Was The Rightly Guided Caliphate Exactly Thirty Years?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is the duration of the rightly guided Caliphate exactly 30 years, or is the number mentioned in the hadith an approximation?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

When counting years and months, the Caliphate was exactly 30 years.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq: 2 years, 3 months, and 10 days.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab: 10 years, 6 months, and 8 days.

‘Uthman ibn Affan: 11 years, 11 months, and 9 days.

‘Ali bin Abi Talib: 4 years, 9 months, and 7 days.

Hasan bin ‘Ali: 6 months (7 months according to Imam Nawawi) [Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir]

The above adds up to 30 years and 33 days; however, some of the months in this period may have been only 29 days long.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he studied at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and later completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.