He was asked about the statement of Shaykh “Abū Muhammad ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Zayd” at the end of his creed:

“The best generation is that of those who saw the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and believed in him, then those who followed them, then those who followed them. The best of the ‘Companions’ are the rightly guided caliphs: Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and ‘Alī.”

What is the evidence for the superiority of Abū Bakr over ‘Umar, of ‘Umar over ‘Uthmān, and of ‘Uthmān over ‘Alī? Once this has been established, must someone who ranks the less virtuous above the more virtuous be punished, or not? Explain this to us in detail; may you be rewarded, if Allah Most High wills.

He replied:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. As for the superiority of Abū Bakr, followed by ‘Umar, over ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī, this is agreed upon by the Muslim imams renowned as leading authorities in knowledge and religion, among the Companions, the Successors, and their successors.

This is the position of Mālik and the people of Medina; al-Layth ibn Sa‘d and the people of Egypt; al-Awzā‘ī and the people of Syria; and Sufyān al-Thawrī, Abū Hanīfah, Hammād ibn Zayd, Hammād ibn Salamah, and others like them among the people of Iraq.

It is also the position of al-Shāfi‘ī, Ahmad, Ishāq, Abū ‘Ubayd, and other imams of Islam who enjoy an honourable reputation in the Muslim community. Mālik reported the consensus of the people of Medina on this, saying: “I never encountered anyone whom I took as an example who doubted that Abū Bakr and ‘Umar should be given precedence.”