Rashidun Caliphate

History Eastern Ancient Arab states Southern Ancient Arab states Arab empires and caliphates Eastern dynasties Western dynasties and caliphates Arabian Peninsula East Africa Current monarchies v t e Background Main article: History of Islam Further information: Sīrah , Historicity of Muhammad , and Caliphate of Abu bakr According to the traditional account , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Muhammad began receiving what Muslims consider to be divine revelations in 610 CE, calling for submission to the one God, preparation for the imminent Last Judgement , and charity for the poor and needy. [ 4 ] [ a ] As Muhammad's message began to attract followers , he was also met with increasing hostility and persecution from Meccan elites . [ 4 ] [ b ] In 622 CE Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib (now known as Medina ), where he began to unify the tribes of Arabia under Islam, [ 6 ] returning to Mecca to take control in 630 [ 7 ] [ 8 ] and order the destruction of all pagan idols. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] By the time Muhammad died c.  11 AH (632 CE), almost all the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, [ 11 ] but disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community . [ 1 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] Among those seeking to be the successor of Muhammad were: the Muhajirun , senior companions of Muhammad, including those known as " The ten to whom Paradise was promised " ( al-ʿashara al-mubashsharūn ). [ 15 ] the Banu Hashim ; members of the Hashemite clan including Ali and Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , who were the closest blood relatives to Muhammad; [ 15 ] the Ansar ; the people of Medina who had sheltered Muhammad and the early Muslim but were now "fed up" with being dominated by refugees from Mecca. [ 15 ] the members of the aristocratic Quraysh tribe, including the powerful Umayyad clan who held a strong position in Mecca and maintained influential commercial and financial ties. [ 15 ] In determining Muhammad's successor, the strong support and companionship given to him from the early years of his prophethood, praise given by Muhammad and the close kinship ties established with him came to the fore as the determining attitude. The first two caliphs gave their daughters to Muhammad in marriage while the next two married with Muhammad's daughters. Timeline Ottoman miniature paintings depicting Muhammad (center) and the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , and Ali , c.  16th century (Note that a caliph's succession does not necessarily occur on the first day of the new year.) ^ a b van Ess, Josef (2017). "Setting the Seal on Prophecy" . Theology and Society in the Second and Third Centuries of the Hijra, Volume 1: A History of Religious Thought in Early Islam . Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 116/1. Translated by O'Kane, John. Leiden: Brill. pp.  3– 7. doi : 10.1163/9789004323384_002 . ISBN   978-90-04-32338-4 . ISSN   0169-9423 . ^ Zimney, Michelle (2009). "Introduction – What Is Islam?" . In Campo, Juan E. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam . Encyclopedia of World Religions. New York: Facts on File. pp.  xxi– xxxii. ISBN   978-0-8160-5454-1 . ^ Lewis 1995 , pp. 51–58. ^ a b Donner, Fred M. (2000) [1999]. "Muhammad and the Caliphate: Political History of the Islamic Empire Up to the Mongol Conquest" . In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford History of Islam . Oxford University Press. pp.  5– 10. ISBN   0-19-510799-3 . ^ a b Buhl, F.; Ehlert, Trude; Noth, A.; Schimmel, Annemarie; Welch, A. T. (2012) [1993]. "Muḥammad". In Bearman, P. J. ; Bianquis, Th. ; Bosworth, C. E. ; van Donzel, E. J. ; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp.  360– 376. doi : 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0780 . ISBN   978-90-04-16121-4 . ^ Campo (2009), "Muhammad", Encyclopedia of Islam , p. 494 ^ Ramadan, Tariq (2007). In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad . New York: Oxford University Press . p.  178 . ISBN   978-0-19-530880-8 . ^ Husayn Haykal, Muhammad (2008). The Life of Muhammad . Selangor : Islamic Book Trust. pp.  438– 441. ISBN   978-983-9154-17-7 . ^ Hitti, Philip Khuri (1946). History of the Arabs . London: Macmillan. p. 118. ^ Ramadan, Tariq (2007). In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad . Oxford University Press. p.  177 . ISBN   978-0-19-530880-8 . ^ Richard Foltz , "Internationalization of Islam", Encarta Historical Essays. ^ Polk, William R. (2018). "The Caliphate and the Conquests" . Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-Year War Between the Muslim World and the Global North . The Henry L. Stimson Lectures Series. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp.  21– 30. doi : 10.2307/j.ctv1bvnfdq.7 . ISBN   978-0-300-22290-6 . JSTOR   j.ctv1bvnfdq.7 . ^ Izutsu, Toshihiko (2006) [1965]. "The Infidel ( Kāfir ): The Khārijites and the origin of the problem" . The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology: A Semantic Analysis of Imān and Islām . Tokyo: Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies at Keio University . pp.  1– 20. ISBN   983-9154-70-2 . ^ Lewis 1995 , p. 139. ^ a b c d Chamieh 1977 , p. 42. Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page ). Read more on Wikipedia →

