In the city of Madinah, the Muslims established the first Islamic State. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was naturally the leader of this state, and that too in various capacities. He was the political leader of the nation. He also led the people in prayer. Additionally, he was the commander of the army as well. This style of leadership continued among future leaders, with caliphs (khalifas) taking over the role. We refer to the first four caliphs, i.e., Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (RA), as the rightly guided caliphs. However, in Islamic tradition, there is one more caliph who people often refer to with that title – Umar ibn Abdul Aziz.
