The Caliphate
 Those who came into power after death of Prophet Muhammad
are called khalifa.
 Those first 4 khalifas were not just political leaders of Islamic
society, but also they were religious leaders.
 Their selection was based on their ability, knowledge and
closeness to the prophet.
 They were chosen by elders of the Muslim society.
 They were also called imam.
 They were both political and religious leaders who would also
command (amir) the military.
 The first 4 of khalifas were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and
Ali.
 Being close to the prophet, the first four khalifas had the
respect of their people.
 However, civil wars broke out during the time of Uthman
and Ali.
 Those wars led serious divisions in the Islamic world, still
present today.
 After the 4th khalifa, the way that khalifa was chosen
changed and it passed from father to son.
 The role of Caliphate was still effective till 945.
 After Abbasids were taken over by Shi’ite Buyid Dynasty
the role of Caliphate became symbolic and continued till
1258.
The Ulama
 The place of “ulama” has always been important in the Islamic
society.
 They have been perceived representatives of the prophet.
 There is an encouragement in Qur’an to learn and go deep in
scholarship.
 In early Islamic times, this notion was very strong and those
who were in the status of ulama would be appointed as judges.
 The word “ulama” is plural of “alim”.
 The ulama were most concerned with preserving,
interpreting and applying the Qur’an and to maintain the
norms of the prophet’s original umma.
 Following the traditions, Qur’anic applications during the
time of prophet is very important.
 Ulama are very concerned with the contemporary problems
of umma.
 Their assessments of issues, personal opinions as well as
collective discussions, from theological doctrine to
criminal punishments established a basis for religious and
social order.
 After the 9th century, they have basically defined the
understanding of the divine law, or “sharia’a” that Muslims
have held to be definitive for legal, social, commercial,
political, ritual, and moral concerns.
 This, in totality, created the Islamic law system or “Fiqh”.
 The centers of ulama activities historically have been city
of Medina, Mecca, Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Khorasan, Syria,
North Africa, Spain and Egypt.
 Gradually, ulama became the elites of Islamic societies.
 They had reached a point where they could correct the ruler
or the khalifa.
 Moral and legal matters were asked to the ulama.
 In this regard, Muslims, without building a formal clergy
class, unlike Christians, developed a workable moral-legal
system, with formally trained individuals.
 There is no doubt that they had a great influence in creating
a Muslim way of public affair and social order.
The Umma
 The message of Qur’an was universal.
 No superiority of a tribe over the other ones.
 The new converts were welcomed with a sense of
brotherhood.
 It is a reality that, at the beginning there was an Arab
dominance in the rankings of the armed forces and language
used among the Muslims was Arabic since it is the language
of Qur’an.
 As the new converts mastered the language and Islamic
teaching they moved up in the ranking of government and
 Notion of “umma” has always been important in Muslim
societies.
 The big challenge came from Persians.
 They always felt resentment towards Arabs.
 They have a sense of being superior in terms of building
long lasting civilizations.
 Their own national pride has been an issue for the umma.
 This tension was very strong during the time of Umayyad
and early Abbasid times.
 In later times, the tension slowed down and Persian
civilization, particularly arts and literature influenced
Islamic civilization.
 The sense of umma, over the time, gained a strong
theoretical ground that change of khalifa or dynasty has not
caused serious social turmoils.
 But, the fact is that there have been conflicting notions of
the visions.
 Different sects which interpreted
crystallized in the first 3 centuries.
Islam
 There have mainly been 3 visions of Islam.
differently
 These 3 visions are the Kharijites, the Shi’a and the
Centrists or Sunnis.
 Regardless of the sects though, Muslim community is
considered one, which is umma.
The Kharijites
 This sect is the most radical, idealist who traced its origin
to the first civil war (656-661).
 They were originally from Khalifa Ali’s camp.
 They disagreed with Ali, because in their view, he
compromised with enemies.
 They are in favor of strict Qur’anic principles.
 They argue that the leader of the umma has to be Muslim,
whoever that person might be.

