Question: the rule of the three rightly guided caliphs was called a
Answer: 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 .