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"Nass" means choice or designation by a ruler to choose a member outside his family to rule. - Found it interesting cos of the user account with the handle, that is commonly confused for the Nigerian National Assembly.
The Koran refrers to only two people in the Bible as Caliphs- Adam and David. There is uncertainty in what the term means. Either deputy or successor. With the term deputy carrying less symbolism than successor. Current academic thought says it originally meant successor.
During the Umayyad period Caliphs were not crowned, but sworn by public oath in a ceremony known as bay'a.
Interesting saying - "You have lost the Caliph of God and been given the Caliph of God" a parallel to "The King is dead, long live the King"
Two interesting adoption of Abbasid dynasty was the adoption of the colour black has court dress and the use of titles rather than given names on assumption of power. The dynasty also created Baghdad as a royal city with the intention to perform monarchy duties.
Interesting how much Islamic political history is dominated by the politics of how a family or person is related to the prophet (or Quraysh). It created sects, justifications for power grabs and destruction of empires. Legitimacy is always a tricky thing to land.
The connection to prophet and responsibility the title of "Caliph" bore meant a lot of political leaders even if they ruled political units called "Caliphate" have been careful to take the title.
Adopting titles such as "Emir" and "Sultan". Or merging it when they sought to increase their role/power. The idea of what a caliphate or Caliph is one that varies and open to various interpretations.
Surprisingly the book never examines the Sokoto Caliphate. (maybe did not have qualifications of seeking leadership of the Muslim world. Nice breif political religious history. Did not enjoy reading that much. End.
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