Economy According to a work on early Islam by Abdus Salam Nadvi, among their other virtues, the Rashidun were known for their leniency in levying taxation. [ 1 ] Treasury and coinage Main article: Bayt al-mal Bayt al-Mal (lit., the house of money ), i.e. the treasury, or the state exchequer, was established by the first caliph Abu Bakr. His successor Umar built the building housing it. [ 2 ] Revenues for the Bayt came from taxes on lands left in the hands of their owners, rents from confiscated lands, and to a lesser extent the zakat tithe paid by Muslims, one fifth of the military spoils, and tribute and personal taxes paid by the conquered. [ 3 ] A "major portion" of the funds collected for the Bayt al-Mal (at least under caliph Umar) went to stipends or allowances that Muslims gave themselves [ 4 ] as conquerors of the land. After consulting the companions, Umar decided to establish the central treasury at Medina. Abdullah bin Arqam was appointed as the Treasury Officer. He was assisted by Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Muiqib. A separate Accounts Department was also set up to maintain spending records. Later treasuries were set up in the provinces. After meeting the local expenditure, the provincial treasuries were required to remit the surplus revenue to the central treasury at Medina. According to Al-Ya'qubi , the salaries and stipends charged to the central treasury amounted to over 30 million dirhams. A separate building was constructed for the royal treasury, the Bayt al-Mal which in large cities, was protected by as many as 400 guards. Most historical accounts state that among the Rashidun caliphs, Uthman was the first to strike coins; however, some accounts state that Umar was the first to do so. Social welfare and pensions were introduced in early Islamic law as forms of zakāt (charity), one of the Five Pillars of Islam , since the time of Umar. The taxes (including zakāt and jizya ) collected in the treasury of an Islamic government were used to provide income for the needy, including the poor, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. According to the Islamic jurist Al-Ghazali (Algazel, 1058–1111), the government was also expected to stockpile food supplies in every region in case a disaster or famine occurred. [ 5 ] Many Muslim thus argue the Rashidun caliphate was thus one of the earliest welfare states . [ 6 ] Rashidun coinage Coin in use during the Rashidun Caliphate (661–750 CE). Pseudo-Byzantine type with depictions of the Byzantine Emperor Constans II holding the cross-tipped staff and globus cruciger . The Rashidun caliphs used the Sassanids symbols ( Star and crescent , fire temple , the picture of the last emperor Khosrau II ) by adding the phrase bismillah on their coins, instead of designing a new one. [ 7 ] Coin of the Rashidun Caliphate. Imitation of Sasanid Empire ruler Khosrau II type. BYS ( Bishapur ) mint. Dated YE 25 = AH 36 (AD 656). Sasanian style bust imitating Khosrau II right; bismillah in margin/ Fire altar with ribbons and attendants; star and crescent flanking flames; date to left, mint name to right. Taxation A "regular system of revenue" for Iraq was set up during Umar's caliphate. According to Abdus Salam Nadvi, Umar chose to set up a system of taxation of the current (non-Muslim) owners of land of the conquered people instead of distributing the land as spoils among the conquering Arabs. [ 8 ] Among other benevolences reported in Muslim literature, the Rashidun were said to be lenient in their tax collection. He appointed capable companions of Muhammad to organize an assessment of arable/taxable land, confiscating land only from pagan temples, "absconders and the rebellious" and some others, while setting taxes according to the value of crops raised from the land, [ 9 ] giving the taxpayer the choice of several tax collectors to pay their taxes to. In doing all this he sought advice from "venerable persons" for improvement of his work, including non-Muslim dhimmi subjects. [ 10 ] Outside of Iraq, he forbade extra confiscation of crops above the rate of tribute taxation and forbade Muslims (who received stipends) from taking possession of the conquered people's land, threatening or punishing those who did. [ 11 ] He also confiscated land from those who did not cultivate it. [ 12 ] Caliph Ali reportedly