By Kenneth Martin

The UnHoly Trio

(Mahdi) Usama Bin Laden or Sadam Hussein, Or A Person Like Them, and Two Muslim Clerics, One Sunni and The Other Shiite

The Beast and The False Prophet

The Beast, I have went to great effort to describe in The "CD Revealed" Already. The Beast I described is Sequential,    Muhammad-Allah-Muslim (Mahdi). The Mahdi I don't believe will have 666 the number of his name because Muhammad and Allah are 666 the number of their names in Greek. But it is possible since Muhammad and Allah surprisingly were both 666 the way I spelled them. Muhammad was Allah, he was the copy of Jesus for Satan. Christians All know Jesus United God and Man in One Body, Jesus. Satan did this also using Muhammad. Muhammad didn't know how to read or write so therefore would not know how to correctly spell his name either. Muslims today spell Muhammad 10,000 different ways when they have their own Muslim name. The way I spell his name it still sounds about the same way, using "o's" in his name. And Allah has a silent "d" at the end or adds 2 a's.

Mahdi (Beast 666)

The man Christians are looking to show up on the world scene known as the Beast 666, will be a war leader of Muslims, and that Muslims mostly all believe is the Mahdi. He will have already attacked the Great Satan ( United States) or is well thought of as a war leader that will be successful to do it. The Muslims Call this same man, Mahdi. There are two people only in the world today that qualify for the Mahdi that I know of, Sadam Hussein and Usama Bin Laden. Usama Bin Laden is probably the Beast 666 man that will become the last Caliphate and be Mahdi to the Muslim World, or one like him.

False Prophet

In the "CD Revealed" I explained the False Prophet and my second dream and the meaning I understood. I have just realized that in the dream I heard this, Who would ever have believed the Beast would have split in half, in two parts. I have just realized that Muslims are divided into two main beliefs, Sunni and Shiite. Sunni about 80% of Muslims, are the majority of the two. The False Prophet of Two Horns will be Two Clerics, One a Cleric Leader of Sunni, and The other a Cleric Leader of Shiite.

Muslims in the 10 Muslim Countries are separated by more than one way. They live in different countries and they are from one country or the other. They are now separated by two different forms of government while also in that different country adding to the problem. They are also raised different in different countries. But the one thing that is closest to them is their belief in Islam. There are only two main beliefs in the Entire Muslim World, Sunni and Shiite, and they are the same regardless of what country or government they have. That is why the False Prophet has two Horns. The Cleric of each belief will be the Cleric that they all have a confidence in, in his belief. When The Sunni Cleric and Shiite Cleric Unite they then fall in behind the Caliphate, they will follow. Then they Unite the Ten Muslim Countries to Rule The World

( Attempt To Rule The World)

The UnHoly Trio

Usama Bin Laden (If He's The Beast Guy) will meet with the Two Clerics (Muslim Religious Leaders, One Sunni, One Shiite) and Form The Agreement. Usama Bin Laden Will become Caliphate and The Two Clerics will lead a United Muslim World. The 10 Horns ( Ten Muslim Countries) Will Unite Behind The Trio, To Take over the world. The One Billion Muslims already waiting for the call, they then move to take the Earth for Allah.

Why Now?

Because of the Increased pressure of The Great Satan (United States) in Iraq and the never ending problem of Israel and Israel holding the Temple Mount where the Dome Of The Rock is.

7 Year Peace Agreement

When The Trio and 10 Countries Unite then Israel will be forced to make an agreement with Muslims.

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Muslim Cleric

http://www.singerfoundation.org/Current%20Contests/Essay%20Contests%202001-2002/Terrorism/Salem/samantha.htm

Salem High School
Salem, MO
Teacher: Mr. Hendricks
Samantha Pyatt

Q6- What reasons does the author give for the intense hatred of the United States by people like Osama bin Ladn?

