as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ﴾[1]; “And how can they reach it from a distant place?” Accordingly, He has considered his warning to be limited to those who were alive during his time, saying: ﴿لِيُنْذِرَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيًّا وَيَحِقَّ الْقَوْلُ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ﴾[2]; “To warn those who are alive, and the word is confirmed against the disbelievers.” Rather, He has considered his reminder beneficial only for those who act upon a widely transmitted report from him relying on intellect, or upon what they hear from him in person relying on the senses, saying: ﴿إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ﴾[3]; “Indeed, there is a reminder in it for whoever has intellect or listens attentively while present,” not for those who hear a narration from him in his absence and attribute it to him from a distant place; as He has said in objection: ﴿أُولَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ﴾[4]; “They are called from a distant place,” and: ﴿وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ﴾[5]; “And in absentia, they attribute from a distant place.” Meanwhile, a widely transmitted report from him is not sufficient for later generations, and hearing from him in person is impossible for them; this is a manifest hardship for them.

[The Obligation upon Allah to Appoint a Caliph for the Prophet]

From here, it is understood that it is incumbent upon Allah to establish a means by which later generations can have certain access to the Sunnah of the Prophet . This is because the need for the Sunnah of the Prophet is not limited to the people of his time but extends to later generations as well; considering that, without certain access to his Sunnah, later generations—like the people of his time—do not attain certainty about the details and applications of Allah’s rulings, and without such certainty, they are unable to establish Islam in its pure and perfect from; accordingly, they do not attain their perfection and salvation from decline.