Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safinah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The period of caliphate in my Ummah will last for thirty years. After that, kingship will come. Then Sayyiduna Safinah said to me (Sa‘id bin Jumhan): Count the periods of caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna ‘Umar, Sayyiduna ‘Uthman, and Sayyiduna ‘Ali; we found the total of all these periods to be thirty years. I also looked at the periods of the caliphs after them, but I did not find thirty years completed among them. I (i.e., Hashrah bin Nabatah ‘Absi Kufi) asked Sa‘id: Where did you meet Safinah? He replied that during the rule of Hajjaj, I met him in Batn Nakhl, and I stayed with him for eight nights. I kept asking him about the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I asked him: What is your real name? He said: I will not tell you that, but the fact is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) named me Safinah. I asked: Why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) name you Safinah? He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions were on a journey, and carrying the luggage became a burden and hardship for them, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: Spread your sheet. I spread the sheet, and everyone put their luggage in it, and I was made to carry it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: Carry it, you are Safinah (i.e., a ship). By the blessing of his words, even if I had carried the weight of one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven camels that day, I would not have felt it heavy. The people (the caravan) of Al-Ayyah would go ahead of me.