advised a newly appointed tax collector: "Do not beat with while receiving revenue from any person. Do not take their livelihood, summer and winter garments and beasts of burden. Neither cause anyone stand". [ 13 ] The economic resources of the state were: Zakāt Ushr Jizya Fay Khums Kharaj Zakat Main article: Zakat Zakāt taxes were levied on Muslims to be given to the poor (usually amounting to 2.5% of dormant wealth over a certain amount). The Rashidun caliphs reportedly complied with the practice of Muhammad of not taking the best goods of the taxpayers for Zakat. [ 14 ] Ushr Main article: Ushr Ushr was a tax on levied Muslim non-Muslim merchants and artisans. [ 15 ] [ 13 ] It was also applied on Muslim cultivators. [ 15 ] It was a reciprocal 10% levy on agricultural land as well as on imported merchandise that taxed the Muslims on their products. Umar was the first Muslim ruler to levy ushr . Umar issued instructions that ushr should be levied in such a way so as to avoid hardship, so as not to affect trade within the Caliphate. The tax was levied only on merchandise meant for sale; goods imported for consumption or personal use but not for sale were not taxed. Merchandise valued at 200 dirhams or less was not taxed. Imports by citizens for trade purposes were subject to the customs duty or import tax at lower rates. In the case of agricultural produce, ushr is paid by harvest and not annually, at a rate of 5% or 10% depending on the means of irrigation by which the crop is produced. [ 16 ] Jizya Main article: Jizya Jizya was a per capita tax imposed on able bodied (disabled persons were exempt) non-Muslim men (known as dhimmis). Nadvi states that collectors were forbidden from abusing the dhimmis while collecting the jizya. Fay Fay was the income from state land, whether an agricultural land, or a meadow, or land with any natural mineral reserves. Khums Main article: Khums Ghanimah or Khums represented war spoils, four-fifths of which was distributed among the soldiers in service, while one-fifth was allotted to the state. Kharaj Main article: Kharaj Kharaj was a tax levied on the agricultural lands of both Muslims and non-Muslims. [ 17 ] Initially, after the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, kharaj usually denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the conquered provinces and collected by the officials of the former Byzantine and Sasanian empires. The taxation rate varied according to the conditions of the farmer and their harvest, if a farmer encountered irrigation constraints or inclement weather that impacted the harvest, the rate of taxation would be reduced. [ 18 ] Muslim landowners also paid ushr , which is a religious tithe . [ 15 ] ^ Nadvi 2000 , pp. 395, 396, 399. ^ Nadvi 2000 , p. 411. ^ Vaglieri 1970 , p. 65. ^ Nadvi 2000 , pp. 400–401. ^ Crone, Patricia (2005), Medieval Islamic Political Thought , Edinburgh University Press , pp.  308– 309, ISBN   978-0-7486-2194-1 ^ Shadi Hamid (August 2003), "An Islamic Alternative? Equality, Redistributive Justice, and the Welfare State in the Caliphate of Umar", Renaissance – Monthly Islamic Journal , 13 (8) (see online ) Archived 25 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine ^ As the Arabs of the Ḥejāz had used the drahms of the Sasanian-style, the only silver coinage in the world at that time, it was natural for them to leave many of the Sasanian mints in operation, striking coins like those of the emperors in every detail except for the addition of brief Arabic inscriptions like besmellāh in the margins. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coins-and-coinage- ^ Nadvi 2000 , p. 395. ^ Nadvi 2000 , pp. 395–396. ^ Nadvi 2000 , p. 396. ^ Nadvi 2000 , p. 397. ^ Nadvi 2000 , pp. 397–398. ^ a b Nadvi 2000 , p. 399. ^ Nadvi 2000 , p. 400. ^ a b c Fauzia, Amelia (21 February 2013). Faith and the State: A History of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia . BRILL. p. 78. ISBN   978-9004233973 . Retrieved 11 September 2014 . ^ Ushr (PDF) . Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance. pp.  611– 614. ^ Juhro, Solikin M.; Syarifuddin, Ferry; Sakti, Ali (2025). Inclusive Welfare: On the Role of Islamic Social-Public Finance and Monetary Economics . Springer Nature Singapore. p. 128. ISBN   978-981-96-0051-9 . ^ Juhro, Solikin M.; Syarifuddin, Ferry; Sakti, Ali (2025). Inclusive Welfare: On the Role of Islamic Social-Public Finance and Monetary Economics . Springer Nature Singapore. p. 129. ISBN   978-981-96-0051-9 . Read more on Wikipedia →

