He replied...

He replied: We have inquired the Messenger of Allah about it and he said: There will be twelve ones exactly the number of the nuqaba’ (chiefs) of the Children of Israel." Al-Tabarrani reported a hadith transmitted by Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-'As, tracing it back to the Prophet as saying: "When twelve men from the descendants of Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy seize power, there will be flicking and tattling till the Day of Resurrection. Also Ka'b al-Ahbar — as there should be a hadith by him!!

since everywhere is a "trace of him!! — reported: "There will be twelve Mahdis, and after them Spirit of Allah will come down (from the heaven) and Kill al-Dajjal.

Though all these traditions indicate the caliphs to be twelve ones, but they (narrators) have reported a hadith contradicting all of them, which is called the Ark hadith that was reported by the authors of Sunan, and confirmed by Ibn Hibban and other narrators, with these words: (the Prophet said): "Verily successorship after me will last for thirty years, after which it will be supreme power." Further Abu Dawud reported from Ibn Mas'ud a hadith with a chain going back to the Prophet that he said: "The era of caliphate in Islam will last for thirty-five or thirty-six or thirty-seven years.

If they (caliphs) perish, so everyone with his course, and if their religion is established, it will survive for seventy years." Al-Tabarrani and al-Khitabi added to it: People then inquired the Prophet: Is it with the exception of the passed years? He replied : Yes. Opinions of Some Scholars on These Traditions: Al-Qadi Iyad said: There are two objections raised regarding this number (i.e.

twelve), one of which being: It is contradicted by the Ark hadith uttered by the Prophet (S): "Verily successorship after me will last for thirty years, after which it will be supreme power (mulk)." since throughout these thirty years Muslims were ruled by the Four Caliphs (al-Khulafa' al-Rashidun) and (al-Imam) al-Hasan ibn Ali for several days. The second objection is: Caliphate was undertaken and conducted by caliphs exceeding this number.

In Kashf al-mushkil, Ibn al-Jawzi is reported to have said: I have made untiring and deep investigation concerning the meaning of this hadith, and strived hard to find out its hidden denotation, doing much inquiry about it, but I could not reach my sought aim.