33/1. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1821a — Twelve Caliphs
The people follow the Quraish and the Caliphate belongs to the Quraish
Hadith About Twelve Caliphs from Quraish
Sahih Muslim : 1821a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1821a
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ حُصَيْنٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا رِفَاعَةُ بْنُ الْهَيْثَمِ الْوَاسِطِيُّ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الطَّحَّانَ - عَنْ حُصَيْنٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ، قَالَ دَخَلْتُ مَعَ أَبِي عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ " إِنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ لاَ يَنْقَضِي حَتَّى يَمْضِيَ فِيهِمُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً " . قَالَ ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ بِكَلاَمٍ خَفِيَ عَلَىَّ - قَالَ - فَقُلْتُ لأَبِي مَا قَالَ قَالَ " كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ " .
Jabir bin Samurah Narrated from:
I joined the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) with my father and I heard him say: This Caliphate will not end until there have been twelve Caliphs among them. The narrator said: Then he (the Holy Prophet) said something that I could not follow. I said to my father: What did he say? He said: He has said: All of them will be from the Quraish.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1821aIn-book reference : Book 33, Hadith 5USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 20, Hadith 4477
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1821a
This twelve caliphs hadith reports Jabir b. Samura hearing the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) say that the Caliphate would not end until twelve Caliphs had passed among them. The narrator then missed part of the Prophet’s words and asked his father what was said. His father replied that all of them would be from Quraish. The key point is not a list of names, because the hadith text does not give one. The clear message is the mention of twelve Caliphs and their link to Quraish. A careful explanation should keep to that wording. The narration also shows how a Companion asked someone present when he could not hear clearly.
What we learn from this hadith
- The hadith mentions twelve Caliphs in relation to this matter.
- The text states that all of them will be from Quraish.
- The narrator asked his father when he could not hear part of the statement.
- The narration does not provide a list of the twelve Caliphs.
