…as a continuation of theirs, even linking his own days to those of the Four, and they went so far as to debate which of the two was superior—he or Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān, a Companion of the Prophet.

Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said: “I do not regard the statement of any of the Successors as authoritative proof except the statement of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.” Once this is understood, then if one omits ʿUmar’s days from the calculation the reckoning collapses, and if he includes them only to censure them he contradicts the leading imams. There is no escape from this, and all of it points to the oddness of this ḥadīth—Allah knows best.

Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād related: “Sufyān narrated to us, from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Abī al-ʿAbbās, who heard Abū al-Ṭufayl, who heard ʿAlī say:

‘This affair will remain among the Banū Umayyah so long as they do not differ among themselves.’ (1)

He also said: ‘Ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Ḥarmalah ibn ʿImrān, from Saʿīd ibn Sālim, from Abū Sālim al-Jayshānī, who heard ʿAlī say:

“Authority will remain with them until they kill one of their own and compete among themselves. When that happens, Allah will send against them people from the East who will slay them piecemeal and count them one by one. By Allah, they will not rule for one year but that we will rule for two, nor for two years but that we will rule for four.”’ (2)

Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād further reported: ‘Al-Walīd ibn Muslim narrated to us, from Ḥuṣayn ibn al-Walīd, from al-Azhar ibn al-Walīd, who said: I heard Umm al-Dardāʾ, who heard Abū al-Dardāʾ, say:

“When the young Umayyad caliph is slain unjustly between Syria and Iraq—while obedience is taken lightly and blood is shed without right”—meaning al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (3)—“such words are spoken only on the basis of divinely-received knowledge.”’

A notice concerning the foretelling of the ʿAbbāsid dominion: their first emergence was from Khurāsān under black banners in the year 132 AH.

Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān said: ‘Muḥammad ibn Khālid ibn al-ʿAbbās narrated to me; al-Walīd ibn Muslim narrated to us; he said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh narrated to me, from al-Walīd ibn Hishām al-Maʿīṭī, from Abān ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿīṭ, who said:

ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās came to Muʿāwiyah while I was present. Muʿāwiyah rewarded him with a handsome gift and then said, “Abū al-ʿAbbās, will you—i.e., the Banū Hāshim—ever have a kingdom?” He replied, “Excuse me, Commander of the Believers.” Muʿāwiyah insisted, “You must tell me.” He answered, “Yes.” Muʿāwiyah asked, “Who will be your supporters?” He said, “The people of Khurāsān—and the Banū Umayyah will have allies among the Banū Hāshim as well.”’ Reported by al-Bayhaqī. (4)