page_title: Rashidun Caliphate
section_title: Political administration
hierarchical_section_title: Rashidun Caliphate / Political administration
caption_attribution_description: English: View from the east, looking towards [Green Dome] with Minaret of as-Salam Gate in the background, Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina Saudi Arabia العربية: المسجد النبوي في المدينة المنورة، المملكة العربية السعودية فارسی: مسجد النبی در مدینه عربستان سعودی
context_page_description: The Rashidun Caliphate was the first of the four major caliphates established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his death in 632 CE. These caliphs are collectively known in Sunni Islam as the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided" caliphs. This term is not widely used in Shia Islam as Shia Muslims do not consider the rule of the first three caliphs as legitimate.
  The Rashidun Caliphate is characterized by a twenty-five year period of rapid military expansion, followed by a five-year period of internal strife.
  The Rashidun Army at its peak numbered more than 100,000 men. By the 650s, the caliphate in addition to the Arabian Peninsula had subjugated the Levant, to the Transcaucasus in the north; North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west; and the Iranian plateau to parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the east.
  The caliphate arose out of the death of Muhammad in 632 CE and the subsequent debate over the succession to his leadership. Abu Bakr, a close companion of Muhammad from the Banu Taym clan, was elected the first Rashidun leader and began the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula.
context_section_description: The basic administrative system of the Dar al-Islamiyyah (The House of Islam) was laid down in the days of Muhammad. Caliph Abu Bakr stated in his sermon when he was elected: "If I order any thing that would go against the order of Allah and his Messenger; then do not obey me". This is considered to be the foundation stone of the Caliphate.
  Caliph Umar has been reported to have said: "O Muslims, straighten me with your hands when I go wrong", and at that instance a Muslim man stood up and said "O Amir al-Mu'minin (Leader of the Believers) if you are not straightened by our hands we will use our sword to straighten you!". Hearing this Caliph Umar said "Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) I have such followers."
caption: Al-Masjid an-Nabawi at Medinah, the empire's first capital, in the Hijaz, Arabian Peninsula (present-day Saudi Arabia), 2008
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