1223—Abū Sa‘īd al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Jassās narrated to us, saying: al-Rabī ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Shāfi‘i say: “The order in both the caliphate and merit is Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Ali—may Allah be pleased with him.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: This was also the position of Ahmad ibn Hanbal—may Allah have mercy on him.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn said: I have set forth, in explanation of the caliphates of Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Ali—may Allah be pleased with them all—material that will delight a believer when he examines it and increase his love for them all. But when a vile Rāfidī or a ⦗1768⦘ lowly, contemptible Nāsibī examines it, may Allah the Generous thereby make both of them weep in this world and the Hereafter, for both have opposed the Book, the Sunnah, and the way of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them all—and have followed a path other than that of the believers.

Allah—Mighty and Majestic—said:

“Whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a path other than that of the believers, We shall leave him to what he has chosen and burn him in Hell—what an evil destination!” [al-Nisā’: 115]

The Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—said: “You must adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs who are guided to the truth. Bite firmly onto it with your molar teeth.”

They are Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Ali—may Allah be pleased with them all—and those who follow them in the best manner.