And we believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had righteous successors who succeeded him in his community in knowledge, calling, and authority over the believers, and that the best of them and the most deserving of the caliphate is

The Shaykh : Then he said: "And we believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had righteous successors".
We believe in the Rightly Guided Caliphate, and they are: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali. We believe that these are the successors of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) who succeeded him in his community in knowledge, calling, and authority over the believers. That is, these caliphs succeeded the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) in the community in knowledge, so they possessed knowledge that others did not have; in calling, for they were callers to Allah and to the religion of Allah; and in authority over the believers, for they had complete authority and control over the believers. For this reason, they are called the commanders of what? The commanders of the believers. So it is said: Commander of the Believers 'Umar, Commander of the Believers 'Uthman, and Commander of the Believers 'Ali. As for Abu Bakr, he combined two things: being the successor of the Messenger of Allah and being the Commander of the Believers. For this reason, we do not say that he is a successor but not the Commander of the Believers; rather, he is the Commander of the Believers and a successor. There is no one in the community who can be described as the successor of the Messenger of Allah except whom? Abu Bakr. 'Umar was the successor of Abu Bakr; Abu Bakr appointed him as successor over the believers. 'Uthman was likewise the successor of 'Umar. But the successor of the Messenger of Allah is Abu Bakr. Is he the Commander of the Believers? Yes, yes.
And it indicates that one may restrict oneself to the specific description even when the general description exists, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said one day: Does the meaning is that you are my companions and not my brothers? No, rather you are my companions, and companionship is more specific than brotherhood.
Be careful so that the matter does not become confused for you. Sometimes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) negates a description because a more specific description exists, because a description more specific than it exists. So here—Mundhir, is your name Mundhir? Mudathir, where did you go? And the mind, is it covered or not? Huh? With me? Uncovered? Okay—
I say: The Messenger said: or as he said. So here, we do not say: When he said he denied that they were his brothers, but he mentioned what is more specific than brotherhood, which is companionship. Okay.
We say: Abu Bakr is the successor of the Messenger, and also the Commander of the Believers? And the Commander of the Believers, because his command over the believers is established by the consensus of the believers. All the Muslims pledged allegiance to him, and all the believers testify that he is the best of this community after its Prophet. Even 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), while he was the successor of the believers and the Commander of the Believers, would declare from the pulpit of Kufa, explicitly, that the best of this community is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar.
And the wonder is that the Rafidah claim their allegiance to 'Ali while they lie about 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, because when he said: and he had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and pledged allegiance to 'Umar, it means that he is what? A liar in what he says, and that he is a hypocrite, having pledged allegiance contrary to what was in his heart. And this is the greatest slander against 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. And they claim that they are his allies, but they were not his allies; indeed, his allies are only the believers.
So in any case, we say: The best, yes, we say: That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had successors who succeeded him in the community in knowledge, calling, and authority. So they are the successors of the Messenger in his community in these three matters.
"And that the best of them and the most deserving of the caliphate is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq". We believe in this, that he is the best of them and that he is the most deserving of the caliphate. As for his being the best of them, it is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly, , and he said on the pulpit: And the khalil is the one whose love is pure and has reached its peak. For this reason, the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) refrained from making a khalil from his community, because his heart was filled with what? With the love of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Okay.
And we also believe that he is the most deserving of the authority; he is the best of them and the most beloved to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and that he is the most deserving of the authority due to the existence of proofs:
First: That the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed him as his successor over his community in the leading of the prayer, and the prayer is the best of the rituals of Islam. So he made him his successor over them in the greatest of the rituals of their religion, which is the prayer. So how could he not be a successor in the matters of their worldly affairs?
Second: That the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) appointed him as his successor over his community in leading the pilgrims. In which year? The ninth year of the Hijrah. He made him the commander over the pilgrims, and the pilgrims, as you know, have a wide scope; their scope is wider than those in Madinah. So he made him the commander over them.
Third: That the Messenger said: which indicates that he is the successor after him, so that it is easy for people to reach him, because his door is in the mosque, and so that it is easy for him to reach the people as well.
Fourth: . And this is like an explicit text that he is what? The successor after him.
Also, he said: . And the proofs for this are many, so there is no doubt that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is the best of the community and the most deserving of the caliphate of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
"Then after that, 'Umar". 'Umar, to whom the pledge of allegiance was given during the time of Abu Bakr, meaning: that Abu Bakr entrusted 'Umar with the caliphate of the Muslims. And if he is the caliph of the Muslims, then his action regarding the caliph or in appointing a caliph is valid or not valid? Valid, without doubt. So his appointment of 'Umar is a valid appointment in accordance with the Shari'ah, because as long as he is the caliph over the Muslims, he has the right to appoint as his successor whoever he sees as qualified for the caliphate. Did Abu Bakr appoint his son 'Abdullah or his son 'Abd al-Rahman or his relatives? No. He appointed a man he saw as the best of the community for the community of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that he is not to be accused (may Allah be pleased with him) of having appointed 'Umar.
After that, he says: "Then 'Uthman ibn 'Affan". 'Uthman ibn 'Affan took office through election, but it is not the election of the West based on dinars and dirhams, but rather the election of truth and justice.
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was extremely scrupulous, extremely scrupulous, and it seemed that at his death he did not see anyone specifically more deserving than others, otherwise he would have had the precedent of Abu Bakr. But he did not see anyone specifically more deserving than others, so he would console himself by saying: meaning: the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him). So he (may Allah be pleased with him) saw with his penetrating insight that he should make the matter a consultation among those to whom the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) had bequeathed his satisfaction, so they would consult on who would take on the caliphate. Did he give his son a share in it? No, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said: He will participate, but he will not participate in the opinion; he will only attend the sessions, to please his heart.
And on this basis, we say: The appointment of 'Uthman occurred on the correct and sound methodology, because he was elected from among the members appointed by whom? 'Umar, who was the caliph. So these members were appointed in accordance with the Shari'ah, and then they elected 'Uthman also in accordance with the Shari'ah, because when they elected, they appointed 'Uthman and 'Ali, and then they presented to 'Ali that he take on the right of it and the conditions mentioned, but he (may Allah be pleased with him) was hesitant about that, so 'Uthman accepted it, and he became the caliph even in the view of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), because he submitted and pledged as the others pledged.
Who remained of these? 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) undoubtedly became the caliph after 'Uthman, but the caliphate in his time was not a matter of agreement. Those who rose up against him did so, but their interpretation is to be judged by Allah the Exalted. And the fitnahs occurred; after the killing of 'Uthman, the great fitnahs and division occurred, and the enmity of the people was made between them. But despite this, we affirm that the caliph is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and that Mu'awiyah or anyone else has no right to the caliphate. He renounced it to Mu'awiyah, a renunciation that is lawful or not lawful? Lawful, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated that in his saying to al-Hasan: So he attained sovereignty in this world and the Hereafter (may Allah be pleased with him).
His brother al-Husayn shared with him in the leadership of the Hereafter when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . However, the leadership in this world and the Hereafter belongs to al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), and he is undoubtedly superior to al-Husayn because of his noble deeds and his favor upon the believers in general, as he renounced the caliphate, which most people strive for, renouncing it for what? For the sake of reconciliation and sparing blood. So, in truth, he ransomed the people by his renunciation of the caliphate, so may Allah reward him well for the Ummah of Muhammad.
So the Rightly Guided Caliphs are these four (may Allah be pleased with them).
He said: "And thus they were in the caliphate", if Allah wills, in the next lesson.
The page before it: "Then 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them all), and thus they were".