Editing Caliphate (section)

=== Electing or appointing a caliph ===
In his book ''The Early Islamic Conquests'' (1981), [[Fred Donner]] argues that the standard Arabian practice during the early caliphates was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and elect a leader from among themselves, although there was no specified procedure for this [[shura]], or consultative assembly. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased leader, but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunni view that the head of state or governor should be chosen based on lineage alone. Since the Umayyads, all caliphates have been dynastic.

Traditionally, Sunni Muslim [[madhhab]]s all agreed that a caliph must be a descendant of the Quraysh.<ref>Jan A. Wensinck, ''Concordance de la Tradition Musulmane'' vol. 2, p. 70. [[Leiden]]: [[Brill Publishers]], 1936–1988.</ref> [[Al-Baqillani]] has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority.