Amir al-Mu'minin
title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community
Amir al-Mu'minin (Arabic: أَمِيرُ المُؤمِنِين, romanized: ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn), or Leader of the Believers (also translated as Leader of the Faithful), is a politico-religious title in Islamic history denoting supreme leadership over the Muslim community (ummah). The term combines amīr (lit. 'commander, leader') with al-muʾminīn (lit. 'the believers'), thereby signifying authority that is simultaneously military, administrative, judicial, and moral in nature.
Etymology
Although etymologically ʾamīr (Arabic: أَمِير) is equivalent to English "leader, commander", the wide variety of its historical and modern use allows for a range of translations. The historian H. A. R. Gibb, however, counsels against the translation "Prince of the Believers" as "neither philologically nor historically correct".
History
The title ʾamīr was used for Muslim military commanders during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was, for example, borne by the Muslim commander at the Battle of al-Qadisiyya. On his accession in 634, the second caliph Umar (r. 634–644) adopted the title. This was likely not for its military connotation, but rather deriving from a Quranic injunction to "Obey God and obey the Apostle and those invested with command among you" (Surah 4, verses 58–62).
According to Fred M. Donner, the title's adoption marked a step in the centralization of the nascent Muslim state, as the ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn was acknowledged as the central authority of the expanding Muslim empire, responsible for appointing and dismissing generals and governors, taking major political decisions, and keeping the dīwān (Arabic: دیوان), the list of those Muslims entitled to a share of the spoils of conquest. From Umar on, the title became a fixed part of caliphal titulature.
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