
Caliphate - Wikipedia
A caliphate (Arabic: خِلَافَةْ, romanized: khilāfah [xi'laːfah]) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph[1][2][3] (/ ˈkælɪf, ˈkeɪ -/; خَلِيفَةْ khalīfa [xæ'liːfæh], pronunciation ⓘ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of t...
List of caliphs - Wikipedia
A caliph is the supreme religious and political leader of an Islamic state known as the caliphate. [1][2] Caliphs (also known as 'Khalifas') led the Muslim Ummah as political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, [3] and widely-recognised caliphates have existed in various forms for most of Islamic history. [4]
Caliph | Definition & History | Britannica
Feb 14, 2025 · Caliph, in Islamic history, the leader of the Muslim community. The title was first used when Abu Bakr, companion of the Prophet Muhammad and an early convert to Islam, was chosen to assume Muhammad’s political and administrative …
CALIPH Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of CALIPH is a successor of Muhammad as temporal and spiritual head of Islam —used as a title.
Caliphate | History, Empire, Meaning, & Definition | Britannica
Mar 18, 2025 · Caliphate, the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 ce) of the Prophet Muhammad.
Islamic Caliphates - World History Encyclopedia
Dec 3, 2019 · Caliphate (“Khilafat” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the people within were ruled by a supreme leader called Caliph (“Khalifa” in …
Who Were the Caliphs? - ThoughtCo
Mar 3, 2019 · A caliph is a religious leader in Islam, believed to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. The caliph is the head of the "ummah," or the community of the faithful. Over time, the caliphate became a religiopolitical position, in which the caliph ruled over the Muslim empire.
Why is the head of an Islamic State called a caliph?
Nov 10, 2024 · While the title “Caliph of Allah” was controversial in some circles, the use of the title never implied divinity or that the caliph was sovereign. It simply meant that the caliph as head of the Islamic State would implement the law of sharia and look after the affairs of people according to this law.
Caliph - New World Encyclopedia
Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, nation or community of Islam. It is an Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah (listen ) which means “successor,” that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad.
Caliph and Caliphate - Islamic Studies - Oxford Bibliographies
Dec 14, 2009 · The term “caliph” (khalifah in Arabic) is generally regarded to mean “successor of the prophet Muhammad,” while “caliphate” (khilafah in Arabic) denotes the office of the political leader of the Muslim community (ummah) or state, particularly during the period from 632 to 1258.
- Some results have been removed