…this community a man named al-Walīd; he will be more harmful to my nation than Pharaoh was to his own people.” (1)
Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī said, “At first the people believed that this referred to al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; later we realised that it was al-Walīd ibn Yazīd, because of the tribulation that befell the people on his account, when they rose against him, killed him, and turmoil and blood-shed swept over the Ummah.” (2)
Al-Bayhaqī likewise transmitted the report: from al-Ḥākim and others, from al-Aṣamm, from Saʿīd ibn ʿUthmān al-Tanūkhī, from Bishr ibn Bakr, from al-Awzāʿī, from al-Zuhrī, from Saʿīd—he cited the ḥadīth but did not include al-Awzāʿī’s remark—then said, “This is a good mursal report.” (3)
Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād also narrated it: from al-Walīd ibn Muslim with the same chain, and in his version al-Zuhrī said, “If al-Walīd ibn Yazīd is appointed caliph, then he is the one meant; otherwise it is al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik.” (4)
Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād further related: Hushaym narrated to us, from Abū Ḥamzah, from al-Ḥasan, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A man called al-Walīd will arise, and by him one of the corner-stones, one of the buttresses, of Hell-fire will be blocked.” (5) This report is also mursal.
[Another ḥadīth]
Sulaymān ibn Bilāl narrated from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When the sons of Abī al-ʿĀṣ reach forty men, they will turn the religion of Allah into a means of personal advantage, make Allah’s servants their slaves, and divide Allah’s wealth among themselves.” (6) Al-Bayhaqī recorded it through this chain.
Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād said: Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd and ʿAbd al-Quddūs narrated to us, from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Maryam, from Rāshid ibn Saʿd, from Abū Dharr, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “When the Banū Umayyah reach forty men, they will enslave Allah’s servants, regard Allah’s wealth as their personal gifts, and treat the Book of Allah deceitfully.” (7) The isnād is broken between Rāshid ibn Saʿd and Abū Dharr.
Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh said: Jarrīr narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAṭiyyah, from Abū Saʿīd, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said—. (The report continues.)