Badr—who numbered three hundred and ten-odd—‘Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you.’” And that no one who pledged allegiance beneath the tree will enter the Fire, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stated. Indeed, Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him; they numbered more than fourteen hundred.

They testify that those whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, testified would enter Paradise will do so, including the ten, Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās, and other Companions.

They affirm what has been established through mass transmission from the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—and others: that the best of this community after its Prophet is Abū Bakr, followed by ‘Umar. They place ‘Uthmān third and ‘Alī fourth—may Allah be pleased with them—as the transmitted reports indicate, and as the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—unanimously agreed to give ‘Uthmān precedence when pledging allegiance.

Nevertheless, some among Ahl al-Sunnah previously differed over which of ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī—may Allah be pleased with them both—was superior, after agreeing on the precedence of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. Some gave precedence to ‘Uthmān and said no more, or placed ‘Alī fourth; others gave precedence to ‘Alī, while others withheld judgment. However, Ahl al-Sunnah eventually settled on giving precedence to ‘Uthmān.

Although this question—the relative merit of ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī—is not, according to the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah, one of the foundational matters in which a person who disagrees is deemed misguided, the question in which disagreement does warrant that judgment is “the question of the caliphate.” They believe that the caliph after the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was Abū Bakr, followed by ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmān, then ‘Alī. Whoever impugns the caliphate of any of these leaders is more astray than his family’s donkey.