1182 — We were also informed by Abū Abd Allah Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Jabbār al-Sūfī, who said: Yahyā ibn Maīn narrated to us, saying: Abd Allah ibn Sālih narrated to us, saying: Al-Layth ibn Sad narrated to us, from Khālid ibn Yazīd, from Saīd ibn Abī Hilāl, from Rabīah ibn Sayf, who said: We were with Shufayy al-Asbahī when he said: I heard Abd Allah ibn Amr say: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “There will be twelve caliphs after me. Abū Bakr will remain after me for only a short while, while the pivot around whom the Arabs revolve will live an honorable life and die a martyr.” They asked, “Who is he?” He replied, “Umar ibn al-Khattāb.” He then turned toward Uthmān and said, “O Uthmān, if Allah clothes you in a shirt and the people press you to remove it, do not remove it. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if you remove it, you will not smell the fragrance of Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: After Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Alī—may Allah be pleased with them—many people assumed the caliphate. Some ruled justly, and their reward is with Allah; others fell short in what they owed Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and exceeded all bounds. They have all returned to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and He is the most just of judges. We have been commanded to hear and obey them in matters involving no disobedience, to pray behind them, to wage jihad with them, and to perform the pilgrimage with them—the righteous and the wicked among them, the just and the unjust alike. We have also been commanded not to rebel against them and to remain patient ⦗1709⦘ until Allah, Mighty and Majestic, brings relief.

A man asked al-Hasan, “O Abū Saīd, what do you say concerning these rulers of ours?” Al-Hasan replied, “What can I possibly say about them? They conduct our pilgrimage, lead our military campaigns, distribute our public revenues, and enforce our prescribed penalties. By Allah, obeying them is indeed galling, but breaking away from them is disbelief. What Allah sets right through them is greater than what they corrupt.”

Al-Hasan was also told, “O Abū Saīd, a Kharijite has rebelled at al-Harība.” He replied, “The poor man saw something reprehensible and sought to oppose it, only to fall into something even more reprehensible.”