the.com/khalif
Arabic for successor or steward, the root of caliph and the whole caliphate idea.
means A ruler regarded as the earthly successor to a prophet or founder, holding both political and religious authority over a community.
from From Arabic khalīfa, meaning 'successor' or 'deputy,' built on the root kh-l-f having to do with coming after or taking someone's place. After Muhammad's death, his successors as leaders of the Muslim community took this title, and it passed into English as 'caliph' via Latin and French intermediaries — the spelling 'khalif' is simply a more direct transliteration of the original Arabic, closer to the source than its more familiar cousin.
- literal meaning
- one who comes after, a deputy
- root word
- khalafa, to succeed or follow
- political weight
- became the title for Islamic rulers after Muhammad
- spelling cousin
- same word as caliph, just transliterated differently