He also said—may Allah sanctify his soul:

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bless him and his family and grant them abundant peace.

A Principle

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The prophetic caliphate will last thirty years; then Allah will bestow His kingship—or kingship—upon whomever He wills.”

Abū Dāwūd’s wording, as transmitted by ‘Abd al-Wārith and al-‘Awwām:

“The caliphate will last thirty years, then there will be kingship.”

“The caliphate will last thirty years, then it will become kingship.”

This is a well-known hadith transmitted by Hammād ibn Salama, ‘Abd al-Wārith ibn Sa‘īd, al-‘Awwām ibn Hawshab and others, from Sa‘īd ibn Jumhān, from Safīna, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It was narrated by the compilers of the Sunan, such as Abū Dāwūd and others. Imam Ahmad and others relied upon it to establish the caliphate of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Ahmad affirmed its authenticity and cited it against those who withheld judgment concerning ‘Alī’s caliphate because of