Earlier we referred to the ḥadith of the Black Banners (1) that the ʿAbbāsids raised when they seized authority from the Umayyads in the year 132 AH. They wrested the caliphate from Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ—known as Marwān al-Ḥimār and Marwān al-Jaʿdī, the latter nickname because of his attachment to al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham the Muʿtazilī. He was the last Umayyad caliph, after whom the caliphate passed to al-Saffāḥ. He is explicitly named in a ḥadith recorded by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal in his Musnad (2); his full name is Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the first caliph of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, as mentioned earlier.

Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī said: Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim narrated to us, from Layth, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ, from Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī, from Abū ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ and Muʿādh ibn Jabal, that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Allah began this matter with prophethood and mercy; then it will become a caliphate and mercy; then it will turn into biting kingship; then it will be glory, tyranny, and corruption in the community: they will deem illicit sexual relations, wine, and silk lawful, yet they will continue to be granted victory and provision forever, until they meet Allah—Exalted is He.” (3)

Al-Bayhaqī transmitted—through ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥāṭib al-Jumaḥī, from Suhayl ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“After the prophets there will come caliphs who govern by the Book of Allah and act justly toward His servants. Then, after the caliphs, there will arise kings: they will exact vengeance, kill men, and appropriate wealth. Whoever resists them with his hand, whoever resists them with his tongue, and whoever resists them with his heart—beyond that there is no faith whatsoever.” (4)

It is authenticated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī—through Shuʿbah, from Furāt al-Qazzāz, from Abū Ḥāzim, from Abū Hurayrah—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“The Children of Israel were ruled by the prophets; whenever a prophet died, another succeeded him. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be caliphs—and they will be many.” They asked, “What do you command us, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Fulfil allegiance to the first, then the first, and give them their due, for Allah will question them about that with which He entrusted them.” (5)

And in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim—through Abū Rāfiʿ, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd—the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“No prophet has ever been sent without having disciples who followed his guidance and upheld his sunnah. Then, after them, there will come successors who say what they do not do and do what they are forbidden.” (6)

Both Ṣaḥīḥ collections relate—through ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Jābir ibn Samurah—that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“There will be twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh.” (7)

Abū Dāwūd recorded the same report through another chain from Jābir ibn Samurah, who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ …”