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خَلِيفَةٌ خليفه خليفة A successor: and a vice-agent, vice- gerent, lieutenant, substitute, proxy, or deputy: (KL:) one who has been made, or appointed, to take the place of him who has been before him: (JK:) an act. part. n. of خَلَفَهُ, inf. n. خَلَفٌ and خِلَافَةٌ; as also ↓ خَلِيفٌ : (TA:) or it may have the meaning of an act. part. n. or that of a pass. part. n.: and so in the sense next following: (Msb:) the supreme, or greatest, ruler or sovereign, (S, Msb, K, TA,) who supplies the place of him who has been before him; (TA;) [particularly the successor of the Prophet; whence “ Caliph, ” commonly used by English writers for “ Khaleefeh; ”] as also ↓ خَلِيفٌ , (K,) which is the original form, (Msb,) without ة; (Msb, TA;) disapproved by some, but mentioned by AHát and Ibn-' Abbád and IB, and occurring in a verse of Ows Ibn-Hajar cited by IB: (TA:) the ة in the former is to denote intensiveness of signification, (Nh, Msb, TA,) as in عَلَّامَةٌ and نَسَّابَةٌ: (Msb:) or, as some say, لِلنَّقْلِ [i. e. for the transference of the word from the category of epithets to that of substs.]: (TA:) it is also said that the word may be an epithet of which the subst. qualified thereby is suppressed, for نَفْسٌ خَلِيفَةٌ; but this requires consideration: (MF, TA:) it is an epithet applied to a man peculiarly: (Msb:) some make it fem.; (Fr, S, Msb, K;) saying هٰذَا خَلِيفَةٌ أُخْرَى [This is another Khaleefeh]; though the proper way is to make it masc.: (Msb:) a poet says, “ أَبُوكَ خَلِيفَةٌ وَلَدَتْهُ أُخْرَى
وَأَنْتَ خَلِيفَةٌ ذَاكَ الكَمَالُ
” [Thy father was a Khaleefeh, whom another Khaleefeh begat; and thou art a Khaleefeh: that is perfection]: (Fr, S:) the pl. is خَلَائِفُ [generally applied to any people that have succeeded others, and supplied their places, as in the Kur x. 15], (S, K,) like as كَرَائِمُ is pl. of كَرِيمَةٌ; (S;) and خُلَفَآءُ [generally applied to successors of the Prophet], (S, K,) because, as it applies only to the male, and has ة added, the ة is dropped in forming the pl., which is thus like ظُرَفَآءُ as pl. of ظَرِيفٌ: (S:) thus says ISk, and the like is said in the O: but what AHát and Ibn-'Abbád say requires not this straining: (TA:) [i. e.] خَلَائِفُ is pl. of خَلِيفَةٌ; and خُلَفَآءُ, of ↓ خَلِيفٌ : (JK:) or some, having regard to the original, make the pl. to be خُلَفَآءُ, like as شُرَفَآءُ is pl. of شَرِيفٌ; (Msb;) and this pl. is masc. only, so that you say ثَلَاثَةٌ خُلَفَآءَ: (ISk, Msb, TA:) and some, having regard to the word itself [in its altered and used state], make the pl. to be خَلَائِفُ; (Msb;) and this pl. may have prefixed to it either a masc. or a fem. n. of number, so that you say ثَلَاثَةٌ خَلَائِفَ and ثَلَاثُ خَلَائِفَ; (ISk, Msb, TA;) both of which are chaste. (Msb.) You say, كَانَ ا@للّٰهُ خَلِيفَةَ وَالِدِكَ عَلَيْكَ [May God be to thee a supplier of the place of thy father]: (S, Msb: *) and in like manner you say, to a person, of any one whom he has lost by death, (S, Msb,) and who cannot be replaced; as the paternal uncle; (Msb;) or the mother. (K.) Some say that the application of the title خَلِيفَةُ ا@للّٰهِ [The Vicegerent of God] is not allowable, except to Adam and David because there is express authority in these instances [in the Kur ii. 28 and xxxviii. 25]; but others allow it in other cases, like سُلْطَانُ ا@للّٰهِ and جُنُودُ ا@للّٰهِ and حِزْبُ ا@للّٰهِ and خَيْلُ ا@للّٰهِ; all of which have been heard: (Msb:) and Zj says that it is allowable to say of the Imáms that they are خُلَفَآءُ ا@للّٰهِ فِى أَرْضِهِ [The Vicegerents of God in his earth]. (TA.)
An Arabic-English Lexicon. London. Williams and Norgate. 1863.
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