Ordinary rulers
John Wilburn

With the help of devoted followers and leadership, the Prophet Muhammad used his militaristic and political power to unify a small collection of Bedouin tribes, the then Islamic Empire, expand their territory and advance their religion. The early Islamic Empire took shape and became recognizable as a formidable empire. After his death, Muhammand’s successors further enhanced the empire by conquering more territory and growing larger worshipers. These supporters were known as the Rashidun Caliphate, the Successors of Muhammad. Successors such as Abu Bakr Siddique and Umar ibn Khattab were among them. Similar to any large religious-centered empire, there were struggles among the elite. Not forty years after …show more content…
The irony is that Harun al-Rashid’s attempt to prevent a civil war actually enabled the civil war by trying to appease both children. The first theory is that in the last days of his life, Harun had a dream which caused him to change his successor. ln his dream, al Rashid saw Musa ibn Jafar, a close friend, sitting in a chamber, praying and crying, which made al Rashid remember how he struggled to establish his own caliphate. Al Rashid faced the realities of his son’s leadership qualities and reevaluated his decision on two leaders for the greater good of the Abbasids. To a group of his advisors, al Rashid confided, “al-Maʾmūn should be caliph after his death.” One of the advisors, Fadl ibn Rabi' did not abide by Harun's last wishes and persuaded many that Harun's wishes remained unchanged from his initial decision that both sons would be his successors. Subsequently, the other three advisors found holes in Fadl's statements, forcing him to concede that Harun actually named al-Maʾmūn as his primary successor. Fadl tried to justify his betrayal, stating that immediately before his death, the caliph was mentally unstable and thus, unable to make such an important