Those who came after the rightly guided caliphs may also be called “caliphs,” even though they were kings and were not successors to the prophets. This is supported by the report recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their Sahīh collections, from Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The Children of Israel were governed by prophets. Whenever a prophet died, another prophet succeeded him. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be caliphs, and they will be many.” They asked, “What, then, do you command us to do?” He replied, “Honor the pledge of allegiance to the first, then the next. Give them their due, for Allah will question them about those He entrusted to their care.”

His words, “They will be many,” indicate that this refers to others besides the rightly guided caliphs, for they were not many. Likewise, his words, “Honor the pledge of allegiance to the first, then the next,” indicate that they would differ among themselves, whereas the rightly guided caliphs did not differ. His words, “Give them their due, for Allah will question them about those He entrusted to their care,” support the position of Ahl al-Sunnah concerning giving rulers their due from wealth and spoils of war.

I have explained elsewhere that authority passing to kings and their deputies—governors, judges, and commanders—is not due solely to shortcomings in them, but to shortcomings in both rulers and subjects. For, “As you are, so are those appointed to rule over you.” Allah Most High has said:

“Thus We set some wrongdoers over others.”

It has been amply reported and established elsewhere that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded obedience to rulers in matters that do not involve disobedience to Allah, sincere counsel to them, patience with their judgments and distributions, going on military campaigns with them, praying behind them, and similar matters