The Lineage of the Twelve Caliphs and Kings
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
The Prophet ﷺ foretold about twelve caliphs and rulers — to which family do they belong?
❖ Answer:
The twelve caliphs and rulers mentioned by the Prophet ﷺ all belong to the Quraysh. The institution of caliphate and rule is exclusive to Quraysh. This is established by authentic aḥādīth and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Companions.
Including any non-Quraysh in these twelve caliphs contradicts authentic aḥādīth and consensus.
✿ Prophetic Hadith
Narrated by Jābir ibn Samurah رضي الله عنه:
إن هذا الأمر لا ينقضي حتى يمضي فيهم اثنا عشر خليفة، قال: ثم تكلم بكلام خفي علي، قال: فقلت لأبي: ما قال؟ قال: كلهم من قريش
“This matter (of governance) will not end until there have been twelve caliphs. Then the Prophet ﷺ said something softly which I could not hear. I asked my father: What did he say? He replied: ‘All of them will be from Quraysh.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7222, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1821 – wording of Muslim)
✿ Scholarly Consensus
✔ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله (676H) said:
إن الخلافة مختصة بقريش لا يجوز عقدها لأحد من غيرهم وعلى هذا انعقد الإجماع فى زمن الصحابة فكذلك بعدهم…
“The caliphate is exclusive to Quraysh; it is not permissible to establish it for anyone other than them. Consensus was established on this during the era of the Companions, and likewise thereafter. Whoever from among the people of innovation opposes this or suggests otherwise is refuted by the consensus of the Companions, the Successors, and those after them — as well as by authentic aḥādīth.”
(Sharḥ al-Nawawī: 12/200)
Conclusion:The twelve caliphs and rulers prophesied by the Prophet ﷺ are all from Quraysh, and this has been affirmed by authentic reports and the unanimous agreement of the Companions and the scholars after them.
