What is a caliphate?

A caliph is a successor in the leadership of the Muslim community after Muhammad. Sunni Muslims count Abu Bakr as the first. Shia Muslims hold that leadership belonged to Ali and his descendants. The Ottoman sultans’ claim to the title was abolished on 3 March 1924.

Key points

• Britannica on Sunni Islam says Sunnis recognize the first four caliphs. The Shi‘ah, it says, hold that leadership belonged to Ali and his descendants.
• Newman’s Shi‘i article says the earliest sources agree Muhammad did not formally designate a successor on his deathbed, and that the community chose Abu Bakr.
• The same article follows that choice through Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and then Muawiya.
• Britannica on Atatürk says: “The caliphate was abolished on March 3, 1924 (since the early 16th century, the Ottoman sultans had laid claim to the title of caliph of the Muslims).”
• The disagreement is set out, without a verdict, on What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam?.

Successor to Muhammad

Muhammad died in Medina on 8 June 632. How did Muhammad die? Someone had to lead the community he left. Sunni Muslims say the community rightly chose Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali. Shia Muslims say Ali was the one who should have led, and that the line continues in his descendants.

What do Sunni Muslims believe? What do Shia Muslims believe?

The office ends in Turkey

The quotation from Itzkowitz’s Britannica article is the date this page uses for the end of the Ottoman claim:

The caliphate was abolished on March 3, 1924 (since the early 16th century, the Ottoman sultans had laid claim to the title of caliph of the Muslims).

That sentence is about the Turkish republic and the Ottoman title. It is not a history of every state that has used the word since.

The Christian claim

The church does not have a caliph. Christians confess Jesus as Lord and God. John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version The Trinity The Sunni and Shia arguments about Abu Bakr and Ali are stated on the comparison page. This page does not choose between them.

Frequently asked questions

Is a caliph a prophet?

No. Both branches call Muhammad the prophet. The caliph, or the imam in Shia teaching, is the leader after him. Qur’an 33:40Muḥammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allāh and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets. And ever is Allāh, of all things, Knowing.Qur’an 33:40 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ calls Muhammad the seal of the prophets.

When did the first disagreement happen?

Immediately after the death in 632, on the question of a successor. What is the history of Islam?

Did the caliphate last until 1924 without a break?

The Ottoman sultans laid claim to the title from the early sixteenth century, in the sentence quoted above. This page does not stitch the centuries between Ali and the Ottomans into one unbroken office. Those years are not in the sourced timeline. What is the history of Islam?