The author says that people like Osama “believe in only one type of government, a caliphate”, which is “led by a Muslim cleric who provides not only absolute moral authority but political authority as well”.

    Q7- How does rule by divine right preclude the reasoned debate that occurs naturally in a democracy?

            Divine right is the “God given right to rule”.  This goes against the fundamental meaning of democracy because in democracy the people vote and choose their rulers.

Q8- What evidence does the author offer that the terrorism visited upon the United States on September 11, 2001 was based on religious rather than political fanaticism?

The author says that Osama and his followers “believe that the only legitimate form of government is a caliphate led by a Muslim cleric who provides not only absolute moral authority but political authority as well”. The author also says that Osama and his people believe that “governments headed by non-Islamic laypeople are innately heretical, and they feel it their duty to change this situation, much as the Taliban are doing in Afghanistan”. 

 

Q9- What is a fatwah?

A fatwah is an “explicit religious order”.

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MAHDI



End of Times.net

... Mahdi will own the entire world. (Kitab-ul Burhan fi-Alamet-il Mahdiyy-il Ahir Zaman, p. 10). ... (El Kavlu’l Muhtasar Fi Alamat-il Mahdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 56). ...
www.endoftimes.net/

THE PROPHET SULAYMAN WAS GIVEN AN UNPRECEDENTED SKILL
THE PROPHET SULAYMAN WAS TAUGHT HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH BIRDS THE PROPHET SULAYMAN COMMUNICATES WITH A FEMALE ANT

GOOD NEWS FOR THE ENDTIMES
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MAHDI’S TIME AND THE TIMES OF THE PROPHETS SULAYMAN AND
DHU’L-QARNAYN

Mahdi’s Worldwide Rule
Mahdi’s Rare and Noble Knowledge Bestowed Upon the Prophets Sulayman And Dhu’l-Qarnayn

Their Love for Animals
Their Support for Peace and Preference for Diplomacy
Their resolution to urge people to religious morality and their quick action
Importance Placed on Construction Projects
Their Using Wealth and Splendor for Islam’s Benefit and Allah’s Blessing


SIGNS FROM THE PROPHET SULAYMAN’S LIFE

THE PROPHET SULAYMAN WAS GIVEN AN UNPRECEDENTED SKILL

Sulayman said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and give me a kingdom the like of which will never be granted to anyone after me.Truly You are the Ever-Giving.’
(Surah Sad: 35)

Allah responded to the Prophet Sulayman’s prayers by giving him great blessings and knowledge. Allah bestowed upon him a magnificent dominion and powerful authority. In the verses of the Qur’an telling of the Prophet Sulayman’s life many details are offered about his wealth, authority and the way in which he used his knowledge.

THE PROPHET SULAYMAN WAS TAUGHT HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH BIRDS

Allah taught the Prophet Sulayman the language of birds, and he used this knowledge to form a division of his army where only this bird language was spoken. The Prophet Sulayman communicated with birds and ruled them they way he saw fit. This situation occurred as a result of Allah’s compassion. Sulayman was Dawud’s heir. He said, ‘Mankind! we have been taught the speech of birds and we have been given everything. This is indeed clear favour.’ (Surat an-Naml: 16)

We can derive important conclusions from this account.

- Birds have a special way of communicating with each other on a frequency beyond the range of human hearing. The Prophet Sulayman was given a special skill which allowed him to understand this language. This might have happened through a technological innovation.

- Using this skill (understanding communication in different frequencies), the Prophet Sulayman gave orders to the birds, so they might have fulfilled his orders. (Allah knows what is best.)

- The Prophet Sulayman used birds sometimes to send news and sometimes to collect intelligence, and this method was very successful. His knowledge made it easier for him to communicate with other countries and effectively brought distant lands within his reach. Birds lack vocal cords. In order to produce sounds, birds send vibrations into their voice box (syrinx). The more muscles are connected to this box, the wider variety of sounds the bird can produce. For example, nightingales have a great many muscles connected to their voice box, and so can produce a multitude of different sounds. Communication is very important for birds, especially in environments where visibility is limited such as forests, fields and swamps. Birds communicate with each other by making sounds that resemble singing, screaming, tapping or drum-like noises. Each bird species has its own distinctive songs, and some species have more than a dozen. Others can imitate the songs of other species or even those of people.

