The Rightly-Guided Caliphs (Rashidun)

Overview

الخلافة الراشدة

Main periods

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq ﵁

And then there will be a rightly guided khilafah..

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ﵁

ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan ﵁

ʿAli ibn Abi Talib ﵁

Key events

• Abu Bakr ﵁ before the khilafah
• Saqifah of Banu Saʿidah and the first baiʿah
• The public baiʿah and the first khutbah of Abu Bakr ﵁
• The expedition of Usama ibn Zayd ﵁ carried through
• The Ridda begins, Abu Bakr ﵁'s stance on the zakat
• Khalid ﵁ against Banu Asad & Ghatafan (+ death of Fatimah ﵂)
• Battle of al-Yamamah and the fall of Musaylimah the Liar
• Compilation of the Mushaf (Zayd ibn Thabit ﵁)
• Governance, bait al-mal, humility and poverty
• Ridda in Bahrain, Oman, Mahra and Yemen
• Battle of the Chains (Dhāt al-Salāsil)
• Khalid ﵁'s Iraqi campaign, Ubullah & Madāʾin Kisra
• The Hajj of 12 AH
• Biographical portrait, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ﵁
• ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs ﵁ to Syria, Ajnadayn & Marj as-Suffar
• The death of Abu Bakr ﵁ and the appointment of ʿUmar ﵁
• Bayʿah of ʿUmar ﵁, Abu Bakr ﵁'s nomination and public bayʿah
• First khutbah & the title "Amir al-Muʾminin"
• Governance, justice and humility: the woollen cloak and nightly patrols
• Further conquests: Damascus, Hims, Saʿd ﵁ in Iraq
• Battle of Yarmuk
• Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
• Fall of Madāʾin Kisra (Ctesiphon) & division of the treasure
• Establishment of the Hijri calendar
• Expansion of Masjid al-Haram and Masjid an-Nabawi
• Fall of Jerusalem, the Umariyya pact and khutbah al-Jabiyyah
• Founding of Kufa and Basra
• Year of Ashes (Ramadah) and the Plague of Amwas
• Conquest of Egypt: ʿAmr ﵁, the Babylon fortress and Alexandria
• Establishment of the Diwan / stipend register
• Expulsion of non-Muslims from the Hijaz (Najran and Khaybar)
• Battle of Nahavand, Fath al-Futuh
• The last Hajj of ʿUmar ﵁ (23 AH)
• Martyrdom of ʿUmar ﵁, Abu Luʾluʾa
• Bayʿah of ʿUthman ﵁ — Shura of Six & Public Bayʿah
• Shura of Six & the Selection of ʿUthman ﵁
• First Khutbah & the Year of the Nosebleeds
• Administration and Governors — Saʿd → Walid → Saʿid → Marwan → ʿAmr (25–33 AH)
• Expansion of the Masjid al-Haram & Masjid an-Nabawi under ʿUthman ﵁
• Conquest of Cyprus & the First Islamic Fleet
• Battle of Sbeitla & the Conquest of Ifriqiya
• Continuation of the Conquests — Khurasan, Sijistan, Armenia, Darabjird (28–31 AH)
• The Compilation of the Mushaf of ʿUthman ﵁
• Prosperity, Distribution of Spoils & Criticism of Wealth Distribution
• The burning of divergent codices
• The banishment of Abu Dharr ﵁ to Rabadha
• Buildup of the Fitna & the First Uprising (33–34 AH)
• Battle of Dhat al-Sawari — The Battle of the Masts
• Siege of the house of ʿUthman ﵁ (Dhul-Hijjah 35 AH)
• The Martyrdom and Biographical Sketch of ʿUthman ﵁
• The pledge of allegiance to ʿAli ﵁
• First administration and replacement of governors
• Conflict with Talha ﵁, Zubayr ﵁ and Aisha ﵂
• The Battle of the Camel
• The relocation of the capital to Kufa
• Negotiations with Muʿawiya ﵁
• The Battle of Siffin
• The martyrdom of ʿAmmar ibn Yasir ﵁ at Siffin
• The Arbitration and the First Fitna
• The rise of the Khawarij
• The Battle of Nahrawan
• The loss of Egypt and the death of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ﵁
• The final years and governance
• Martyrdom and legacy

Frequently asked questions

What does 'Rashidun' mean?

'Rashidun' (الراشدون) is Arabic for 'the rightly guided'. The term refers to the first four caliphs after the Prophet ﷺ, namely Abu Bakr ﵁, Umar ﵁, Uthman ﵁ and Ali ﵁, who according to Sunni tradition governed in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet. Their era is regarded as the ideal of just Islamic governance: a mirror in which every generation can weigh its own leadership.

Who were the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs?

The four were Abu Bakr as-Siddiq ﵁ (632–634), Umar ibn al-Khattab ﵁ (634–644), Uthman ibn Affan ﵁ (644–656) and Ali ibn Abi Talib ﵁ (656–661). All belonged to the closest Companions of the Prophet ﷺ; three of them were also his father-in-law or son-in-law. Their characters differed greatly, from gentle to unbending, from deliberate to fearless, yet their devotion to a single purpose made them together the foundation of the Islamic state.

When did the Rashidun Caliphate begin and end?

The Rashidun Caliphate began on the day the Prophet ﷺ passed away in June 632 CE (11 AH), when Abu Bakr ﵁ was chosen as caliph, and ended in January 661 CE (40 AH) with the martyrdom of Ali ﵁ in Kufa. It therefore lasted just under 30 years. Three of the four caliphs died by assassination, a bitter reminder that even the purest era of Islam was not free of trial.

Which conquests took place under the Rightly-Guided Caliphs?

Under Abu Bakr ﵁ the Riddah wars were won and the campaigns in Syria and Iraq began. Umar ﵁ conquered Jerusalem (637), Damascus, Ctesiphon and Egypt. Uthman ﵁ expanded into North Africa, Cyprus and parts of Iran. Under Ali ﵁ the conquests came to a halt amid internal fitna. Within a single generation the Islamic realm stretched from Medina to Libya and Khorasan, an expansion that astonishes historians to this day.

Why are they called 'rightly guided'?

The term comes from a hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me.' (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi.) The four are so named because, according to Sunni scholars, they remained faithful to the teachings and example of the Prophet ﷺ. Their righteousness is measured not in military success but in their willingness to suffer personally for public justice.