Caliph

Etymology

The triliteral root khā lām fā (خ ل ف) occurs in the Quran 127 times.

1. chief

Before the revelation of the Quran, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title "malik" (King, ruler), or another from the same root.

The term caliph (/ˈkeɪlɪf, ˈkælɪf/), derives from the Arabic word khalīfah (خَليفة, which means "successor", "vicegerent", or "deputy" and has traditionally been considered a shortening of Khalifat Rasul Allah ("successor of the messenger of God").

Also connected to Old French caliphe (algalife), and Medieval Latin califa.

Quran

(2:30) Your Lord said to the angels, "I am placing a successor (Arab. خَلِيفَةً, khalīfatan) on earth." They said, "Would You place in it he who would corrupt it, and shed blood, while we sing Your glory with Your praises, and sanctify You?" He said, "I know what you do not know."

Alternation

(2:164) Surely, in the creation of heavens and earth, and alternation (Arab. وَاخْتِلَافِ, wa-ikh'tilāfi) of night and day, and the ships that sail in the sea for the benefit of people, and what God has sent down of water from the sky therewith He brings the earth back to life after it had died, and He disperses on it different creatures, and the movement of the winds and the clouds that have been designated between the earth and the sky are signs for a people that reason.

See also

Malik