leader. The author says “Their extreme political position morphed into an extreme religious position”. This group became known as the Khawarij and was “the first to deviate from accepted Islamic theology”. They went on to terrorise the Iraqi countryside until they were defeated by Ali (RA) in battle in 658. The survivors continued a more ‘clan-destined’ style operation and finally in 661, they attempted to assassinate both Mu’awiyah (RA) and Ali (RA). The assassination attempt on the former was unsuccessful but Ali (RA) was martyred by the Khawarij. After this, “the caliphate fell to the only man left in the Muslim world with the widespread support and the capabilities to be an effective leader: Mu’awiyah (RA)” (p53).
Under the leadership of the Rashidun Khilafah, the Muslims ushered in a spiritual golden age which is yet to be seen again in Islamic History. With their demise, things were set in motion that led the Muslims into a terminal decline. Although the Muslims remained stewards of the world until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, they would never again find that equilibrium between spiritual advancement and material advancement that existed during the Rashidun Era.
https://muslimskeptic.com/2022/11/09/myth-islamic-golden-age/