The Rightly Guided Caliphate

This book: Muslims have traditionally viewed the era of the Rashidun Caliphate as the perfect complement to the era of Prophethood, and the combined two eras as the central axis upon which all Islamic history revolves. It is also considered the ideal or normative period from which they should draw inspiration, principles, and reach broad humanistic horizons in every age. This book attempts to present an objective and balanced picture of this era, which is unanimously regarded by researchers and historians as an exceptional case that has not been repeated in Muslim history, except rarely and in exceptional cases, despite it lasting barely three decades. It is divided into four chapters, in which we aimed to cover the different aspects of the political, military, and cultural experience of the Rashidun, with brevity and focus, avoiding detailed minutiae that might exhaust the reader and hinder the formation of a comprehensive and clear overall picture of this era. The first chapter: "The Authority of the Caliphate in the Era of the Rashidun: Its Origins and Succession," deals with the various methods through which power was transferred during this period among the four caliphs, along with an explanation of the historical circumstances surrounding this process. The second chapter: "The Rashidun State from Unity to Division," discusses three significant events that had the greatest impact on the political course of the Rashidun state: the deployment of the army of Usama bin Zaid, the suppression of the Ridda movement, and the Great Fitna. The third chapter: "From State to Empire: The Movement of Islamic Conquest in the Era of the Rashidun," outlines the general features of that major military movement that launched after the suppression of the apostates and the reunification of the Arabian Peninsula, transforming the Islamic state into a great empire. The fourth and final chapter: "Features of Political Organization and Civilizational Construction in the Era of the Rashidun," provides a brief discussion of the system of governance and administration, the judicial system, the economic and financial system, construction and urban development, and scientific activity during the Rashidun era.