Rashidun Caliphate

First Islamic caliphate (632–661)

The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الرّاشدون, romanized: al-Khilāfat ar-Rāshidun) was the early Islamic polity led by the first four successive caliphs (lit. "successors"): Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, collectively known as the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided" caliphs. These early caliphs led the Muslim community (Ummah) from the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 CE to the establishment of the succeeding Umayyad Caliphate in 661 CE. The title Rashidun stems from the Sunni Islamic doctrine that the caliphs were "rightly guided". Endowed with superior piety and wisdom, their era is regarded in Sunni Islam as a "golden age", second only to the lifetime of Muhammad in sanctity and in providing moral and religious guidance.

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