This can be divided into four periods as :
- The rule of the four Caliphs
- Caliphs of Abbasids
- Caliphs of Ummayads
- Caliphs of Uthmanids
In Islam the formation of government is based on council or on
nomination. It is not based on any alleged Divine power held by the
rulers. After the Prophet (PBUH), the companions elected Hadrat Abu
Bakr (RA) as the first Caliph, and he ruled for two and a half years.
On his deathbed he nominated Umar (RA) the second Caliph who ruled for
about 10 years. Hadrat Umar (RA) appointed a six-man committee for the
selection of the third Caliph. Uthman (RA) was then elected out of
these six; he ruled for 12 years. After him, Ali (RA) was elected as
the fourth Caliph, he ruled for nearly 4 years. The period of these
four Rightly guided Caliphs is called Khilafat-e-Rashidah.
Then the Ummayads, a line of the family of Abdul Munaf came
to power. The first of these was Muawiyah (RA); his seat of governance
was Damascus, Syria. This dynasty ruled for nearly a century. Then the
Abbasids, a line of the family of Abdul Muttalib took power and their
center of power was Baghdad, Iraq. Then the caliphate of central
governance ended and the power transferred to the provincial rulers.
Subsequently Turkey became the center of the Muslim political power
and the reign of the Uthmanids commenced. This caliphate came to an
end following the defeat of the Germans in the First World War; the
Turks were allied with Germany. Since then the political power of
Muslims is with independent Muslim states.
