Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The imam is a shield by means of whom jihad is waged."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجزية / 18816
Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Battle of Tabuk while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was in a tent of leather. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Count six signs before the Hour: my death; the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis; countless deaths, as when sheep suddenly die; the abundance of wealth, to the extent that a man will be given a hundred dinars yet he will remain displeased; a tribulation will appear that will enter every house of the Arabs; and a truce will take place between you and the Romans, but they will break the covenant, and they will come against you under eighty (80) banners, under each banner twelve thousand."
(b) Al-Walid says: We discussed this hadith with one of the shaykhs of Madinah regarding his words "then the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis", and the shaykh said: Sa'id told me from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to narrate this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and in place of "the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis" he would say: "the flourishing (populating) of Bayt al-Maqdis."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجزية / 18817
Khalid narrates from Jubayr bin Nufayr (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: Come, take us to a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He says: We came to him, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The Romans will make peace with you; then you will together fight an enemy and obtain spoils of war, return safe and sound, and halt at a place called Dhu Tulul. There a Christian man will raise the cross and say that the cross has prevailed. Then a Muslim will seize the cross and break it, because of which the Romans will become enraged and gather for battle."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجزية / 18818