Uthmān *) (1), so Islam and its laws were more manifest and widespread in their time than afterward.
In the two Sahīh collections, Jābir ibn Samurah reports that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“This authority will remain strong through twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh.”
Al-Bukhārī’s wording is: “Twelve rulers.” Another version reads: “The affairs of the people will continue to run their course while they have twelve men ruling them.” Yet another reads: “Islam will remain strong through twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh.” (2)
And so it was. The caliphs were Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Alī. Then came those around whom the people united and who attained power and strength: Muāwiyah and his son Yazīd, then Abd al-Malik and his four sons, with Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz ruling between them. Thereafter, the Islamic state suffered a decline that persists to this day. The Umayyads ruled over all the lands of Islam, and the state was strong (3) in their time.
The caliph was called by his own name: Abd al-Malik or Sulaymān. They knew nothing of titles such as Adud al-Dawlah, Izz al-Dīn, Bahā al-Dīn (4), or so-and-so al-Dīn. Each caliph himself would lead the people in the five daily prayers (5), and in the mosque he would prepare the military banners and appoint commanders. He lived simply in his own house; they did not live in fortresses, nor did they seclude themselves from (6) their subjects.