The Rightly Guided Caliphs |

GCE O Level | All about

Rashidun
The first four successors of the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) are known to be ‘The Rightly Guided
Caliphs’.

Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat

Usman, and Hazrat Ali are the successors of the
Prophet (SAW) that are said to be, ‘rightly guided’.

Why were they called Rightly Guided?

The first four caliphs were the people who were

very close to the Prophet (SAW).
These were among those whom the Prophet
(PBUH) had promised paradise in their lifetime. The
first four caliphs ruled the Muslim empire according
to the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW).

These were the people who followed the right path.

The path taught in the Quran and ahadith.
Moreover, the first four caliphs took Muhammad
(PBUH) as their role model and tried their level best
to abide by his directions.

Hazrat Abu Bakr:

He was the first caliph of Islam and a prominent

companion of Prophet (PBUH) selected according
to democracy. But how?
 Logo Showing Abu Bakr in Urdu

Elections of Hazrat Abu Bakr:

Immediately, after the demise of the Prophet

(PBUH), the Muslims were thrown into the utmost
confusion. They could not believe that their leader
was not with them. At this stage, prominent
companions such as Hazrat Umar could not resist
the sadness.

Hazrat Abu Bakr consoled the entire Muslims

Ummah by reciting the Quranic Injunction:
“And Muhammad is no more than a messenger.
There were messengers before him. So if he
dies, or is slain, will you turn back on your
heels?” (3:144 Al-e-Imran)

He further said that he who worshipped Muhammad

(PBUH), let it be known to him that Muhammad
being a mortal is dead but he who worships the
Allah of Muhammad, let him know that Allah never
dies.

Meanwhile, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar went

to Thaqifa Bani Saida (an extended exterior of the
house of Saad bin Ubaidah) where the Ansars had
gathered to nominate the Khalifa from amongst
them. Hazrat Abu Ubaida told the Ansars (helpers)
that Quraish would not allow this privilege to be
taken by anyone else. He said:

“You were the first to uphold Islam. Do not be

the first to sow the seeds of dissension in it”.

At this critical stage, Hazrat Umar raised the hand

of Hazrat Abu Bakr and performed Bayyat on his
hand (oath of allegiance). This was followed by
others and Hazrat Abu Bakr became the first caliph
of Islam.

Services of Hazrat Abu Bakr:

⇨ Wars against False Prophets

⇨ Expedition to Syria
⇨ Fight against apostate tribes (Refusal to pay
Zakat)

Among the false Prophets that arose, Aswad

Ansi was the first one who came to Yemen. He
used to hide to face to cover his ugliness and create
an aura of mystery. Hazrat Abu Bakr sent a force to
meet the challenge and Aswad Ansi along with his
followers was killed.

Tullaya was also a false Prophet. He came from

the Banu Asad tribe of Northern Arabia. An army
under Khalid bin Walid was sent to punish him. He
fled but later accepted Islam and fought with Hazrat
Umar in his caliphate.

Mussailma was also one of the false Prophets. He

claimed Prophethood in the life of Prophet (SAW)
but before he could punish him, he passed away.
The Prophet (SAW) termed Mussailma as a lier.

He freed his followers from certain religious

obligations. Ikrima and Shurabil were defeated by
Mussailma. However, Khalid bin Walid defeated his
force and killed him. This was also known as the
battle of the Garden of Death.

Sajjah was a Christian woman who also claimed

prophethood. She belonged to the Banu Tamim
tribe and gained influence due to her mother. She
married Mussailma but it reduced her popularity.

She later embraced Islam with the people of her

tribe.

Thus, in this way, Hazrat Abu Bakr resolved the

issue of the false Prophets.

After assuming the caliphate, the first issue that

Hazrat Abu Bakr faced was whether to send
the expedition to Syria or not.

This was because, before the demise of Prophet

(SAW), he had commanded to do so but the
circumstances altered following his death.

At this stage, he was recommended not to do so but

he still sent the expedition under Usamah who
returned victoriously.

The apostasy Movement:

Various tribes apostatized against the authorities of

Islam. To meet the challenge, Hazrat Abu Bakr
divided his army into eleven battalions and placed
each under an experienced commander.

