The Caliphate's Climax
'Caliph' 'Khalaf' of Arabic Derived from the word, which means- 'Son Worthy' That is, a worthy son, but Khalifa means Jaan-Nashin or successor. After the death of Hazrat Muhammad, those who succeeded him were called Khalifa. Initially, the Caliph was elected with the consent of the followers of Hazrat Muhammad, but later this position became hereditary.
After the death of Muhammad, Abubakar, the father-in-law of Hazrat Muhammad, was elected the first caliph, who was the oldest in the family. The efforts of Abubakar led to the spread of Islam in Mesopotamia and Syria. On the death of Abubakar, Umar was elected unopposed as Caliph in 634 AD. Perhaps no other Caliph has achieved as much success in the propagation of Islam as Umar.
He organized a large and capable army of followers of Islam and simultaneously started the work of expansion of the empire and propagation of Islam. The people of the countries that his army used to conquer were made Muslims and the propagation of Islam started. In this way, in a short time, Islam was propagated in countries like Persia, Egypt etc.
Umar was followed by Usman, but a few days later he was assassinated because of his luxuries and in his place, Ali, the son-in-law of Hazrat Muhammad, was elected as the caliph. Some people opposed him. Thus a civil war started and there was a slack in the propagation of Islam. In the end Ali was killed.
Ali was succeeded by his son Hassan, but he did not have the qualifications to assume the post. So he relinquished this post. Now the governor of Syria, Muawiyah, who was from the lineage of Caliph Umar, was elected Caliph.
Hasan had relinquished the office of Caliph in favor of Muawiyah on the condition that the office of Caliph would be elected, not hereditary, but after becoming Khalifa, Muawiyah had a maladjustment in his mind and he started to take root in his lineage. He moved from Medina to make Damascus the capital of the Caliphate. Since he belonged to the lineage of Umar, the Caliphs of Dashmik were called Umayyads.
Muawiyah held the position of Caliph for about twenty years. In the meantime, he made the position of his dynasty very strong. He broke the promise he had made with Ali's son Hasan and appointed his son Yazid as his successor. This caused great dissatisfaction. The leadership of this discontent was taken by Imam Hussain, the son of Ali and the brother of Hasan.
He, along with a few of his comrades, faced with great valor and courage the vast army of the Umayyad Caliph in the plains on the western bank of the Euphrates River. Imam Hussein along with his companions was put to death on the tenth day of the month of Muharram. The ground where Imam Hussain died is called Karbala. Karbala is made up of two words- Karb and Bala. Karb means trouble and Bala means sorrow.
Since the son of Hazrat Muhammad's daughter was killed in this ground, the place got the name of Karbala due to this incident of trouble and sorrow. Muharram is the first month of the Muslim year. Since Imam Hussain was assassinated on the tenth of this month, it is considered a month of mourning and mourning. Muslims celebrate the festival of mourning on the day of Muharram.
After Imam Hussain a man named Abdul Abbas continued this fight. In the end he succeeded and killed every person of the Umayyad dynasty. The descendants of Abbas were called Abbasi. These people made Baghdad their capital. The name of Harun Rashid is very famous among the Caliphs of Baghdad, who was famous far and wide for his justice-loving.
In the end, the Turks put an end to the Caliphs of Baghdad. The Caliphs took refuge in Egypt. The Caliph had now gone into the background of history, but it was the Caliphs who had propagated Islam far and wide and these same people had also propagated it in India.
Political Form of Islam
Islam was associated with politics and military organization from the beginning. Islam had acquired a military and political form during the life of Hazrat Muhammad. When Prophet Muhammad went from Mecca to Medina in AD 622, there he organized an army of his followers and attacked Mecca. In this way he achieved success in Mecca and other areas with his military force.
Muhammad was not only accepted as the head of Islam, but he also became the head of politics and his decisions became universal. Thus, during the lifetime of Muhammad, Islam and the office of the head of the state were combined in one person. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, when the Caliphs flourished, there was an unbreakable relationship between Islam and politics, because the Caliph was also the head of not only Islam but also the state. As a result, the state was governed according to the Qur'an.
This increased the influence of mullahs and clerics in the state. The state followed a policy of religious intolerance which resulted in injustice and atrocities against other religions. During his reign, Caliph Umar converted the followers of Islam into military organizations. As a result, wherever the Caliph's armies went to conquer, Islam was vigorously propagated there. This propaganda was done peacefully, not by the saints but by the politicians and soldiers on the strength of the sword. The result was that wherever Islam was propagated, the land became blood-stained.
Jihad
'Jihad' Islamic commander to win the war over his enemy That is, they used to chant the slogan of Dharma-Yudh. One of the directions of Islam relates to holy war (jihad) for the sake of Islam. This instruction is formulated in the Qur'an - 'Eight months of the year should fight polytheists and heretics, kill them and take away their property.'
Later the Muslim Ulemas interpreted the instructions related to Jihad in different ways. The Quran's attitude towards polytheists is very strict. In it it is said- 'O believers! Fight the disbelievers around you and let them feel strict about you, and know that Allah is the companion of those who fear Allah.'
Although the Qur'an 'Bookwallah' That is, a little generous towards Jews and Christians. Yet those 'Bookwalas' in the Qur'an If they do not believe in Allah and do not bow down to Islam. A scholar named Klein gave the meaning of Jihad 'struggle' and has considered three areas of this struggle- (1) the struggle against the visible enemy, (2) the struggle against the invisible enemy and (3) the struggle against the senses.
'Religion of Islam' The author of Muhammad Ali is of the opinion that- 'This word does not mean war for the propagation of Islam, it means labor, industry or ordinary struggle. Hajj is also considered jihad in the hadith.
The prophet has said- The best jihad is considered in Hajj, but in practice, the Qazis later changed the meaning of Jihad to war. He divided the whole world into two parts- (1) Darul-Islam (the part which was ruled by Muslims, was called the country of peace, and (2)) Darul-Harab (the battlefield) the part which was ruled by non-Muslims. The Muslims ruled. They agitated the religious sentiments of the Muslims that it was the ultimate duty of the Zahids to conquer such countries and hoist the flag of Islam.'
Due to these feelings, jihad often assumed a terrible form, due to which demons started doing orgy and in the name of religion, ghastly inhuman acts were done. Even after the passage of centuries, the form of fanaticism of Islam has not ended yet. Due to this, in whichever country Islam went, new challenges of the problem of communalism were raised in front of that country.