Since the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, there has been no single authoritative figure among the faithful who holds the final word on religious truth. From the moment of the Prophet’s death, the Muslim community has never been fully unified in thought, opinion, or belief. This reality began with the leadership of Abu Bakr, one of the Prophet’s closest companions, and has continued through the present day.
When Abu Bakr was chosen as the Prophet’s successor through a process of consultation (shura), the seeds of disagreement among the faithful began to emerge. The subsequent caliphs—Umar bin Khattab, Uthman bin Affan, and Ali bin Abi Talib—each met a violent end, assassinated by the sword. These tragedies only set the stage for further conflicts in the years to come.
The position of Prophet Muhammad remains irreplaceable within Islamic tradition, particularly in his role as both Prophet and Messenger. His unique standing as the final authority on religious matters cannot be replicated. However, the Prophet did not leave behind a fixed system of governance or leadership for the Muslim community. As a result, the four rightly-guided caliphs (Khulafa ar-Rashidun) were each chosen through different methods.
This lack of a fixed leadership structure is one of three unresolved matters that Companion Umar bin Khattab noted were left unanswered by the Prophet: issues of inheritance (kalalah), usury (riba), and leadership (caliphate). Consequently, after the time of the rightly-guided caliphs, the titles for leaders and governing systems varied. Terms like caliphate, monarchy (mulk), sultanate, and emirate emerged, each adapted to local customs and territories.
To this day, there is no standardized form of Islamic governance. Even in modern states that declare themselves Islamic, their political systems differ widely. Furthermore, there has never been a universally recognized Islamic state that represents all Muslims globally. Movements aiming to unify the global Muslim community under a single political banner have invariably ended in chaos, confusion, and even warfare.