Who are the Rightly Guided Caliphs
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, are the Rightly Guided Caliphs the four well-known ones, or is it whoever succeeded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with beneficial knowledge and righteous action, as some scholars say?
Answer:
The Rightly Guided Caliphs, those described as the Rightly Guided, are the four. As for the caliphs in general, every one who succeeded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is included, for the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. So the term "Rightly Guided" is specific to the four, and it is also specific to them that their Sunnah is part of the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the other caliphs, their Sunnah is not part of the Sunnah of the Messenger; they are like the rest of the people. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, are the Rightly Guided Caliphs the four well-known ones, or is it whoever succeeded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with beneficial knowledge and righteous action, as some scholars say?
Answer:
The Rightly Guided Caliphs, those described as the Rightly Guided, are the four. As for the caliphs in general, every one who succeeded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is included, for the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. So the term "Rightly Guided" is specific to the four, and it is also specific to them that their Sunnah is part of the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the other caliphs, their Sunnah is not part of the Sunnah of the Messenger; they are like the rest of the people. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [792 /1350] هل الخلفاء الراشدون هم الأربعة؟ أم كل من خلف النبي ﷺ بالعلم النافع والعمل الصالح؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.