which believed caliph should be chosen by consensus
Sunni Muslims accept the first four Caliphs (including Ali) as the ârightly guidedâ rulers who followed the Prophet. In theory, Sunnis believe that the leader (imam) of the Muslim community should be selected on the basis of communal consensus, on the existing political order, and on a leaderâs individual merits.This premise has been inconsistently practiced within the Sunni Muslim community throughout history.his situation was unacceptable to some of Aliâs followers, who considered Abu Bakr and the next two succeeding caliphs (Umar and Uthman) to be illegitimate. Aliâs followers believed that the Prophet Muhammad himself had named Ali as successor and that the status quo was a violation of divine order.