- The below verse might be drawing our attention to technological advances that will be used in the endtimes. Perhaps it is actually speaking not of birds, but rather of unmanned aircraft in use today.


...And He creates other things you do not know.
(Surat an-Nahl: 8)


- The Prophet Sulayman also placed transmitters on the birds to receive intelligence about his enemies. This way he obtained both audio and visual records, which he used in many different ways in ruling his nation.

- The Prophet Sulayman also had great control over jinns and devils. In the verse 12 of the Surah Saba , Allah said, “And some of the jinn worked in front of him by his Lord’s permission. ...” Verse 82 of the Surat al-Anbiya also says, “And some of the shaytans dived for him and did other things apart from that. And We were watching over them.” If we think about this aspect, the birds might symbolize an army of jinns.

THE LANGUAGE WHICH BIRDS USE TO COMMUNICATE
Birds have their own language, and they use their voices in a very specialized manner. Birds communicate by using frequencies such as the UV-A wavelength. We cannot perceive these sounds as their frequencies are beyond the range of our hearing. Birds are able to recognize their offspring, parents and mates through the distinctive voices of each. They use this language to tell other birds to flock together and warn each other about various threats. They are able to very quickly change their communication frequencies to convey information.


- Another possibility is that the birds mentioned in this verse are led by jinns. The Prophet Sulayman might have commanded birds and made them perform all sorts of tasks through using jinns.

- Allah made the Qur’an, the holy book of mankind until Doomsday. Thus, incidents similar to those related in the Prophet Sulayman’s account might occur in the endtimes. These verses might signal to us that during the endtimes, Allah might place sheytans and jinns at humanity’s beck and call. This story might also be meant to tell us that humanity will use and benefit greatly from advanced technology in the
endtimes. (Allah knows what is best.)
 

Ultrasonic and transonic sounds are beyond the range of the human ear. Many birds, insects, rodents, rats, dogs, cats and raccoons can hear these very high frequencies and thus communicate with each other. However, people are unable to hear these sounds and so cannot understand the communication taking place among other creatures. But these verses tell us that Allah gave the Prophet Sulayman the knowledge and technology to interpret these sounds.

THE PROPHET SULAYMAN COMMUNICATES WITH A FEMALE ANT

They finally arrived in an ant valley. A female ant said: “Ants! enter your dwellings so that Sulayman and his troops do not crush you unwittingly.” (Surah an-Naml: 18)

This verse can be interpreted in the following ways:

- The female ant understood that those coming into the valley were the Prophet Sulayman’s army. Such a recognition is highly aware. The ants in this valley talk to each other and are fully conscious of what is happening around them. Therefore these ants might be a completely different society. This conscious act makes us think that they could actually be jinns. (Allah knows what is best.)

- Moreover, here we are talking not about just any ant. These are the ants that live in the Ant Valley. This makes it more likely that they are in fact jinns.

Everything in the heavens and every creature on the earth prostrates to Allah, as do the angels. They are not puffed up with pride. They fear their Lord above them and do everything they are ordered to do. (Surat an-Nahl: 49-50)

(Sulayman) smiled, laughing at its words, and said, “My Lord, keep me thankful for the blessing You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and keep me acting rightly, pleasing You, and admit me, by Your mercy, among Your slaves who are salihun.” (Surat an-Naml: 19)

MAHDI

GOOD NEWS FOR THE ENDTIMES

This dominion over the world that occurred during the lives of the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn is good news indeed for all the Muslims of the world. These stories contain significant signs for the endtimes. Truly, Muslims who carefully preserve Allah’s limits, work hard to spread Islamic morality worldwide and refuse to shrink in the face of hardships will prevail in all eras of history. Allah will always be behind them with His help and support. The Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn , due to their above-mentioned abilities (and of course many other blessings of Allah), exercised a strong dominion in the world. This same dominion will certainly happen during the endtimes.

