. V૤I< (cont.)

Just because it became customary to use that term for those four does not mean that the Muslim Nation did not have any rightly-guided successor after them. The hadith describes the attribute and does not identify who the people are. Every successor (caliph) who is pious and rightly-guided, following the truth, desiring the truth and not following his desires in his rule and what he orders and prohibits is a rightly-guided caliph. It would be a consensus only if the people of consensus would say that there is no rightly-guided caliph after those four. God forbid that 1 lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 3, pp. 338-339. 2 lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 3, p. 340. 3 ibn Uthaimeen, Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyah, vol. 2, p. 3 14. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi they should say that. Furthermore, the hadith that the author [al-Alaai] quotes is contradicted by many other hadith; such as the hadith, "The khilaafah will stay among the Quraish until the Hour is established." . . . 1 But al-Ashqar's final argument does not seem to be very strong. All of the other hadith he quotes simply mention successors but do not mention them as being rightly-guided, right-principled. Therefore, one could argue that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was specifically referpfug to a special group of successors, distinguishing them from the others, and not saying that these would be the only successors. Later successors might even by rightly-guided but not to the extent of the first four caliphs. Hence, they would be deserving of such an honorific title. Conclusion Concerning the Meaning of This Passage All scholars seem to agree that the expression, "rightly-guided successors" applies first and foremost to Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan and Ali. The question is whether this expression is pointing to them only or is it more general and, therefore, refers to all rightly-guided successors who follow the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). If the expression is taken in a more general sense, the hadith is of little value from a legal theory point of view. In other words, it points to the importance of following those who follow the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him), yet it is agreed upon that the ijtihaad of later scholars is simply their ijtihaad and other scholars are not bound to follow what they concluded. If the expression is taken to mean the four rightly-guided caliphs only, the question is to what extent must one follow the views of those four rightly­ guided caliphs. When they make ijtihaad, is it binding on all others? It seems that such was not the understanding of the Companions themselves. Many of them differed with the four rightly-guided caliphs on different issues of ijtihaad. Indeed, Umar even differed with Abu Bakr on some matters of ijtihaad. From the above, it seems that this hadith is not a hadith pointing to the obligation of following the ijtihaad of either the four rightly-guided caliphs or of particular later scholars who follow the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Put into the entire context of the hadith, this statement seems to be pointing to a broader concept. Innovations and differences have appeared and continue to appear among the Muslim nation. In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed Muslims how to react to such innovations and differences. One does not follow such innovations and new ideas. Instead, one sticks to the way of religion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1 Muhammad al-Ashqar, footnotes to al-Alaai, ljmaal, pp. 49-50. Hadith #28: "I advise you to have taqwa . . . " and those who adhered to his path, who are first and foremost Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan and Ali, and secondly the remainder of the Companions and great scholars throughout Islam. Their approach to the religion is the one and only correct approach to Islamthis is different from saying that they were correct in their individual ijtihaad. Their refusal to stray from the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him), their refusal to introduce new beliefs or concepts into Islam, their strict adherence to the sunnah in all matters, large or small, these are the type of matters concerning which they are setting the supreme example. One should not stray from their general approach in the least. Any straying from their approach to Islam is a misguidance and heresy. Now the Muslim has many examples or guides that he can look to in the face of differences and new ideas that cropped into Islam. He can see how the Prophet (peace be upon him) dealt with such ideas or comparable situations. If they did not exist during the Prophet's time, he can look at how the four rightly-guided caliphs dealt with such or similar issues. If they did not encounter the problem, he can see how the other Companions dealt with such an issue.