“O ‘Ā’ishah, the Arabs will be few that day.” I asked, “What will suffice the believers for food that day?” He replied, “What suffices the angels: glorifying Allah, proclaiming His greatness, praising Him, and declaring that none has the right to be worshipped but Him.” I asked, “What will be the best possession that day?” He replied, “A strong young man who supplies his household with water. As for food, there will be none.”

Recorded by Ahmad (6/125), Hanbal (47/2), and Abū Ya‘lā (3/1133), through Hammād ibn Salamah, from ‘Alī ibn Zayd, from al-Hasan, from her.

I say: This chain of transmission is weak. Al-Hasan—namely, al-Basrī—practised tadlīs (concealment in transmission), and ‘Alī ibn Zayd—namely, Ibn Jud‘ān—is weak.

Al-Haythamī overlooked this and said (7/335):

“Recorded by Ahmad and Abū Ya‘lā, and its narrators are those of al-Sahīh.”

29 – I have found no corroborating report for it.

30 – It is supported by the hadith of ‘Alī (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“The Mahdī is one of us, the people of the household. Allah will set him right in a single night.”

This hadith is reliably established and is documented in al-Sahīhah (2371).

31 – The following hadiths support this passage:

The first is from ‘Uthmān ibn Abī al-‘Ās, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say:

“The Muslims will have three cities: a city at the meeting of the two seas, a city at al-Hīrah