the consensus of Sunni scholars that Abū Bakr was more learned than ‘Alī. I know of none of the renowned imams who disputes this. How could it be otherwise, when Abū Bakr al-Siddīq would issue fatwas, give commands and prohibitions, pass judgments, and deliver addresses in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace? He did so when he and the Prophet went out to call people to Islam, when they emigrated together, on the day of Hunayn, and on other occasions. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained silent, approving his actions and accepting what he said. No one else held this position.

When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, consulted those of his Companions who possessed knowledge, religious understanding, and sound judgment, he gave precedence to Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. These two took precedence over all his other Companions in speaking and in matters of knowledge in the Messenger’s presence, peace be upon him. This was the case, for example, when he consulted them about the captives of Badr: Abū Bakr and ‘Umar were the first to speak. The same was true on other occasions.

It is reported in a hadith that he said to them:

“If you both agree on a matter, I will not oppose you.”

For this reason, their joint opinion constitutes authoritative evidence according to one of the two scholarly views, which is also one of the two positions reported from Ahmad. This is not the case with the opinion of ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī. In the Sunan collections, it is reported that he said:

“Follow the example of the two who come after me: Abū Bakr and ‘Umar.”

He did not accord this distinction to anyone else. Rather, it is authentically established that he said:

“Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold fast to it and bite firmly upon it with your molars, and beware of newly introduced