Significance and legacy Notable features All four Rashidun caliphs were connected to Muhammad through marriage and were early converts to Islam, [ 1 ] and so were thought to be "a continuation of the prophetic period with all its virtues and sanctity"; [ 2 ] the daughters of Abu Bakr and Umar, Aisha and Hafsa respectively, were married to Muhammad, and two of Muhammad's daughters Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were married to Uthman, while another daughter of Muhammad, Fatimah , was married to Ali, who was also Muhammad's cousin and raised in his household. They were among Muhammad's closest companions by association and support, often praised by him, and were delegated roles of leadership within the nascent Muslim community. According to different schools Sunni Among the notable features of the Rashidun caliphs were that: Their succession was not hereditary , something that would become the custom after them, beginning with the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate and continued by the later Abbasid Caliphate. Council decision-making determined the choice of successor originally. [ citation needed ] They were chosen according to the will of senior leaders in the Muslim community, rather than inheriting the title through familial relation to their predecessors like most later caliphs; [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] They were among the ten Muslims promised paradise according to several hadiths in Sunni Islam . The term Rashidun , or "Rightly Guided", is derived from a famous [ 7 ] Sunni hadith where Muhammad foretold that the caliphate of prophecy after him would last for 30 years [ 8 ] (the length of the Rashidun Caliphate) and would then be followed by kingship (the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate and later Abbasid Caliphate being hereditary monarchies). [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ a ] The Rightly Guided Caliphate is also featured in other hadiths about the end-times in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal , where it is foretold they will be restored once again by God in the time before Judgement Day . [ 14 ] The first four caliphs are particularly significant to modern intra-Islamic debates: for Sunni Muslims, they are models of righteous rule; for Shia Muslims (at least Twelver Shia ), the first three of the four were usurpers. Accepted traditions of both Sunni and Shia Muslims detail disagreements and tensions between the four rightly guided caliphs. [ citation needed ] In Sunni Islam , the application of the label "rightly-guided" to the first caliphs signifies their status as models whose actions and opinions (Arabic: sunna ) should be followed and emulated from a religious point of view. [ 15 ] In this sense, they are both rightly-guided and rightly-guiding: [ 16 ] the religious narratives about their lives serve as a guide to right belief. [ 15 ] For example, Sunni historian Salam Nadvi emphasizes that as companions of Muhammad, the Rashidun were "deserving for Divine caliphate" because of their "beliefs and good deeds", their "moral characteristics", adherence to "the true path", their forbidding others from doing evil deeds, reluctance to be rulers, [ 17 ] humility about their abilities ("O people! I do not wish to be a Caliph. If you expect following the Sunnah, I shall not be able to do so do not follow me"), [ 18 ] disinterest in comfort and pleasure (sleeping on pebble covered ground. [ 18 ] The Sunnis have long viewed the period of the Rashidun as an exemplary system of governance based upon Islamic righteousness and merit which they seek to emulate. The Sunnis also equate this system with the worldly success that was promised by Allah, in the Quran and hadith , to those Muslims who pursued His pleasure; this spectacular success has further added to the emulatory appeal of the Rashidun era. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ] In the modern Sunni Salafi movement some have asserted that only was "perfect justice and fairness fully realized" under the Rashidun, [ 22 ] and that Muslims should not only "strive to replicate" its religious practices, but that Muslims should also strive to follow (what they believe to be) everyday practices of the Rashidun, such as miswak teeth cleaning, not wearing neckties, not applauding speakers etc. [ b ] [ c ] Islamic fundamentalists see the Rashidun caliphs as not only a model to be followed but succeeding dynasties such as the Umayyads and Abbasids as "religious deviants". [ 26 ] At the same time, it has been noted that the domination of Arabs over non-Arabs on an ethnic basis during Umar's reign and the widespread nepotism of Uthman's caliphate are in essential conflict with the call of Islam. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] Twelver Shia The (Twelver) Shia view is that, similar to the past prophets in the Quran , [ 29 ] the succession to Muhammad was settled by divine appointment (not consensus), [ 30 ] [ 31 ] and chosen from Muhammad's family. