Mishkat al-Masabih 5456 — Fitnah

Umm Salama reported the Prophet as saying, "Disagreement will occur at the death of a Caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come forth flying to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will, and swear allegiance to him between the Corner[1] and the Maqam.[2] An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria, but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina, and when the people see that, the high saints[3] of Syria and the best people of al-`Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him. Then will arise a man of Quraish whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expeditionary force of Kalb. He will then govern the people by the sunnah of their Prophet and establish Islam in the earth. He[4] will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him." 1. The corner of the Ka'ba containing the black stone. 2. i.e., Maqam Ibrahim. 3. The word is abdāl. These are righteous people whose number never diminishes, as each one is replaced when he dies. Abdal is the plural of badal which ordinarily means a substitute. I have used a free translation because a literal translation of the word would not convey any conception of the meaning. 4. i.e., the Mahdi. Abu Dawud transmitted it.