and al-Khatib in al-Tarikh (11/218).

711 — “At the end of my ummah, the Mahdi will emerge. Allah will send down rain for him, the earth will bring forth its vegetation, he will distribute wealth in equal shares, livestock will become plentiful, and the community will grow great. He will live for seven or eight [years]—that is, pilgrimage seasons.”

Al-Hakim reported it in al-Mustadrak (4/557–558) through Sa‘id ibn Mas‘ud: al-Nadr ibn Shumayl narrated to us; Sulayman ibn ‘Ubayd narrated to us; Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji narrated to us from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said it.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy, and Sulayman ibn ‘Ubayd is al-Sulami. Ibn Ma‘in said: “Trustworthy.” Abu Hatim said: “Truthful,” as stated in al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil (Narrator Criticism and Accreditation) (2/1/95).

As for Sa‘id ibn Mas‘ud, this is how it appears in al-Mustadrak—Sa‘id—but the correct name is Sa‘d ibn Mas‘ud al-Marwazi. Ibn Hatim said (2/1/95): “He narrated from Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Sululi, Ruh ibn ‘Ubadah, Khalaf ibn Tamim, and Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab al-Qarqasani. He wrote to my father and Abu Zur‘ah, relating some of his hadiths to them, and he is truthful.” Al-Hakim said: “Authentic in chain of transmission,” and al-Dhahabi agreed with him.