Rashidun
RĀSHIDUN CALIPHATE
The Rashidun Caliphate ruled Islam from the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 until `Alī's assassination in 661. The designation, Rashidun, which means 'Rightly-Guided,' was not a contemporary term; at the time there was no need to distinguish it from any other Caliphate, because it was the only one that had ever been. All of the Caliphs were related to the Prophet by marriage, had been close companions of his during life and were members of his tribe, the Quraysh. Theoretically succession was by acclamation of the Islamic community, but at this early stage it was not entirely clear who constituted that community and, in practice, succession was generally decided by the companions of the Prophet and presented to the people as faits accomplis. This was obviously not a stable system, and the long-lasting and acrimonious split between the Shi`a and Sunni sects of Islam dates back to the succession disputes of this time.
The first Caliph was the Prophet's father-in-law and closest companion, Abū Bakr, who ruled only two years, during which he fought the Ridda Wars to maintain and consolidate Islam's hold over the Arabian peninsula. He was succeeded by another father-in-law of the Prophet, `Umar who ruled for ten years, during which the Caliphate attacked Byzantium and Sassanian Persia, the dominant powers of the day and conquered Syria, Iraq, Egypt and the whole of Persia. He established a bureaucracy for the expanding Caliphate, dividing it into provinces ruled jointly by a civil governor and a chief judge. He was assassinated while performing the pilgrimage.
A council of six, nominated by `Umar on his deathbed chose a son-in-law of the Prophet, `Uthmān as the third Caliph. He ruled for twelve years, and ordered the codification of the Qu'rān. He was a member of the Umayyad clan which had been prominent opponents of Islam during Muhammad's life and he nominated many of his relatives to prominent roles. Possibly for these reasons, though it is not entirely clear, he became unpopular. A revolt in Egypt spread to the capital city of Medina, beseiged `Uthmān's house and eventually killed him.
`Alī, the Prophet's first cousin and son-in-law was acclaimed as Caliph by the people of Medina, but he incurred the wrath of the Umayyads and their supporters when he refused to punish the rebels responsible for `Uthmān's death, among whom he enjoyed significant support. The result was the civil war known as the First Fitna. `Alī based himself at Kufa in Iraq and was opposed by Mu`āwiyah in Syria and `Amr ibn al-`Ās in Egypt. He attempted to make peace with Mu`awiyah, which disgusted some of his supporters, the Kharijites, who sabotaged the peace and killed him.
Mu`āwiyah then assumed the Caliphate, becoming the first of the Umayyad Caliphs, but `Alī's claim to the Caliphate was carried on unsuccessfully by his sons Hasan and Husayn and to this day by the Shī`ah.
Sources
The Annals of aṭ-Ṭabarī
The Rashidun Caliphate at the death of `Uthmān (656)
