ABSTRACT
Arabic literature abounds with similar passages relating to the problem of legitimacy of power or legality of government in Islam. Naturally, because of the growth of the Shi'ah as the main oppositional movement to the mainstream, in Islam, the debate in Islamic literature concentrates mainly upon the arguments and counterarguments of the rulers at any given period and the Shi'ite opposition. The debates, which often culminated in violence, were concerned with the diverse aspects of the legitimacy of power. They revolved mainly around the legality of the caliphate of the first four caliphs. At the very beginning, immediately after the death of the Prophet, the action of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and Abu 'Ubaydah quashed the demand of the ansar of Madinah to get a share in the leadership. The stress put on seniority of Islam created a serious social and political problem because it brought to the fore a social element regarded as inferior by the Meccan jahili nobility.
