When Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet—and his closest blood relative—was pushed aside in favor of Abu Bakr, to the outrage of supporters who would form “the party ...

Discover the essential history of the first Caliphs of Islam in our indepth article. Delve into the legacies of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, the four rightlyguided Caliphs chosen by the Muslim ...

The Islamic State has appointed yet another ‘caliph’ after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. What is the idea behind the caliphate?

Iranian authorities have arrested four staff members of state TV, accusing them of insulting the first caliph of Sunni Muslims and close ally of the Prophet Muhammad, state TV reported.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city ...

The caliph offers an Islamic state; his subject offers obedience. The contract evaporates when the caliph stops providing a state. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has not provided a state for quite a while.

The first caliph's epithet was al-Siddiq, the "Truthful" which he earned on account of his unflinching honesty and devotion to the truth. And how was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq proclaimed caliph?

Al-Baghdadi claims to trace his lineage to the Prophet Mohammed's Quraysh tribe, and his nom de guerre recalls the first caliph: Abu Bakr, father-in-law and close adviser of Mohammed.

The meaning of the new nom de guerre was not lost on his future followers: Abu Bakr was the first caliph after the Prophet Muhammad’s death in ancient Arabia and is credited with the wave of ...