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Specifically, the successor was Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib , who Muhammad announced as his rightful successor (according to Shia doctrine) shortly before his death at the event of Ghadir Khumm and on other occasions, e.g., at the event of Dhul Asheera . [ 32 ] In the Shia view, while direct revelation ended with Muhammad's death, Ali remained the righteous guide or Imam towards God, similar to the successors of the past prophets in the Quran. [ 31 ] After Muhammad's death, Ali inherited Muhammad's divine knowledge and his authority to correctly interpret the Quran, especially its allegorical and metaphorical verses ( mutashabihat ). [ 33 ] [ 34 ] In the Shia view, since the time of the first prophet, Adam , the earth has never remained without an Imam, in the form of prophets and their divinely-appointed successors. Likewise, Imamate was passed on from Ali to the next Imam, Hasan , by divinely-inspired designation ( nass ). [ 35 ] After Hasan's death, Husayn and nine of his descendants are the Shia Imams, the last of whom, Muhammad al-Mahdi went into occultation in 260 AH , due to the hostility of his enemies and the dangers to his life. [ 36 ] His advent is awaited by the Shia, who believe him to be the Mahdi . [ 37 ] In his absence, the vacuum in the Shia leadership is partly filled by marjaiyya and, more recently, by wilayat al-faqqih , i.e., guardianship of the Islamic jurist. [ 38 ] Views of other Shia While the Ismaili Shi'ites accept a closely-related understanding of Imamate as the Twelver Shia, the Ismailis under the leadership of the Aga Khans do recognize the caliphates of the first three caliphs before Ali ibn Abi Talib while distinguishing Imamate as a separate office apart from the Caliphate: In the present Imamat the final reconciliation between the Shia and Sunni doctrines has been publicly proclaimed by myself on exactly the same lines as Hazrat Ali did at the death of the Prophet and during the first thirty years after that. The political and worldly Khalifat was accepted by Hazrat Ali in favour of the three first Khalifs voluntarily and with goodwill for the protection of the interests of the Muslims throughout the world. We Ismailis now in the same spirit accept the Khalifat of the first Khalifs and such other Khalifs as during the last thirteen centuries helped the cause of Islam, politically, socially and from a worldly point of view. On the other hand, the Spiritual Imamat remained with Hazrat Ali and remains with his direct descendants always alive till the day of Judgement. —  Aga Khan III , Selected Speeches and Writings of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah , p. 1417 [ 39 ] The Nizari Ismailis on the other hand, have come to accept the caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman in the modern times under the leadership and teachings of the Aga Khans , [ 39 ] even though polemics against those early caliphs were prevalent during the Fatimid period. For instance, the Fatimid Ismaili Imam-Caliph Al-Hakim bi Amr Allah ordered the public cursing of the first three caliphs in the year 1005 in Cairo. [ 40 ] The Zaydi Shia Muslims also believe the first three caliphs to be legitimate leaders in addition to Ali. [ 41 ] Kharijites The Kharijites recognize only the first six years of Uthman's caliphate as being legitimate, and only the caliphate of Ali before the arbitration that followed the Battle of Siffin . [ 42 ] Questions about virtue and guidance Some secular scholars have questioned the reverent view of the Rashidun caliphs in Sunni Islamic tradition. Fred Halliday [ d ] noted that "of the four caliphs, the first, Abu Bakr, lived less than two years – too short a time to validate any political system – and the other three, Umar, Uthman and Ali, were all murdered". [ 43 ] Jebran Chamieh, quoting Ahmad Amin, lists quarrels that sometimes led to bloodshed between the Rashidun and other companions that arose after Muhammad died over who should rule: Aisha, the Prophet's favourite wife, condemned Caliph Uthman, son-in-law of the Prophet, and encouraged his opponents. Then she, with Zubayr, a cousin of the Prophet, and Talha who was promised paradise, fought the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib in the Battle of the Camel (656). The latter two were killed, and Aisha was captured. Other companions spoke ill of Aisha accusing her of infidelity. They did not spare Zubayr and Mu'awiya, Muhammad's brother-in-law (Muhammad was married to Mu'awiya's sister Umm Habiba). Caliph Ali damned Mu'awiya, [Mu'awiya's] right-handed man Amr ibn al-As, and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari who betrayed him in the Siffin arbitration. They reciprocated by damning Caliph Ali, his sons Hasan and Husayn, attacked [Ali's] alleged weaknesses, and did not hesitate to wage war on him. Moreover, the companions who followed Ali and those who opposed him exchanged insults and suspicions about the veracity of the ahadith each