Anyone who commits a serious sin is no longer Muslim.
 They are extreme in understanding the religion.
 They are still present in small groups in Oman and North
Africa.
The Shi’a
 Although the shi’a notion was there before the kharjites came
out, the sect shaped with the civil war that took place
between Ali and Mu’awiya.
 Both claim the position of Caliphate. When Mu’awiya took
over after a kharijite murdered Ali in 661, many of Ali’s
followers felt that Islamic affairs had gone awry.
 The murdering of Ali and his son Husayn at Karbala, in Iraq,
made those who like Ali and support Ali to disfranchise from
the rest of the umma.
 This second sect is called “partisans of Ali” or the shi’a.
 Shi’a, at the beginning, believed that Ali should have been
 Place of Ali in umma has always been different.
 He has been an important figure.
 The place of Ali was different in the prophet’s circle as well.
 His knowledge of Islam and bravery has made him an admired
figure among Muslims.
 Above all, he carried Muhammad’s blood and spiritual
authority.
 In shi’a sect, believe in suffering of Muslims, suffering of
imams in particular is very strong.
 They believe in Mahdi or “guided one”, who would usher in a
messianic age and judgment day that would see the faithful
The Centrists
 The third sect of Islam is followed by most Muslims,
considered the middle path.
 This sect is less sharply defined position on leadership and
membership in the umma.
 To emphasize the correctness of their views, they
eventually called themselves Sunnis, followers of the
tradition (Sunna) established by the Prophet and the
Qur’an.
 This sect has been inclusive rather than exclusive, a trait
that has typified the Islamic community through most of its
history.
 Its basic ideas are threefold: 1- The umma is theocratic, under
the divine rule of Shari’a.
 In Shari’a, the sources of guidance in making decisions are
first, the Qur’an, second Muhammad’s Precedent, third is the
interpretive efforts and the fourth is the consensus of ulama.
 2- The caliph is the absolute temporal ruler, charged with
administrating and defending the Muslim norms.
 He possesses no greater authority than any other Muslim in
matters of faith.

3- A person who professes to be Muslim by witnessing the
“There is no god, but Allah, and Muhammad is the
Messenger” should be considered a Muslim.
 Under increasingly influential ulama leadership, these and
other basic promises of Muslim community became the
theological understandings internationally and built major
Islamic social order as the middle path.
The High Caliphate
 The institution of caliphate gained a substantial importance
during Umayyad and Abbasid states.
 During the Umayyad the capital city was Damascus and
during the Abbasid capital city moved to Baghdad.
 With Abbasid State, not just the capital city moved, but
also the role of Persians in the institution of caliphate has
changed.
 They entered the bureaucracy in big numbers.
 They stressed their descent from al-Abbas, uncle of both
Prophet Muhammad and Ali.
 Umayyads were more nationalistic Arabs than Abbasids.
 Although Abbasids were Arabs too, they were also close to
Shi’a Persians because of Ali and uncle of the Prophet alAbbas.
 Beginning in the 9th century, they enlisted slave solders
(mamluks), mostly Turks from the northern steppes, as
their personal troops.
 But, the officers of these troops, themselves mamluks, soon
seized positions of power in the central and provincial
bureaucracies and the army.
 Eventually the caliphs were dominated by their mamluks
officers.
 The overbearing Turkish guard led the Abbasid caliph to
remove the government from Baghdad to the new city of
Samarra.
Society
 Two things were important in shaping the social structure
in Islamic societies:
 Caliphate and Ulama.
 Caliphate would represent the authority and the political
structure, while the class of ulama would issue fatwas for a
proper way of life.
 Trade with Tang Chinese Empire brought prosperity to the
Islamic societies at the time of Abbasid.
 Paper came to Islamic territory during the trade relations
with China in about 750.
 Intellectual life prospered especially after Byzantine scholars
fled east to Abbasid centers of learning.
 At the heydays of Abbasid there was a thirst for knowledge.
 Philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and other
natural sciences enjoyed strong interest and patronage.
 In Islamic usage, philosophy and the sciences were subsumed
under philosophy or falsafa.
 Islamic culture took over the tradition of rational inquiry
from the Hellenic world and preserved it when Europe was
still a cultural backwater.
 Translation of masterpieces of Greek and Sanskrit stimulated
 Language and literature developed greatly.
 Persian influence was present in writings.
 Poetry flourished; also historical, geographical and
biographical writings became major genres of Arabic
writing.
 Interpretations of hadith and Qur’an took important place
in those writings.

Laws were very developed.
 The crystallization of Islamic arts and architecture
happened during the Abbasid era.
 An Islamic style of arts formed by 1000 C.E.
 The influence of Graeco-Roman, Byzantine, and Persian
art has been very present except for ceramics and
calligraphy.
 Although the influence was present, the creation of arts was
distinctively Islamic.