I say: It is as they both said. Its narrators are trustworthy—the narrators used by the two Shaykhs—except al-Bara’ ibn Najiyah, who is trustworthy.

The second route: from al-Qasim ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, from his father, from him, attributed to the Prophet, with the same wording but without the phrase, “I said …” Ahmad transmitted it (1/390, 451), as did Abu Ya‘la, al-Tahawi, Ibn al-A‘rabi, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (1865—Mawarid), and al-Khattabi, through various routes from him.

I say: This too is an authentic chain according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs, notwithstanding the disagreement over whether ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud heard from his father. In my view, the stronger position is that he did hear from him, as explained elsewhere.

The third route: from Sharik, from Mujalid, from al-Sha‘bi, from Masruq, from him. It was transmitted by al-Tahawi and al-Tabarani (3/72/1).

A point of benefit: Al-Khatib, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “His statement, ‘The millstone of Islam will turn,’ is a metaphor, meaning that when this period comes to an end, a momentous event will occur in Islam, such that its people will fear destruction. When a matter changes and is transformed, it is said, ‘Its millstone has turned.’ This—Allah knows best—is an indication of the end of the period of the caliphate. His statement, ‘Their religion will endure,’ means their dominion and authority; for religion may mean dominion and authority. An example is the saying of Allah Most High: ‘He could not have taken his brother according to the law of the king.’ From the pledge of allegiance to Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan by al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali until the end of the Umayyad rule in the East was approximately seventy years.”

Al-Tahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “His statement, ‘After thirty-five, or thirty-six …,’ is not an expression of doubt. Rather, it would occur in whichever of those years Allah, Exalted is He, willed; and He willed that it should occur in the year