How did the Muslim rulers see themselves after Prophet Muhammad? I was trying to find this out last week and came across something I was not expecting. They considered themselves as deputy's of God on Earth -- no more nor less.
In their mind, God continued to keep the Muslim community under his
protection by having his deputies implement his laws on earth.
This approach however changes as we see the scholars stepping into the
scene and depriving the Caliphs of their spiritual role by nominating
themselves as the spiritual leaders.
What does all this tell us about the positioning of the early rulers
vis-à-vis Prophet Muhammad?
From the sources that we have, it is clear that the early Caliphs were
positioning themselves on the same level and possibly higher than Prophet
Muhammad and considered themselves to be as important for the Muslim community
as Prophet Muhammad, whose task was to bring the message of God to the Muslims
and empower them to continue the implementation of the divine law on earth.
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