How leadership began and what it will become, and the caliphate and kingship

Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were sitting in the mosque, and Sayyiduna Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) was a man who did not talk much. Sayyiduna Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said: "O Bashir bin Sa'd, do you remember the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about rulers?" Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "I remember the sermon of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." So Sayyiduna Abu Tha'labah (may Allah be pleased with him) sat down, and Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) related: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Prophethood will remain among you for as long as Allah wills (that is, the Prophet will remain alive among you); then Allah Almighty will lift it when He wills. Then there will be a caliphate on the method of prophethood, and it will remain for as long as Allah wills; then when Allah Almighty wills to lift it, He will lift it. Then there will be a tenacious kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah Almighty wills; then when Allah Almighty wills to lift it, He will lift it. Then there will be a tyrannical kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah Almighty wills; then when Allah Almighty wills to lift it, He will lift it. Then there will come a caliphate on the method of prophethood." After that he fell silent. The narrator Habib says: When Sayyiduna Umar bin Abd al-Aziz became caliph and Yazid bin Nu'man bin Bashir was among his companions, I wrote this hadith for him and reminded him of it. I said: "I hope that this refers to none other than the Commander of the Believers, that is, Sayyiduna Umar bin Abd al-Aziz, for he has come after the tenacious and the tyrannical kingships." He read out my letter to Sayyiduna Umar bin Abd al-Aziz, who was pleased with it and liked it.
Ahmad recorded it among the narrations reported from Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him); al-Bazzar recorded it in a more complete form, and al-Tabarani recorded part of it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) were talking in whispers about a hadith. I said to the two of them: "Have you not kept the instruction of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had instructed the two of them regarding me. They both said: "We did not intend to talk in whispers about anything to your exclusion; we were only mentioning a hadith which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) related to us." Then, mentioning the hadith, they both said (that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said): "This matter (that is, rule) will begin with prophethood and mercy; then there will be caliphate and mercy; then there will be a tenacious kingship; then there will be arrogance and tyranny, and there will be corruption in this Ummah, in that those people will declare silk, wine and illicit relations lawful; and there will be corruption in this Ummah, in that they will be helped in this and will be given provision continually until they come before Allah Almighty."
Abu Ya'la recorded it. Al-Bazzar recorded it from Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) alone, who narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The beginning of your religion was with prophethood and mercy," after which the narrator mentioned the hadith as before.

Al-Tabarani recorded this narration from Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him). They both narrate that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said; after this the narrator reported a narration similar to the hadith recorded by Abu Ya'la, except that he reported these words: "They will declare silk, illicit relations and wine lawful."
Its chain contains Layth bin Abi Sulaym, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain), and the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, entrust me to someone who teaches well." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted me to Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and then said: "I have entrusted you to a man who will teach you well and train you well." Sayyiduna Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When I came, Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) was talking with Sayyiduna Abu al-Nu'man Bashir bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him). When the two of them saw me, they both fell silent. I said: "O Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah, by Allah, this is not how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told me." He said: "Sit down; we will tell you." Then he related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will be prophethood among you, then there will be a caliphate on the method of prophethood, and then there will be kingship and tyranny."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator who is not named, and also a narrator who is majhul (unknown).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This matter will begin with prophethood and mercy; then there will be caliphate and mercy; then there will be kingship and mercy; then there will be rulership and mercy; and then people will bite one another over it just as donkeys bite one another. So hold fast to jihad, and the most virtuous of your jihad is guarding the frontier (ribat), and the most virtuous of your frontier-guarding will be at Asqalan."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Qays bin Jabir al-Sadafi narrates from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon after me there will be caliphs; after the caliphs there will be governors; after the governors there will be kings; and after the kings there will be tyrannical rulers. Then a man from my household will emerge who will fill the earth with justice just as it had been filled with oppression. Then a Qahtani will be made ruler. By the One who sent me with the truth, he will not be inferior to him."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a group of narrators whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will be thirty (years) of prophethood, then thirty years of kingship and tyrannical rule, and whatever comes after that will have no good in it."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Matar bin al-Ala' al-Ramli, whom I do not know, and the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).