FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dr. Farida Khanam has been a professor at the Department of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. A Study of World's Major Religions, A Simple Guide to Sufism are two of the books amongst others, of which she is the author. She has also translated many books on Islam authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently, the chairperson of Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS International), an organization founded by her father Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, she is a regular contributor of articles to journals, newspapers and magazines. Dr. Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary of the Quran into English. Under Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Peace Foundation, along with the CPS team, she has designed a series of courses on peace-building, countering extremism and conflict resolution. PIOUS CALIPHATE T HE FIRST four Caliphs after the Prophet are known as the ‘Rightly Guided Caliphs’. They were successors of the Prophet in the real sense of the word. They were all senior Companions of the Prophet. They were chosen by the Muslims for their closeness to the Prophet and for their outstanding character. They were humble, unselfish, tolerant, God-fearing, and well-versed in the Quran. They remained in close touch with the people. They refused to take any luxuries for themselves. Masters of a vast empire, they continued to lead simple lives just as the Prophet had done before them. During the 30 years of their rule, Islam made great progress. This period of Islamic rule is the golden period of justice and fair play. That is why these Caliphs are called rightly guided, for they ruled the people of their time exactly in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet. They considered themselves as simple servants of God. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq—The First Caliph (632-34) Abu Bakr was a rich merchant of Makkah, belonging to the Quraysh tribe. At the time when Muhammad was endowed with prophethood, Abu Bakr had gone to Yemen on business. When he came back, people immediately came to him to give him the ‘strange’ news of Muhammad