4 righteous Caliphates Names

After the demise of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) four of his most distinguished companions had the honour of leading the affairs of the Muslim community.Despite their minor failing and falters these four great proved to be the true successors of the Holy Prophet on the whole.That is why they are known as the Righteous Caliphs.These four Righteous Caliphs are:

1. Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique,
2. Caliph Umar Farooq,
3. Caliph Uthman Ghani,and
4. Caliph Ali Murtada

All of them were of equal status and calibre.For instance all of them figure foremost in the list of "the Ten Blessed Persons"(al-Asharah al-Mubashsharah) who were conveyed news of their admission to the paradise even during their lifetime.

Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique 11-13 A.H.(632-634 A.D.)

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique was the first Caliph of Islam.His original name is Abdullah.Abu Bakr is his family name.Siddique(friend) was his title because he was Holy Prophet's friend and companion from the beginning to the end.As he also stayed with him in the Thaur cave during their flight from Makkah he also got the privileged title of"the Companion of the Cave".
According the the basic principles of Islamic democracy only the most pious and the most capable Muslim is entitle to leadership.As Hadrat Abu Bakr came up to all requisite standards of excellence he was unanimously elected as the first Caliph.It was Abu Bakr and Abu Bakr alone who had been Prophet's companion during the migration.Again,it was he who was directed by the Prophet to lead the prayers during his fatal illness.The Prophet often used to say:"I have paid back everybody's debts of gratitude.But my debt of gratitude to Hazrat Abu Bakr shall be paid back by God alone on the Resurrection Day."

The Caliph Furthering Prophet's Mission

Abu Bakr delivered his inaugural address as the Caliph  in the Prophet's Mosque.In that public address he made it quite clear that obedience to him was obligatory only so long as he followed Quran and Sunnah.Immediately after the assumption of office he engrossed in the development plans,reform programs and welfare projects.The overall conditions prevailing at that time were not satisfactory.Yet by virtue of his words and deeds Caliph Abu Bakr soon proved himself to be worthy of the great trust reposed in him by the Muslim community.
      Certain mischievous Muslims had laid false claims to prophethood even while the Holy Prophet was alive.Many simpletons had begun to rally round the flags of those crafty claimants.In some areas certain wavering Muslims had even started to renounce Islam.Caliph Abu Bakr declared jihad against all such deviants.He overpowered all of them through effective persuasions and organized military operations.Some short-sighted Muslims had refused to pay the zakat because they thought their wealth would decrease with the payment of the tax.They had started to exert all sorts of political pressures on the Caliph for exemption from payment of zakat.The Caliph,however,stood firm like a rock and turned down all such anti-Islamic proposals.

Abu Bakrs Military Expeditions

A large number of the Prophet's Companions had been martyred in the Tabuk Battle.In order to retaliate the death of those martyrs the Holy Prophet had deputed Hadrat Zaid bin Harith's 17 years old brave son,Hadrat Usama,to Syria with the command of the unit of the Muslim army.But owing to Prophet's sickness and death Hadrat Usama and his detachment had to return to Madina.Immediately after assumption of office Caliph Abu Bakr deputed Hadrat Usama again to Syria to fulfill Prophet's interrupted mission without further delay.Hadrat Usama soon returned home after successful completion of the Syrian military expedition.The Caliph then set out in person at the command of the Muslim army to crush various internal uprisings with an iron hand.
    During those days the Arabian peninsula used to be surrounded by the two most powerful empires of the time:(1) the great Persian empire situated towards the east,and (2) the equally powerful Roman(or Byzantine) empire located on the     west.Both of these super powers had earned a great name and fame.But oppression and cruelty to the poor people and popularity of idolatry and polytheism had gone too far in both these empires.The Holy Prophet had once addressed a letter to Khusro Pervaiz,the emperor of Persia,inviting him to accept Islam.That short-sighted ruler had,however,torn the letter to pieces.In a fit of frenzy he had even ordered the arrest of the Holy Prophet.Similarly the Roman empire had also become the centre of all sorts of ills and evils.Syria used to be a part of the Roman empire those days.

Caliph Abu Bakr drew a plan to teach a befitting lesson to both of these arrogant empires.To settle accounts with the Persian empire he deputed the famous Muslim general,Hadrat Khalid bin Walid,to Iraq along with a big army.The famed statesman-cum-general,Abu Ubaidah Jarrah was also given the command of a big army and sent towards Syria for military action against the Roman empire.Both of these generals made spectacular achievements on all war fronts.They made valuable additions to the Islamic state by conquering considerable territories of those empires.
  Caliph Abu Bakr was a seasoned administrator.He displayed great statesmanship and foresight in administering and expanding the Islamic state.He organized the Muslim army,established the system of justice and introduced rational procedures of payment and collection of zakat.In short,he maintained the letter and spirit of Holy Prophet's noble mission with remarkable zeal and zest. 

Compilation of the Holy Quran

One of his major achievements is the compilation of the Holy Quran in a book form.The revelation of the Quran had been finalized during Prophet's time.The Muslims had been preserving the various Surahs on wooden pieces,stone slabs,camel skins,bark of the palm tree,pieces of paper, etc.In addition several Huffaz of the Holy book had also emerged during the meantime.However,many a Hafiz had been martyred in various battles.A serious danger had thus arisen about the possible future loss of some portions of the Holy Book.
  Caliph Abu Bakr felt greatly perturbed over the situation.Hadrat Zaid bin Thabit was one of the scribes of the revelations during the Prophet's times.The Caliph directed him to collect all the Quranic verses from all different sources and to compile them in one place on the form of one complete Book.The frontiers of the Muslim state were expanding at a rapid rate.The proposed compilation was intented to help the Quran readers in all parts of the expanding state.The entire project was finalized later under the supervision and guidance of the third Caliph,Hadrat Uthman.
    During 634 A.D. Caliph Abu Bakr fell sick.When his sickness intensified he summoned the worthy companions of the Holy Prophet.On his proposal Umar bin al-Khattab was unanimously elected in merits as the second Caliph of Islam.After a brief Caliphate of 2 years and a few months Caliph Abu Bakr breathed his last on Monday,22nd Jamadi al-Awwal,13 A.H.(22nd August,634 A.D.)between the Maghrib and the Isha prayers.He was sixty-three.The last words on his lips at death were:"O God,may I die in Islam and join me with the good people."