Sālih, from al-Hasan, from Anas ibn Mālik, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Matters will only grow more difficult, the world will only decline, and people will only grow more miserly. The Hour will come only upon the worst of people, and there is no Mahdi except Jesus son of Mary’—this is a well-known hadith transmitted from Ibn Khālid al-Jundī al-San‘ānī, the muezzin and teacher of al-Shāfi‘ī. Several others also narrated from him. He is not an unknown narrator, as al-Hākim claimed; indeed, Ibn Ma‘īn is reported to have deemed him trustworthy. Some narrators, however, transmitted it from him, from Abān ibn Abī ‘Ayyāsh, from al-Hasan al-Basrī, omitting the intermediary between al-Hasan and the Prophet. Our teacher also related in al-Tahdhīb (The Refinement) that someone saw al-Shāfi‘ī in a dream saying: ‘Yūnus ibn ‘Abd al-A‘lā has lied about me; this is not one of my hadiths.’

I say: Yūnus ibn ‘Abd al-A‘lā al-Sadafī is a trustworthy narrator. His reliability should not be impugned merely on the basis of a dream. At first sight, this hadith appears to conflict with the hadiths we have cited establishing a Mahdi other than Jesus son of Mary, either before his descent—as seems more likely, and Allah knows best—or after it. Upon reflection, however, it does not contradict them. Rather, it would mean that the Mahdi in the fullest sense is Jesus son of Mary. This does not rule out someone else also being a Mahdi. Allah knows best.”

This concludes my quotation from al-Fitan wa-l-Malāhim (Tribulations and Great Battles) by Ibn Kathīr, may Allah have mercy on him.

He also commented in his Quran exegesis on the words of Allah Most High in Surah al-Mā’idah:

“Indeed, Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders from among them.”

After discussing these leaders, he said:

“Likewise, when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, received the pledge of allegiance from the Ansār on the night of al-‘Aqabah, there were twelve leaders among them. Three were from the Aws: Usayd ibn al-Hudayr, Sa‘d ibn Khaythamah, and Rifā‘ah ibn ‘Abd al-Mundhir—or, according to another account, Abū al-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihān in his place, may Allah be pleased with him. Nine were from the Khazraj: Umāmah As‘ad ibn Zurārah, Sa‘d ibn al-Rabī‘, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Rawāhah, Rāfi‘ ibn Mālik ibn al-‘Ajlān, al-Barā’ ibn Ma‘rūr, ‘Ubādah ibn al-Sāmit, ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Amr ibn Harām, and al-Mundhir ibn ‘Umar ibn Hunaysh, may Allah be pleased with them. Ka‘b ibn Mālik mentioned them in a poem transmitted by Ibn Ishāq, may Allah have mercy on him. The point is that these men served as representatives of their people that night at the command of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It was they who concluded the covenant and pledged allegiance to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on behalf of their people, with a commitment to hear and obey.

Imam Ahmad said: Hasan ibn Mūsā narrated to us; Hammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Mujālid, from al-Sha‘bī, from Masrūq, who said: We were sitting with ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd as he taught us the Quran. A man said to him, ‘Abū ‘Abd al-Rahmān, did you ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, how many caliphs would rule this ummah?’ ‘Abd Allāh replied, ‘No one before you has asked me about this since I came to Iraq.’ Then he said, ‘Yes, we did ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he replied, “Twelve, equal to the number of the leaders of the Children of Israel.”’ This is a singular hadith