<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Rashidun Caliphs (Rightly Guided Caliphs; Arabic: الخلفاء الراشدون ‎ ‎ al - Khulafāʾu ar - Rāshidūn), often simply called, collectively, "the Rashidun", is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the 30 - year reign of the first four caliphs (successors) following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, namely: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali of the Rashidun Caliphate, the first caliphate . The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the later Abbasid Caliphate based in Baghdad . It is a reference to the Sunni imperative "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood). </P> <P> The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often described as the "Khulafāʾ Rāshidūn". The Rashidun were either elected by a council (see the election of Uthman and Islamic democracy) or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor . In the order of succession, the Rāshidūn were: </P>

The rule of the three rightly guided caliphs was called a