Four Righteously Guided Caliphs
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The Four Righteously or Rightly Guided Caliphs or Khulifa Rashidoon in Arabic refers to the first four caliphs in the Sunni tradition of Islam who are seen as being model leaders. They were all close companions of Muhammad, and their succession was not hereditary, something that would become a hallmark of later caliphates and is considered an abomination in Shia Islamic theology.