He asked them to first invite them to Islam but if

they refused, the action was to be taken.

Similarly, some tribes asked Hazrat Abu Bakr to

release them from the obligation of paying Zakat
because they considered Islam to be
an agreement with the Prophet (PBUH).

Hazrat Abu Bakr took a firm stance against them

and he was successful in restoring law and order in
only a year.

Compilation of the Holy Quran:

The protection and preservation of the divine book,

the Quran, was also a service of Hazrat Abu Bakr.
On the insistence of Hazrat Umar, he appointed a
committee under Zaid bin Thabit to compile the
Quran. In this way, the Quran was preserved for the
upcoming generations.

He died at the age of 61 in 13 A.H on Tuesday.

Hazrat Umar ibn al Khattab:

Hazrat Umar became the second caliph of Islam in

accordance with the will of Hazrat Abu Bakr.

Logo showing Umar in Urdu

Important Battles during the Caliphate of Hazrat

Umar:

➢ Battle of Jasr (Bridge):

It was a battle between the Persians and the

Muslims. The two forces met on the command
of Bahman (an experienced commander). The
Muslims numbered nine thousand in number
against a larger force.

The Euphrates river was between the two forces.

The leader of the Muslims force, Abu Ubaidah
decided to cross the river against the advice of his
fellows.

When Muslims crossed the Euphrates, they found

themselves at a disadvantage. The land
was uneven and the Muslim force could not
withstand the attacks of Persians who were be
seated on Elephants.

Meanwhile, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah got knocked

out by an elephant and the command was taken by
his brother.
His brother was also martyred and the command
was taken by the son of Abu Ubaidah who was also
martyred. At this critical stage, Muslims tried to
cross the Bridge but a man of Banu Thaqeef broke
it.

Mussana took the command and ordered the

rebuilding of the bridge. The Muslims suffered a
great loss. Only three thousand soldiers survived.
The rest were killed and some fled away.

➣ Fall of Jerusalem:

The Muslims under Hazrat Umar conquered a lot of

places and soon they reached Jerusalem that was
strongly fortified and thus was protected by deep
ditches.

The Muslim army of twenty thousand laid siege and

due to the severity of winter, the commander of the
opponent force escaped.

The patriarch of Jerusalem decided to surrender

peacefully and Hazrat Umar went to Jerusalem to
sign the treaty. After this, he offered prayer where
Prophet Daud used to pray.
➢ Conquest of Egypt:

Amr bin Aas under the command of Hazrat Umar

laid siege at Fustat with his four thousand troops
and conquered it. The Muslims then advanced
towards Alexandria where they met a force of fifty
thousand. The Muslims laid siege accordingly.
When the Roman emperor died, Muslims intensified
their attacks and conquered Egypt because the
Romans were deprived of reinforcements.

Administration of Hazrat Umar:

⇨ Following the example of the Prophet (SAW) and

Hazrat Abu Bakr of consulting the companions,
Hazrat Umar established Majlis-e-Shoora, Majlis-
e-Aam (a larger body) and Majlis-e-
Khas (comprising only the emigrants) for the same
purpose.

⇨ He made new laws, rules, and regulations in

accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah. He
divided the state into provinces (under a Wali) and
further divided provinces into districts (under an
Amil).

The selection for all posts was based upon

consultation and the Wali’s and Amil’s were
summoned if a complaint was received. Moreover,
they were required to give an undertaking for
their assets to check whether they have caused
corruption or not.

⇨ Hazrat Umar introduced new taxes such as on

the ownership of horses and agricultural produce
(Ushr).

Similarly, he made new institutes such as for

education, police, and others. The institute of
finance was given the name, Dewan. After meeting
the budget of the state, the excess money was
distributed among the people.

⇨ Hazrat Umar was very concerned about the

welfare of his troops. However, in the case of
negligence in the work, he punished them.

He ordered them to live away from busy areas,

in cantonments.

⇨ He sent teachers to various parts of the Islamic

empire to teach them the Quran and Sunnah and
introduced the concept of old-age pension.