The great dominion of Islamic morality, as we earlier emphasized, was defined through some similar incidents during the dominion of the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn . Some of these are as follows:

Mahdi (the rightly guided) will rule the world like the Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the Prophet Sulayman. (El Kavlul Muhtasar Fi Alamatil Mahdiy-il Muntazar, p. 29)

The Earth has four kings. Two of them are from believers, the Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the Prophet Sulayman. The other two are from the nonbelievers Nemrut and Buhtunnasr. The fifth king to rule the world will be from the people of the House (ahli bayt). In other words, Mahdi will be the ruler. (Mektubat-i Rabbani, 2/1163)

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MAHDI’S TIME AND THE TIMES OF THE PROPHETS SULAYMAN AND DHU’L-QARNAYN

Mahdi is the rebirth of noble ethics of the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn in the endtimes, but on a different and larger scale. Spiritual, rational, social and mental manifestations of the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn ’s noble ethics will reappear in the endtimes.

The eras of Mahdi and the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn are times when noble Islamic morality is practiced widely on earth. Allah praises all three of these eras. The Qur’an also discusses the periods of Buhtunasr, Nemrut and Pharaoh, which are times of wickedness and unbelief. Immediately after these evil periods, Allah made Islamic morality prevail. Similarly, our Lord will offer a time ruled by Islamic morality in the endtimes. This is called the Golden Age.

This Golden Age will be a grander reflection of the Prophet Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn ’s times. In other words, Mahdi means the prevalence of peace, happiness, love, brotherhood, graciousness, sacrifice, humane behavior and the spirit of cooperation.

Here are some examples of the similarities between the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn ’s times and the Golden Age.

Mahdi’s Worldwide Rule

As was stated earlier, the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn made Islamic morality rule the world. They ruled wide territories and possessed very powerful armed forces. This shows a similarity to the endtimes.

During the Golden Age, Islamic morality will also rule the world. People will convert to Islam in great numbers, while ideologies that deny Allah will wither away and Islam will be practiced as it was in the time of our Prophet Mohammed. Some of the stories describe the Golden Age as follows:

Mahdi will own the entire world. (Kitab-ul Burhan fi-Alamet-il Mahdiyy-il Ahir Zaman, p. 10)

Mahdi will invade all the places between East and West. (El Kavlu’l Muhtasar Fi Alamat-il Mahdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 56)

Mahdi’s Rare and Noble Knowledge Bestowed Upon the Prophets Sulayman And Dhu’l-Qarnayn

Earlier we mentioned about the knowledge Allah bestowed upon the Prophet Sulayman. Through the grace of Allah, he ruled jinns and devils, spoke with the birds, heard the communication of ants, and used wind and copper as he wished. Each one of these skills separates the Prophet Sulayman from ordinary people. An account in the Qur’an about the Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn says,Our knowledge encompasses all that happened to him. (Surah Kahf: 91) The Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn was one of the people blessed by knowledge.

Mahdi will also have certain special skills like those given to these two blessed figures. In his book entitled Mevzuatu’s ulum (11/246), Taskopruluzade Ahmet Efendi wrote that Mahdi will possess the science of Cifr. Another story says about Mahdi:

He is called Mahdi because he is given guidance for a situation unknown to anyone. (Kitab-ul Burhan Fi Alamet-il Mahdiyy-il Ahir Zaman, p. 77)

Our Prophet Mohammed said that Mahdi will understand the language of animals just like the Prophet Sulayman and again just like him, Mahdi will have dominion over people and jinns.

