A review of Ahl al sunnah's reasoning about the verse of Estekhlaf and its relationship with the age of Appearance

Some of the Sunni scholars have attempted to find Quranic documentation for what happened after death of the Prophet Mohammad. One such Quranic verses is the verse of 'Estekhlaf' (Noor: 55), which has a special standingin the views ofSunni theologians and commentators in the issue of caliphate. It is one of their arguments for proving the rightfulness of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and the other Caliphs. These Sunni scholars have attempted to interpretthe content of this verse in a way thatit can only be applied to Caliphs and also reject any other interpretation that may make way for its applicationto anybody other than actual Caliphs.Therefore, the audience of the following verse is taken as to be present in the age of Prophet's lifespan: va ad allahollazinaamanoomenkomvaamelossalehat (Traslation of the verse: God has promised to those who believe and do good deeds.) Accordingly, some Sunni commentators such as Fakhr al-Razi,have denied the application of the Ayah to the Shiite Imams (who havent been present at the Prophet's lifespan).Aloosi has also ruled out its application to Imam Mahdi, who has not been present due to the absence of Imam Mahdi. However, according to Shia Hadith, both the content and the form of this verse show that the promised people are the holy twelve Imams including Mahdi and their followers:These hadiths rule out the fulfillment of this promise at the same age as the Prophet's lifespan. Thus, Shiite sources argue that fulfillment of this promise is only possible at the age of re-appearance of Imam Mahdi.