What did a caliph do?
The Caliph was the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari’a.It is a transliterated version of the Arabic word خليفة Khalīfah (help·info) which means “successor” or “representative”. The early leaders of the Muslim nation following Muhammad’s (570–632) death were called “Khalifat Rasul Allah”, meaning the political successors to the messenger of God (referring to Muhammad). The question of who should succeed Muhammad was not the only issue that faced the early Muslims; they also had to clarify the extent of the leader’s powers. Muhammad, during his lifetime, was not only the Muslim political leader, but the Islamic prophet. All law and spiritual practice proceeded from Muhammad. Nobody claimed that his successor would be a prophet; succession referred to political authority. The uncertainty centered on the extent of that authority. Muhammad’s revelations claim to be directly from God, were soon codified an
