as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ﴾[1]; “O you who believed! Fear Allah and be with the truthful.” Likewise, there is no one among people unless he is considered more righteous than another one of them, while it is certainly not obligatory for each of them to follow another for this reason.

Yes, undoubtedly, the early Muslims who saw and obeyed the Prophet possessed virtue; as Allah Almighty has said about them: ﴿وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ﴾[2]; “And the first forerunners among the Muhajirin and the Ansar and those who followed them in goodness—Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great triumph.” However, to be fair, proving virtue for them does not necessitate negating virtue from later generations; it does not even prove their superiority over later generations, as a group of future Muslims who did not see the Prophet and yet obeyed him might be more virtuous than them; considering that obeying the Prophet without seeing him is more difficult. Nevertheless, the superiority of the early Muslims over later generations, if proven, only means that their reward in the Hereafter is greater, and it does not prove that it is necessary for later generations to follow them; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿انْظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ۚ وَلَلْآخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًا﴾[3]; “See how We preferred some of them over some others. And undoubtedly, the Hereafter is greater in giving rank and preference.”

[The Impossibility of Following the Predecessors]

From here, it is understood that following the first three generations of Muslims has no basis in Islam and cannot be justified by any explanation. This is regardless of its impossibility in reality; because the first three generations of Muslims were various individuals and groups with contradictory statements and actions, to the extent that they considered the statements and actions of each other to be incorrect and fought over them. It is clear that, in this case, following them is impossible;