Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, but is also used as a title among various

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

religious groups and others. Khalifa is sometimes also pronounced as "kalifa". There were four khalifas after

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

died, beginning with

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

. This was a difficult decision for the people to make, for no one except Muhammad had ever thought with foresight about who would rule after he would die. The ''Khilaafat'' (or

) was then contested and gave rise to the eventual division of the Islamic Umma into two groups, the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

and the

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

who interpret the word ''Khalifa'' in differently nuanced ways. The earliest Islamic uses include Khaleefa(ḥ)''' in

The Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sin ...

, 2:30, where

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

commands the angels to bow down to

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

which more clearly guides to the root

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic ( ar, links=no, ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ, al-ʿarabīyah al-fuṣḥā) or Quranic Arabic is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notab ...

meaning of the word as "Vicegerent", or divinely connected representative of

in the human form as a mercy to mankind. See also how this meaning interacts with the word, Shirk (associating a partner or partners to

) by (for example) bowing down to them (in this case,

) with reverence. "Vicegerent", therefore, is more at "divinely-guided spokesman" than "deputy" in this context and leads to the discovery of the role of

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

in Islam, from the ''Shi'i'' or

point of view where, it is claimed, the spiritual ''Khilaafat'' or designation of ''Khaleefa'' in this meaning of spiritual and temporal guide falls upon the first Imam,

'Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, "the favourite" (who received his mission from his cousin Muhammed himself but who also conceded the ''Khilaafat'' to the election and claim of the politically more powerful and more popular leader and his senior,

). In the Shi'i tradition, however, the dissolved claim to the ''Khilaafat'' by Shi'i thereafter crystallised into Imamat which continued with his descendants after him through appointment by '' nass'', or designation).

Living people with Khalifa as a name

Khalifa Haftar Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA) ...

(born 1943), Libyan military commander *

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...

(born 1952), former Emir of Qatar () * Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa (born 1952), President of the 61st United Nations General Assembly *

Marcel Khalife Marcel Khalifé ( ar, مرسيل خليفة; born 10 June 1950 in Amchit) is a Palestinian- Lebanese musical composer, singer, and oud player. Biography In 1983, Paredon Records (later acquired by Smithsonian Folkways) released ''Promises ...

(born 1950), Lebanese musician * Peter Khalife (born 1990), Lebanese football agent *

Omer Khalifa Omer Khalifa (born 18 December 1956) is a Sudanese retired middle distance runner who set a national record of 3:33.28 minutes over 1500 meters in Grosseto of 1986. Prior to this, he won silver medals in the 800 m and 1500 m races at t ...

(born 1956), Sudanese sportsman * Rafik Khalifa (born 1966), Algerian billionaire * Osama Khalifa (born 1995), Egyptian squash player *

Sam Khalifa Sam Khalifa (born December 5, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player. An infielder, Khalifa played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985 through 1987. He retired from baseball when his father, Rashad ...

(born 1963), American baseball-player *

Mia Khalifa Mia Khalifa (; ar, ميا خليفة, Miyа̄ Ḵalīfah; born 1993) is a Lebanese-American media personality and former pornographic film actress and webcam model. She began acting in pornography in October 2014, becoming the most viewed pe ...

(born 1993), Lebanese-American pornographic film actress

Historical people

, The first ever creature said in the Holy Scriptures to be created in human form and also the first ''Khaleef'' of Islam appointed by Allah * Khalifa ibn Khayyat (c. 777 – c. 854), Arab historian * Khalifa Keita (), fourth mansa of the Mali Empire * Katip Çelebi, or Hajji Khalifa, (1599–1658), Ottoman-Turkish author * Khalifa Cohen (d. 1932), Tunisian rabbi * Abdallahi ibn Muhammad (1846–1899), known as "The Khalifa", Sudanese Mahdist leader * Khalifa bin Harub of Zanzibar (1879–1960), sultan of Zanzibar *

Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Al-Hassan ( ar, سر الختم الخليفة الحسن, 1 January 1919 – 18 February 2006) was a Sudanese politician, ambassador and an elite educator, who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Sudan. He was famous ...

(1919–2006), Sudanese politician *

Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, خليفة بن حمد آل ثاني; 17 September 1932 – 23 October 2016) was the Emir of Qatar from 27 February 1972 until he was deposed by his son Hamad bin ...

(1932–2016), Emir of Qatar () * Rashad Khalifa (1935–1990), Egyptian biochemist * Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1948–2022), Emir of Abu Dhabi and UAE president *

Mohammed Jamal Khalifa Mohammed Jamal Khalifa ( ar, محمد جمال خليفه) (1 February 1957 – 31 January 2007) was a Saudi businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. He has been accused of funding terror plots and groups in the Phi ...

(1957–2007), Saudi Arabian businessman

Khalifa dynasty

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (; 3 June 1931 – 6 March 1999) was the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999. Born in Jasra, Bahrain, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Early life and reign ...

* Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain * Meriam Al Khalifa

References

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