side attributed to Muhammad. Outside the family of Muhammad, Caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar damned Sa'd ibn Ubada, chief of the Khazraj tribe of Medina and a leading companion. They exiled him to Syria because he competed with Abu Bakr for the caliphate. Caliph Umar slandered Abu Hurayra, a prolific source of hadith. He also attacked Khalid ibn al-Walid (the Sword of Islam) who conquered Syria, and accused him of dissipation, then deposed him from the command of the army of Syria. He also damned Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, who founded the Umayyad dynasty, and his assistant Amr ibn al-As, accusing them of stealing public money. Few companions escaped the verbal attacks of Caliph Umar and his heavy hand. Umar also had a dismal opinion of the six companions he chose to elect his successor, and they countered by telling Umar their equally unflattering opinion of him. Other companions spoke ill of Mohammad the son of Caliph Abu Bakr for his role in the assassination of Caliph Uthman. The famous companion scholar Abd Allah Ibn Mas'ud slandered Caliph Uthman, and the latter banished the famous companion Abu Dharr al-Ghifari from Hejaz. The Shi'a damned the thirty years sanctified by the Sunnis and accused the first three caliphs of usurping Ali's right to the caliphate. Then, the Umayyads killed Husayn, son of Caliph Ali, who is venerated by the Shi'a as a martyr. [ 44 ] Similarly, Shias do not view the companions, including the Rashidun Caliphs, as being models of piety, instead accusing most of them of conspiring after Muhammad's death to dispossess Ali ibn Abi Talib and his descendants of their right to leadership, which Shias believe was divinely ordained. In the Shi'ite perspective, most of the companions were hypocrites and even usurpers, who never ceased to subvert the religion for their own interests. [ 45 ] Robert G. Hoyland has questioned the moral superiority of the Rashidun caliphs (or at least of Uthman and Ali) to their Umayyad and Abbasid successors, noting that Ali was involved in the first Muslim civil war ( First Fitna ) and Uthman had "already inaugurated a nepotistic style of government", [ 46 ] for which later caliphs would be condemned. Fred Donner points out the difficulty in reconciling the virtues of the Rashidun caliphs with their infighting. Sunni Muslims might find Abu Bakr and Umar righteous and moral paragons, but since Ali and Uthman's supporters were waging civil war against each other, then logically, at least one of them had to be in error and not "rightly guided". [ 47 ] Skeptical assessments See also: Shia view of Abu Bakr Donner and Jebran Chamieh write that it was only later when memories of fighting had faded that the community came to consider them both rightly guided. [ 47 ] Chamieh and Ahmad Amin note earlier historians saw the Rashidun as mortals who possessed both great achievement and human weaknesses such as competition for political power and pursuit of worldly riches and pleasure. [ 2 ] [ 48 ] With the political and intellectual decline of the Abbasid dynasty and rise of the religiously conservative Ahl al-Naql (People of Revelation), the idea that the Rashidun caliphate was a "utopia" that Muslims can recreate by imitating its (alleged) purity, took root. [ 49 ] In the centuries hence (starting around 874 according to Chamieh), the idea "assumed the character of an absolute truth which accepts no argument." [ 50 ] Robert G. Hoyland questions not only the virtues of the Rashidun but also how much is known about them. He argues that "writers who lived at the same time as the first four caliphs recorded next to nothing about them, and their names do not appear on coins, inscriptions, or documents. Coins struck during the Rashidun rule are inscribed "In the name of God," but do not include the names of Muhammad or the early caliphs. [ 51 ] It is only with the fifth caliph, Mu'awiya I ( r.  661–680 ), "that we have evidence of a functioning Arab government, since his name appears on all official state media". [ 52 ] Hoyland explains the idea of a divinely guided "golden age" of early Islam as coming not from the historical virtues of the Rashidun and other companions of Muhammad (aṣ-ṣaḥāba), but from the desire of the religious scholars ( Ulama ) of the late Umayyad and Abbasid periods to have Caliphs of their era defer to them (the ulama) in religious matters. By differentiating the first caliphs (who had more power in law making) from contemporary Caliphs, they could argue for taking away the religious power of later caliphs. Consequently, the companions were "given a makeover" as being "models of piety beyond reproach". [ 53 ] ^ Raudvere, Catharina (2015). Islam – An Introduction . I.B. Tauris . pp.  51– 54. ^ a b Chamieh 1977 , p. 39. ^ Azyumardi Azra (2006). 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