Mahdi is a person who speaks the language of birds and other animals. Therefore his justice will manifest itself over all people and jinns. (Signs of the Endtimes, p. 188)

Their Love for Animals

The Qur’an gives us important information through its account of the Prophet Sulayman’s love and affection for animals. Earlier, we had told about his love for horses and his taking care not to hurt ants.

During the Golden Age, love for animals will be encouraged. In stories about the Prophet Mohammed, it says that during the Golden Age, there will be environments in which every animal can be seen, touched and petted. Some of these stories are:

... He will say to the sheep to go to the pasture and eat, the animals will pass through the crops but will not eat even a single stalk of wheat. Snakes and scorpions will not hurt anyone, and wild animals will sit at our doors but not harm anyone. (Signs of the Endtimes, p. 245)

Snakes will get along with children, cows will get along with lions. (El Kavlu’l Muhtasar, p. 64)

As we can see from these accounts, another similarity between the Golden Age and Sulayman’s era is dominion over the animals. The Prophet Sulayman established dominion over various animals, especially birds. Similarly, in the Golden Age, there will be such a dominion over even wild animals that they will not pose any threat to people.


Our Word was given before to Our slaves, the Messengers, that they would certainly be helped. It is Our army which will be victorious. (Surat as-Saffat : 171 173)


Their Support for Peace and Preference for Diplomacy

We stressed earlier that the Prophet Sulayman was very peace loving, tolerant and forgiving in his relations with neighboring countries. He preferred to solve problems through diplomacy and used democratic means. The Prophet Sulayman, during his time, created a very superior culture and strengthened his dominion through diplomacy, art and culture. Despite his irresistible, overwhelmingly powerful armies, he never used his military power. The Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn was also known as the
“person who prevents strife and disorder.” He was a leader who brought peace and calm to people. Therefore the times of the Prophets Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn look strikingly similar to the Golden Age.

In the Golden Age, people will become Muslims out of their own will, and Islamic morality will prevail the world over without any wars. The stories about this age say:

No one will be woken up from their sleep, no one will have a bleeding nose.
(El Kavlu’s Muhtasar Fi Alamatil Mahdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 42)

Mahdi will follow the way of the Prophet, he will not wake up a sleeping person, he will not shed blood. (Signs of the Endtimes, p. 163)

As these stories tell it, Mahdi will bring Islamic morality and peace to the entire world and shun war and violence. Mahdi will work to begin a cultural transformation and lead people towards the moral code of Islam. During that time, with Allah’s permission, the below suras will become evident:

When Allah’s help and victory have arrived and you have seen people entering Allah’s deen in droves, then glorify your Lord’s praise and ask His forgiveness.He is the Ever-Returning. (Surat an-Nasr: 1-3)

Their resolution to urge people to religious morality and their quick action

The Prophet Sulayman’s quick, rational decisions are an important example for all believers. The letters he wrote to the inhabitants of Saba urging them to start believing in God showed his power of communication. His bringing the queen of Saba’s throne by using a knowledgeable person proved his power for quick decision-making. The Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn ’s decision to build a strong wall – so strong that it would last until Doomsday – against the attacks of the Yajuj and Majuj tribes show his power and rationality. The Golden Age will witness very similar events.

During the Golden Age, people will turn their faces to Islam and there will be wide-ranging, sweeping activities toward this end. All societies, one after another, will adopt Islamic morality, and nay-saying  ideologies will be wiped away through quick and lasting action. All cruel systems will be buried in the sands of time. In the words of renowned Islamic theologian Muhyiddin Arabi:

Allah will give so much power to Mahdi, he will remove cruelty from the world overnight , religion will be established, Islam will be revived, Mahdi will restore lost value to it, it will come to life after its apparent demise … Ignorant people, misers and cowards alike will be very knowledgeable, generous and brave.
… They will practice religion as in the time of Prophet Mohammed…. (Muhyiddin Arabi el-Endulusu,  Futuhat-ul Mekkiye, Bab 66, Signs of the Endtimes, p. 186)

Importance Placed on Construction Projects

We knowthat the Prophet Sulayman focused on construction projects. He built towers, statues, bowls and cauldrons by using the jinis and devils who did his bidding. Everybody who saw his splendid palace, especially the queen of Sabac, greatly admired this building. The technology employed during the construction of the wall built by the Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn was so advanced that it cannot be destroyed
save if Allah wills it so.

