The Establishment of Islamic Khilafah: How the Classical and Modern Scholars Interpret its Functions

The word 'leader' in the early Muslim society was commonly associated with the term khalifah or imam. Islam perceived that its community was in need for a leader that served the function of Muslim affairs. Due to this notion, an elected Muslim khalifah or imam, starting from the period of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) until now, was appointed to uphold the implementation of Islamic law. Indeed, the existence of a khalifah or imam in the community certainly facilitated the implementation of various functions as addressed by many Sunni and Shi'i scholars. Thus, the objectives of this paper were twofold which aimed to highlight the importance of caliphate in the history of Muslim civilization and to put forward argument by Sunni and Shii scholars on the function of Islamic khilafah in the Muslim world.