Hatua hii inawakilisha zama za Makhalifa Waongofu94 na Maswahaba wakuu (masahaba wa Mtume ﷺ). Inaanzia katika ukhalifa wa Abu Bakr (632-634 BK) hadi Dola ya Kiislamu ilipopanuka kwa kasi katika miaka ishirini ya kwanza ya hatua hii na kujumuisha Syria, Jordan, Misri, Iraq na Uajemi. Hivyo, Waislamu ghafla walijikuta wanakutana na mifumo, tamaduni na mienendo mipya kabisa ambayo haikuwa na masharti mahsusi katika sheria za Sharia'. Ili kukabiliana na matatizo mengi mapya, Makhalifa Waongofu walitegemea sana maamuzi kwa makubaliano (Ijmaa') pamoja na Ijtihaad, ambayo walikuwa wamefunzwa nayo na Mtume ﷺ walipokuwa pamoja naye baada ya kuhamia Madina. Katika matumizi yao mapana ya Ijmaa' na Ijtihaad, makhalifa hawa walianzisha taratibu ambazo baadaye zikawa msingi wa sheria katika Uislamu, yaani Fiqhi.

This stage represents the era of the Righteous Caliphs94 and the major Sahaabah (companions of the Prophet (s.w.). It extends from the caliphate of Abu Bakr (632-634CE) to the Islamic state were rapidly expanded during the first twenty years of this stage to include Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Persia. Thus, Muslims were suddenly brought into contact with totally new systems, cultures, and patterns of behavior for which specific provision was not to be found in the laws of Sharee’ah. To deal with the numerous new problems, the Righteous Caliphs relied heavily on decisions by consensus (Ijmaa’) as well as Ijtihaad, in which they had been trained by the Prophet (s.w.) while they were with him after his migration to Madeenah. In the course of their extensive use of Ijmaa’ and Ijtihaad, these caliphs established procedures which later became the basis for legislation in Islaam, that is Fiqh.

Katika sehemu hii tutachunguza kwa kina taratibu za kutatua matatizo zilizobuniwa na Makhalifa Waongofu, pamoja na mbinu ya jumla iliyotumiwa na Maswahaba binafsi katika kufikia hitimisho. Pia tutajaribu kuonyesha kwa nini kipindi hiki kilikuwa huru kiasi kutokana na mifarakano ya kimakundi iliyoashiria vipindi vya baadaye, na tutabainisha baadhi ya sifa za Fiqh katika kipindi hiki, ambazo nyingine zinatofautiana kabisa na maendeleo ya baadaye.

In this section we shall examine, in some detail, the problem-solving procedures developed by the Righteous Caliphs and the general approach used by individual Sahaabah in making deductions. We shall also attempt to show why this period was comparatively free of that factionalism which marked later periods, and we shall note certain characteristics of Fiqh during this period, some of which are in strong contrast with later developments.