In the accounts of Prophet Mohammed, we are told that construction works will be important during the Golden Age. During this age, peace, tranquility and a very developed civilization will be brought to cities. One of these stories is as follows:

Mahdi works in the construction of Konstantiniyye and other places. (El Kavlu’l Muhtasar Fi Alamatil
Mahdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 40)

Their Using Wealth and Splendor for Islam’s Benefit and Allah’s Blessing

The Prophet Sulayman used his wealth in the best way to explain Allah’s religion and spread Islamic morality to the world. In the countries he invaded, he first called on people to believe in Allah and salvation. The letter which he sent to Saba inviting her people to Islam is powerful testimony of that. The Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn also had strong dominion, as is seen in this sura: He said, ‘The power my Lord has granted me is better than that. Just give me a strong helping hand and I will build a solid barrier between you and them. (Surah Kahf: 95). He used his great power to prevent disorder on earth.

During the Golden Age, people will enjoy great wealth, prosperity and peace. Mahdi will use all his wealth to spread Allah’s religion to the world, and he will follow noble morality and the dictates of peace in the countries he invades. His unparalleled practices will soften people’s hearts and lead them to Islamic morality, and within a very short time, this morality will rule the world. Some of the accounts concerning
this time are as follows:

There will be a Mahdi among people, Allah will send him to make people rich. People will have comfort and good fortune, animals will have plenty to eat, and the soil will bring forth plants…(Kitab-ul Burhan fi Alamat-il Mahdiyy-il, Endtimes, p. 15)

…..Before allegiance, people will flock to it and everyone who goes there will enjoy the divine plenty. (El Kavlu’l Muhtasar Fi Alamet’I Mahdiyy’il Muntazar, p. 25)

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Caliphate

caliphate , the rulership of Islam; caliph. [kal'if"] , the spiritual head and temporal ruler of the Islamic state. In principle, Islam is theocratic: when Muhammad the Prophet died, a caliph [Arabic,=successor] was chosen to rule in his place. The caliph had temporal and spiritual authority but was not permitted prophetic power; this was reserved for Muhammad. The caliph could not, therefore, exercise authority in matters of religious doctrine. The first caliph was Abu Bakr. He was succeeded by Umar, Uthman, and Ali. Sunni Muslims recognize these first four, or Rashidun (the rightly guided), caliphs. Shiites, however, recognize Ali as the first caliph. After Ali's death, Muawiya became caliph and founded the Umayyad dynasty (661–750), chiefly by force of arms. Its capital was Damascus. In 750 the Abbasid family, descended from the Prophet's uncle, led a coalition that defeated (749–50) the Umayyad family. The Abbasid dynasty (749–1258) is sometimes called the caliphate of Baghdad. One Umayyad, Abd ar-Rahman I, escaped the general massacre of his family and fled to Spain; there the emirate of Córdoba was set up in 780. This later became the caliphate of Córdoba, or the Western caliphate, and persisted until 1031. A third competing contemporaneous caliphate was established by the Fatimids in Africa, Syria, and Egypt (909–1171). After the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols under Hulagu Khan in 1258, the Abbasids fled to Egypt. The Ottomans captured Egypt in 1517 and Selim I assumed the title of caliph by questionable right. The Ottoman sultans, however, kept the title until the last sultan, Muhammad VI, was deposed. He was succeeded briefly by a cousin, but in 1924 the caliphate was abolished by Ataturk. A year later Husayn ibn Ali, king of Arabia, proclaimed himself caliph, but he was forced to abdicate by Ibn Saud. Since then several pan-Islamic congresses have attempted to establish a rightful caliph.

