Rereading the Theory of Superiority in the Order of Caliphate and Its Consequences

One of the basic characteristics of the Caliph and the Imam about which Muslims disagree is the need to be superior to other members of the community. Some Sunni scholars do not consider such a condition necessary for the Imam and believe it is permissible to give priority to the inferior. On the other hand, the Imami Shiites and some Sunnis, although they disagree on the criterion of superiority, regard superiority as a necessary condition for Imamate. Many Sunnis have considered it expedient to be silent about Imamate as much as possible while discussing the issue of superiority, and therefore, in later periods, in order to eradicate the root of conflict, they put forth "superiority in the order of caliphate". In this article, in addition to examining the evolution of superiority, its criteria such as knowledge, piety, courage, jihad and physical strength, based on verses and hadiths, are discussed, and the problem facing this theory is explained.  For this reason, the Sunnis and even the three caliphs referred matters to the best, and preferred him over others. The most basic consequence of this theory is in the issue of "conflicts in narrations and judgments", and in this article, with a descriptive-analytical approach, the superiority of Imam and the theory of "superiority in the order of caliphate" and its consequences are scrutinized.