Death: Hazrat Umar was attacked with a poisonous

dagger by Abu Lu Lu (Firoz). He managed to
survive for some days. He was buried by the side of
Prophet (SAW).

Hazrat Usman:

Elections:

On his death bed, Hazrat Umar appointed a panel

of six people to choose a caliph from amongst
them. The six people were:
1. Hazrat Ali
2. Hazrat Usman ibn Affan
3. Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqas
4. Hazrat Abdul Rahman bin Auf
5. Hazrat Talha
6. Hazrat Zubair
The choice came to Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Usman.
Hazrat Usman answered the questions of Hazrat
Abd Rahman bin Auf (the arbitrator) in
an affirmative tone as compared to Hazrat Ali.

Therefore, Hazrat Usman became the third caliph

of Islam who made the Ummayad dynasty prosper!

Hazrat Usman in Urdu

➔ The opposition faced by Hazrat Usman:

➪ He was accused of appointing his relatives as

governors. This was untrue.

At that time, there were twelve provinces and

Hazrat Usman had appointed his relatives in only
four provinces.

This was not because he wanted to give high posts

to his relatives but because he wanted good
administration of these provinces.

His relatives were governors of Syria, Egypt, Kufa,

and Basra. They conquered the whole of North
Africa and conducted successful campaigns in Fars,
Seestan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Thus, these
obligations were false.

➪ Moreover, he was also accused of not

having control over his governors.
The truth was that he wanted his governors to enjoy
the freedom and therefore, he did not adopt a strict
attitude.

➪ Hazrat Usman burned copies of the Quran that

had the wrong dialect and sent copies of the
Quran that was prepared in the time of Hazrat Abu
Bakr. Thus, he saved the Muslims from differences
but the mischief-mongers accused him.

Death:

The rebels surrounded the house of Hazrat Usman

and killed him while he was reading the Quran.

Propaganda was set against Hazrat Usman that he

had ordered the killing of Muhammad bin Abu Bakr.
Hazrat Usman did not want to shed Muslim blood.
Therefore, he did not take any action against the
rebels.

The Holy Prophet predicted his martyrdom. His first

few drops of blood dropped on verse 137 of Surah
Baqarah:

“And Allah will be sufficient for you against

them; for He is all-hearing, all-knowing.” (2:137)

Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib:

Elections:

The Egyptian group favoured Hazrat Ali to be

the caliph. The group from Kufa favoured Hazrat
Talha bin Ubaidullah while the group from Basra
favoured Hazrat Zubair.

Rightly Guided Caliphs

After discussions and negotiations in the

mosque of the Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Ali was
chosen as the caliph because he was brave,
pious, honest and close to the Prophet
(PBUH).

Hazrat Ali promised to punish the assassins of

Hazrat Usman but he knew that first, he had to
establish himself as the ruler.

Battle of Camel (Jamal):

The prominent companions such as Hazrat

Talha and Hazrat Zubair and the wife of Prophet
(SAW), Hazrat Ayesha raised a force of 3000-
5000 troops because they were not happy that
Hazrat Ali was not taking actions against the
assassins of Hazrat Usman.

Hazrat Ali raised a force of 10,000 troops but

both sides tried to avoid war. However, the
mischief-makers on both sides started the war.

Hazrat Ali came out victorious. Hazrat Talha and

Hazrat Zubair were killed while Hazrat Ayesha
was respectfully escorted home.

Battle of Siffin:

It was fought between Hazrat Ali and Muawiya.

Muawiya raised a force of 65,000 against the

force of 90,000 of Hazrat Ali. Muawiya
condemned Hazrat Ali by displaying the blood-
stained clothes of Hazrat Usman.

Hazrat Ali fully tried to avoid the war but the war
hastened. The side of Hazrat Ali took a clear
advantage until Muawiya ordered his troops to
tie the pages of the Quran on the lances.

Due to this, the fighting was forced to stop on

both sides.

To conclude, Hazrat Ali spent most of the time

in dealing with the problems inherited due to the
caliphate of Hazrat Usman.
Death:

Hazrat Ali was attacked by Abdul Rahman ibn

Muljim. Though Hazrat Ali managed to survive for
some days but succumbed to wounds, he passed
away in 661 A.D.