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Caliphate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate

Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam.

Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. It is an Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah ( listen^?) which means "successor", that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad. Some Orientalists wrote the title as Khalîf. The Caliph has often been referred to as Ameer al-Mumineen (أمير المؤمنين), or "Commander of the Faithful". The title has been defunct since 1924. Historically selected by committee, the holder of this title claims temporal and spiritual authority over all Muslims, but is not regarded as a possessor of a prophetic mission, as Muhammad is regarded in Islam as the final prophet.

Modern understandings of the title of Caliph are varied. Some movements in modern Islamic philosophy have emphasized a protective dimension of Islamic leadership and social policy from an understanding of khalifa that equates roughly to "render stewardship" or "protect the same things as God". Many Islamist movements have argued for the necessity of re-establishing the institution of a single office whose occupant, as successor to Muhammad, would possess clear political, military, and legal standing as the global leader of the Muslims. Such an initiative has yet to gather much in the way of practical support in the Muslim world.

The Sunnis identify the first four Caliphs, all close associates of Muhammad, as the '"rightly guided" caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib. It is important to understand, however, that the Sunnis and Shi'as differ profoundly on the critical question of who the first Caliph of Islam should have been, and the subsequent legitimacy all later office holders.

According to Sunni thought, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Muhammad's closest friend and father-in-law, either the first or second male convert, was the legitimate succesor, inasmuch as he was elected into the office of the Caliphate in 632. The Shi'a, on the other hand, believe that legitimate authority belonged to Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali Ibn Abi Talib on the basis of his blood relation to the Prophet himself, and on the belief that he was designated by Muhammad as his successor.

Following the conflict between the Fatimids and the Abbasids, other Muslim rulers began to claim the title of caliph. With the defeat of these peripheral caliphates, the caliphate of the Ottomans began increasingly to be considered the undisputed primary caliphate. Thus, by the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman caliphate represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity.

The rulers of the Ottoman state, however, only rarely used title of khalifa for political purposes. It is known that Mehmed II and his grandson Selim used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries. At a later date, one of the last Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdulhamid II, used it as a tool against the European colonisation and occupation of countries with large Muslim populations.

The last Ottoman (Uthmani) Khilafah title and powers were transferred from the Ottoman family line to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (parliament) on 3rd March 1924, meaning no individual could thereafter possess the title. The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (the Diyanet) still fulfills the duties of the khalifa within Turkey.

In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to restore the Turkish Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularily strong in India, where it was a rallying point for Muslim communities.

The absence of a single Muslim head of state is considered by some to be a violation of the Islamic legal code, the Shariah. Others insist that after the four rightful caliphs the office ceased to exist, meaning that those who claimed after that to be "khalifa" were actually "melik" (king).

Muslims believe that the Caliphate is the application of Messengership of Prophets (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, until Jesus and Muhammad) as the institution to protect and order the Muslims according the Law of God (in the Qur'an and the Universe), with the structure imitating the structure of Heaven (Mulkiyah/Government) and Earth (Ummah/People). Some parallels have been drawn between the offices of the caliphate and the papacy, but the relevancy of these comparisons are disputed.

Note on the overlap of Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates: After the massacre of the Umayyad clan by the Abbassids, one lone prince escaped and fled to North Africa, which remained loyal to the Umayyads. This was Abd-ar-rahman I. From there, he proceeded to Spain, where he overthrew and united the provinces conquered by previous Umayyad Caliphs (in 712 and 712). From 756 to 929, this Umayyad domain in Spain was an independent emirate, until Abd-ar-rahman III reclaimed the title of Caliph for his dynasty. The Umayyad Emirs of Spain are not listed in the summary below because they did not claim the caliphate until 929. For a full listing of all the Umayyad rulers in Spain see the Umayyad article.