The Role of the Elite during the Reign of the First Three...

The Role of the Elite during the Reign of the First Three Caliphs As has been previously discussed, this specially chosen group, which represented the virtuous community built by the Holy Imams (‘a) and demanded that the political and religious leadership be entrusted to Imam ‘Ali (‘a), played a considerable role in guiding the Muslim public during the reign of the second Caliph, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab.

However, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab determined that the choice of the leadership following himself would be restricted to six persons through the so-called principle of shura (consultation) and that the final decision would be at the discretion of ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf in the case that these six persons disputed the nomination of one among two. This was in fact an organized attempt to absorb the…