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GCSE Religious Studies · key term
A successor to Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community, also called a khalifah.
Used by AQA and Edexcel
Paper 1
A successor to Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community.
Revise: The imamate in Shi'a IslamSunni Muslims accept Abu Bakr as the first caliph, chosen by leading members of the community. Shi’a Muslims believe that Ali should have been the first successor because Allah had chosen him through Muhammad. This difference in understanding authority helped shape the development of Sunni and Shi’a Islam.
Specification 2.7, 3.4 · Paper 1, Paper 2
Compare views of the same person: Ali is the fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph for Sunnis but the first divinely appointed Imam for Shi’a Muslims.
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A leader of the Muslim community; the term means ‘successor’ and is also written as khalifah.
A successor to Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community, not as a prophet. Sunni Muslims recognise Ali as the fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph.
Specification 1.1 · Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3
Revise: The Six Beliefs of IslamThe community needed a new leader, called a caliph, but disagreed about who should hold that position.
