late 14c., from Old French caliphe (12c., also algalife), from Medieval Latin califa, from Arabic khalifa "successor," originally Abu-Bakr, who succeeded Muhammad in the role of leader of th [..]

The supreme leader of the Islamic world after Muhammad's death in 632 CE, the successor to Muhammad.  Secular and religious authority were combined in the office of the caliph, who claimed to be [..]

(n) the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state considered to be a representative of Allah on earth

Arabic for successor. The Qur’an (II: 30) describes Adam as the primordial norm and as Caliph, the representative of God on earth. Man in this sense is the vicegerent of God on earth. In a historical [..]

  From Arabic khalifa, meaning deputy or successor (to the Prophet Muhammad); the title used by early Islamic rulers.

the title of the Prophet Muhammad's immediate successors who were the political and spiritual leaders of the Muslim community. Many subsequent Islamic dynasties continued to use this title. The t [..]