Before dealing with the issue of caliphate...

Before dealing with the issue of caliphate, we will give a summary of the Prophet's life, because it is difficult to discuss about someone's successor without knowing him. This summary is mainly based on Ibn Hisham's al-Sirat al-nabawiyya ,[^4] unless stated otherwise. [^1]: (S.A.W.A.) = Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi. [^2]: 'Abd al-Rahman Salimi, Khilafat va intikhab, 'aqida ahl sunnat piramun khilafat, Mashhad, 1384, published by the author. [^3]: Ibid, 1. [^4]: Ibn Hisham (d.

218/833), al-Sirat al-nabawiyya, ed. Mustafa al-Saqqa, et al. Egypt, 1335/1936; Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, a translation of [Ibn] Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, London, 1955.…