Rightly Guided Khalifa (Sunni perspective)

The Rightly Guided Khalifa (Khalifa Rashed, The orthodox caliph) means a successor to the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). All Muslims must obey the rightly guided khalifas as The Prophet (pbuh) said:"Therefore, hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Khalifas (Caliphs), hold it between your front teeth! And beware of innovations (in the religion), for every innovation is a bid'ah (bid3a), and every bid'ah is a deviation, and every deviation is in the Fire." (Bukhari & Muslim) In order for someone to be a rightly guided khalifa he should maintain the following conditions:
1. He should follow the Sunnah so he should be very just too.
2. He should be from Quraish Tribe. this condition is not mandatory to be a normal Khalifa in this times (for example the Ottoman Caliphs) but it is a must to be counted among the 12 rightly guided khalifas as the prophet (pbuh) said.

Narrated by Jabir ibn Samurah: The Prophet (pbuh) said: The religion will continue to be established till there are twelve caliphs (Khalifas) over you, and the whole community will agree on each of them. I then heard from the Prophet (pbuh) some remarks which I could not understand. I asked my father: What is he saying: He said: all of them will belong to Quraysh.
3. All the Muslim Ummah (nation) will agree on him as a khalifa. This does not mean that he should rule the whole Muslims' states. For example: Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) did not rule the whole Muslims’ state but they all agree that he is the khalifa.
4. He should be raised in Madina since the prophet (pbuh) said:"The Khilafah (caliphate, succession) is in Madina and the dominion is in Damascus."We see that Abu-Bakr, Umar,Uthmân, Ali, Abdullah bin Azzubair, and Umar bin Abdul-Aziz (may Allah be pleased with them all) all lived for a long time in Madina while Mu3awiya lived most of his life in Makka and Damascus so he is not among the rightly guided khalifas (Khulafa' Râshidun) but he is still a great and very just Khalifa.As we see those strict conditions do not apply at anyone except 12 people:
1. Abu-Bakr
2. Umar
3. Uthmân
4. Ali: note here that all the Ummah agreed thet Ali is the khalifa. the disagreement between some of the Companians and Ali was about the political agenda of Ali not about the khilafah of Ali.
?. Abdullah bin Azzubair: probably he will not be counted here since not all the Ummah agree on him. Many Companians choosed Abdul-Malek bin Marwan as khalifa instead.
5. Umar bin Abdul-Aziz: A very just khalifa who lived most of his life in the Madina. All the Ummah agreed on him including the Shi3a and the Khawarej (although the Khawarej should not be counted as Muslims)
No one after Umar bin Abdul-Aziz can be considered as a rightly guided khalifa since the whole Ummah needs to agree on him. So, their are still 7 khalifas who did not apear yet. the Mahdi will be the last one of them. Correct Hadeeths (AHadeeth SaHiHa)Narrated Jabir ibn Samurah:

The Prophet (pbuh) said: The religion will continue to be established till there are twelve caliphs (Khalifas) over you, and the whole community will agree on each of them. I then heard from the Prophet (pbuh) some remarks which I could not understand. I asked my father: What is he saying: He said: all of them will belong to Quraysh.
Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph (khalifa) and a man of the people of Medina (Madina) will come flying forth to Mecca (Makka). Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria (Al-Sham) but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the eminent saints (Al-Abdal) of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam.
Then there will arise a man of Quraysh whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (pbuh) and establish Islam on Earth. He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.An army would attack this House in order to fight against the inhabitants of this House and when it would be at the plain ground the ranks in the centre of the army would be sunk and the vanguard would call the rear flanks of the army and they would also be sunk and no flank would be left except some people who would go to inform them (their kith and kin).Narrated Mustawrid al-Qurashi: I heard Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said: The Last Hour would come (when) the Romans would form a majority amongst people (This is exactly the situation today since Europeans and Americans are the largest group). Amr said to him (Mustawrid al-Qurashi): See what you are saying? He said: I say what I heard from Allah's Apostle (pbuh) Thereupon he said: If you say that, it is a fact for they have four qualities.
(1) They have the patience to undergo a trial and
(2) immediately restore themselves to sanity after trouble and
(3) attack again after flight.
(4) They (have the quality) of being good to the destitute and the orphans, to the weak and, fifthly, the good quality in them is that
(5) they put resistance against the oppression of kings."You will invade the Arabian Peninsula and Allah will grant it (to you). Then (you will invade) Persia and Allah will grant it (to you). Then, you will invade Rome (the Romans) and Allah will grant it (to you). Then, you will invade The Dajjal (and Jews) and Allah will grant him (to you)."
(So the Dajjal would not appear until Rome is conquered.)The Prophet (pbuh) said: The time between the great war and the conquest of the city (Constantinople) will be six years, and the Dajjal (Antichrist) will come forth in the seventh.
Abu Nadrah reported: We were in the accompany of Jabir and he said: It may happen that the people of Iraq may not send their qafiz and dirhams (their measures of food-stuff and their money). We said: Who would be responsible for it? He said: The non-Arabs would prevent them (this is exactly what happens today). He again said: There is the possibility that the people of Syria may not send their dinar and mudd. We said: Who would be responsible for it? He said: This prevention would be made by the Romans (i.e. All the white Europeans including the Americans).
He (Jabir ibn Abdullah) kept quiet for a while and then reported Allah's Apostle (pbuh) having said: There would be a caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah who would freely give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it.
I said to AbuNadrah and AbulAla: Do you mean Umar bin AbdulAziz? They said: No. (he would be Imam Mahdi) Good Hadeeths (AHadeeth Hasana)If only one day of this world remained. Allah would lengthen that day, till He raised up in it a man who belongs to me or to my family whose father's name is the same as my father's, who will fill the earth with equity and justice as it has been filled with oppression and tyranny. (Abu-Dawud) The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah (the daughter of the Prophet (pbuh) who married Ali and begot Hasan and Hussein). (Abu-Dawud)The Mahdi will be of my stock, and will have a broad forehead a prominent nose. He will fill the earth will equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.