they surpassed all others. Uthman and Ali—may Allah be pleased with them both—each excelled the other in different respects (1): in forbearance and courage, in renouncing wealth and renouncing leadership, in striving with their persons (2) and striving with their wealth, and in knowledge of the Book and knowledge of the Sunnah. Thus, the superiority of one is evident in one member of each pair, just as the superiority of the other is evident in the other. Likewise, the superiority of Abu Bakr and Umar over them both is evident in most of these qualities, as is the superiority of all four—may Allah be pleased with them—over everyone else in most of them, and as the guidance of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is superior to that of Moses and Jesus—may Allah’s blessings be upon them all.

It is the lives of these four that Muslims generally—and scholars and rulers especially—must study, taking their guidance as their model after that of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is authentically reported in the Sunan collections from al-Irbād ibn Sāriyah that he said: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—delivered a sermon to us that brought tears to our eyes and caused our hearts to tremble. Someone said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, this sounds like a farewell sermon, so what do you charge us to do?’ He replied, ‘I counsel you to fear Allah, and you must hear and obey. Whoever among you lives after me will see much disagreement. Therefore, adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the upright, rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold fast to it and bite onto it with your molar teeth. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every innovation is misguidance.’” (3).