First Fitna The First Fitna (فتنة مقتل عثمان fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān “strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman”) was a civil war within the Rashidun Caliphate which resulted in the overthrowing of the Rashidun caliphs and the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty. It began when the caliph Uthman was assassinated by rebels in 656 and continued through the four-year reign...
Saqifah Saqifah Bani Sa’idah (سَقِيفَة بَنِي سَاعِدَة, Saqīfah Banī Sāʿdah), commonly known as simply Saqifah, (ٱلسَّقِيفَة as-Saqīfah), was a roofed building in Medina used by the Banu Sa’idah clan of the Banu Khazraj tribe. Saqifah is significant as the site where, after Muhammad‘s death, some of his companions gathered and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, electing him as the first Caliph. Gathering...
Caliphate A caliphate (خِلَافَة khilāfah) is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (خَلِيفَة khalīfah), a person considered a politico-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Ummah (Muslim community). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three...
Khawarij The Khawarij (الخوارج, al-Khawārij, singular خارجي, khāriji), Kharijites, or the ash-Shurah (الشراة, ash-Shurāh “the Exchangers”) were a sect that appeared in the first century of Islam during the First Fitna, the crisis of leadership after the death of Muhammad. It broke into revolt against the authority of the Caliph Ali after he agreed to arbitration...
Theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which a deity of some type is recognized as the supreme ruling authority, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries that manage the day to day affairs of the government. Etymology The word theocracy originates from the Greek θεοκρατία meaning “the rule of God“. This in turn derives...