The Rightly Guided Caliphs:

• We believe that the Prophet, peace be upon him, has rightly guided

successors who carried out his Sunnah in spreading knowledge calling to

Islam, and managing the Muslims' affairs. We believe that the best among

them and the most entitled to the caliphate was Abu Bakr as Siddiq, then

'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, then 'Uthman Ibn Affan and then 'All Ibn Abi

Talib, may Allah be pleased with them all. Thus their succession to the

caliphate was according to their virtues. Allah, the Exalted, who possesses infinite wisdom, would not appoint a ruler over the best of generations unless he was the most superior among them and had the best claim to caliphate.

• We believe that the inferior among those rightly guided companions can

be superior in a specific virtue to those who were better than him but that

he does not deserve absolute superiority, for the elements constituting

superiority are varied and numerous. • We believe that the Muslim Ummah is the best among nations, and Allah, the Dignified and Exalted, has blessed it, because He said: "You are the best nation ever brought forth for mankind, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah"