a hadith from al-Tirmidhī that also mentions black banners. He then said: “These banners are not those with which Abū Muslim al-Khurāsānī advanced and wrested power from the Umayyads in 132 AH. Rather, they are other black banners that will accompany the Mahdī, who is Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh, a descendant of ‘Alī, Fātimah, and al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him.” End of quotation.

8- Abū Dāwūd said in his Sunan: Ahmad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ja‘far al-Raqqī narrated to us; Abū al-Malīh al-Hasan ibn ‘Umar narrated to us, from Ziyād ibn Bayān, from ‘Alī ibn Nufayl, from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib, from Umm Salamah, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say:

“The Mahdī is from my family, a descendant of Fātimah.”

Ibn Mājah also narrated it from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib, who said: “We were with Umm Salamah and began discussing the Mahdī. She said that she had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘The Mahdī is a descendant of Fātimah.’”

Al-Suyūtī included this hadith in al-Jāmi‘ al-Saghīr and marked it as authentic. It was also included in Masābīh al-Sunan in the section on good hadiths. Al-Albānī said in his verification of the hadiths of al-Mishkāh: “Its chain of transmission is good.”

9- Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Manār al-Munīf that al-Hārith ibn Abī Usāmah said in his Musnad: Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Abd al-Karīm narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Aqīl narrated to us, from his father, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, from Jābir, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Jesus son of Mary will descend, and their leader, the Mahdī, will say: ‘Come and lead us in prayer.’ He will reply: ‘No; some of them are leaders over others, as an honor Allah has bestowed upon this community.’”

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “This is a good chain of transmission.” End of quotation.

Upon consulting what the scholars of hadith said about this chain of transmission, I found that it is connected from beginning to end, with no break. As for their assessments of each of its narrators:

Regarding Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Abd al-Karīm, the hadith master said in al-Taqrīb: “Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn Ma‘qil ibn Munabbih: truthful, one of the nine.” He mentioned in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb that he narrated from his cousin Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Aqīl and from others as well. It was from this Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Aqīl that Ismā‘īl narrated this hadith about the Mahdī. He also mentioned that a number of people narrated from this Ismā‘īl, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Hārith ibn Abī Usāmah.

Ibn Hajar also stated in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb that al-Nasā’ī said: “He is acceptable.” Ibn Hibbān included him in al-Thiqāt, and Ibn Ma‘īn said: “Trustworthy, a truthful man.” The hadith master Ibn Hajar said: “As for Ibn al-Qattān al-Fāsī’s claim that he is unknown, it is rejected.” Maslamah ibn Qāsim said: “His hadiths are acceptable.” The assessment in Khulāsat Tahdhīb al-Kamāl is limited to Ibn Ma‘īn’s description of him as “trustworthy and truthful.” It also states: “Ibn Sa‘d said: ‘He died in 210 AH.’” End of quotation.

He is among the narrators whose hadiths Abū Dāwūd included in his Sunan and Ibn Mājah in his Tafsīr, as indicated by the hadith master’s abbreviations in Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb.

The second narrator in the hadith’s chain is Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Aqīl ibn Ma‘qil al-San‘ānī, the cousin of the aforementioned Ismā‘īl. The hadith master said in al-Taqrīb: “Truthful, of the eighth generation,” and used an abbreviation indicating that his hadiths were narrated by Abū Dāwūd. He also said