AFTER HIS DEATH, ISLAM SPLIT INTO FACTIONS
One faction held the successor to Muhammad should be a male from the Quraish tribe, chosen by consensus.
Abu Bakr, an early convert, was chosen as the first “caliph” (or “leader”)
Another faction believed that Muhammad intended for Ali, his son-in-law, to take over.
These partisans (or Shi’ites) of Ali regarded him as the first caliph and imam.