Hadith of the Twelve Successors

According to the prophecy there will reign twelve caliphs—presumably the first being crowned upon Muhammad's death—and after which the caliphate would cease to exist and mark the beginning of the judgement day or armageddon. It is stated that all twelve caliphs will be from the tribe of Quraysh. Interpretation of the hadith varies widely among Sunni scholars; some have openly claimed that they do not know the meaning.[1]

Another interpretation is that the prophecy was fulfilled by the Rashidun Caliphs.[2] Some commentators, such as Ibn Kathir and Ibn Taymiyya, link this hadith with the biblical account of Moses and his twelve deputies.[3][4][5][6]

Imam Muslim on Sahih Muslim wrote: Rasulullah s.a.w said: "This religion (Islam) will remain standing until twelve caliphs, which all of them is from Quraysh, rule over you." (Sahih Muslim)

Imam Abu Dawud on Shahih Abi Dawud wrote: Masyruq said: We were sitting with Abdullah bin Mas'ud to learn the Qur'an from him. Someone asked him: Did you ask the Messenger of Allah s.a.w how many caliphs will rule this Ummah (Community)? Ibnu Mas'ud answered: Of course we asked this thing from Rasulullah s.a.w and he answered: "Twelve, like the amount of the leaders of Banu Isra'il." (Shahih Al-Bukhari)

Shia Muslims believe in the concept of Imamah, while rejecting the Sunni view of Caliphate and the four khalifs namely: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (in chronological order). According to Twelver Shias, there is no tradition or proof which states that the number of leaders (which can be referred to as Khalifs, Imams, or Amirs) will be anything other than twelve. The twelve successors from the hadith (traditions of Muhammad) are already known as the Twelve Imams.

Two hadiths form the basis and understanding of the 12 successors of Muhammad: the Hadith ath-thaqalain (Hadith of the two weighty things), and the hadiths regarding the 12 khalifs. One of the most authentic hadith (traditions of the sayings of Muhammad) is the Hadith ath-thaqalain in which Muhammad tells the Muslims that he is leaving behind thaqalayn (two weighty things), the Quran and his bayt (household). Al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan[7] records the following tradition:

Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah - upon whom be God's peace and benedictions - in the course of his Hajj (pilgrimage) on the day of ʿArafah. The Prophet (S) was seated on his camel, al-Qaswa', and was delivering a sermon. I heard him say: 'O people, I am leaving among you that which if you hold on to you shall never go astray: the Book of Allah and my kindred, my household (Ahl al-Bayt)."

— At-Tirmidhi

This tradition was recorded by many other sources[8][9][10]

Muhammad also repeated this hadith at a place called Ghadir Khumm. Al-Nasa'i[11] records the following tradition:

Al-Nasaʾi narrates from Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna, he from Yahya ibn Hammad, from Abu 'Uwwanah, from Sulayman, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Abu al-¬Tufayl, from Zayd ibn Arqam, who said, "When the Messenger of Allah (S) returned from the last hajj and came down at Ghadir Khumm.... "Then he declared: 'I am about to answer the call (of death). Verily, I have left two precious things (thaqalayn) among you, one of which is greater than the other: the Book of God and my ʿItrah, my Ahlul Bayt. So watch out how you treat them after me. For, indeed, they will never separate until they return to me by the side of the Pond.' Then he said, 'Verily, God is my master (mawlaya) and I am the wali of every believer.' Then he took ʿAli's hand and declared, 'To whomever I am his wali, this one is also his wali. My God, befriend whoever befriends him and be hostile to whoever is hostile to him.'" Abu al-Tufayl says: "I said to Zayd, 'Did you hear it from the Prophet(S)?' He replied, 'There was no one in the caravan who did not see it with his eyes and hear it with his ears,'"

— Al-Nasa'i

Among others who have recorded it in their books are Al-Bukhari in his tarikh,[12] Muslim in his sahih,[13] the musnad of ahmad bin hanbal,[14] sunan of abu dawud,[15] and al tabarani:[16]

These hadiths indicate that Muhammad left the Muslim Ummah to the leadership of his progeny or household (ahlul-bayt) and established the first of these 12 imams / khalifs as his cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abu Talib. Having established the importance of following the teachings of his bayt as the guides for the understanding of the Quran for members of his community, Muhammad also informed his companions that the number of leaders / Imams / Khalifs after him will specifically be twelve in number. The following references are taken from the "sahih" books of Sunni Muslims:

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "Islam will continue to be triumphant until there have been twelve Caliphs, all of them from Quraysh."

— Sahih Muslim[17]

Narrated Jabir ibn Samura: The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "This matter (life) will not end, until it is passed by twelve Caliphs." He then whispered a sentence. I asked my father what the Prophet said. He said, the Prophet added: "All of them will be from Quraysh."

— Sahih Muslim[18]

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "There will be after me twelve Amir (Princes / Rulers), all of them from Quraysh."

— Sunan al-Tirmidhi[19]

Narrated Jabir ibn Samura: I heard the Prophet saying, "There will be twelve commanders (Amir)." He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, the Prophet added, "All of them will be from Quraysh."

— Sahih al-Bukhari[20]

The conclusion of the Twelver Shia school is that Muhammad left the world with the Quran and his bayt (household) as guides for humanity. Similar to the 12 tribes of bani Israel (Quran 2:60-61) and the 12 disciples of Jesus (Bible Revelation 21:14), Muhammad also left his community with 12 heirs to guide the community and protect the interpretation of the Quran. Of note, very few of God's chosen messengers and guides ever attained worldly power. As such, the concept of the twelve successors is not a prophecy of worldly leaders, but rather spiritual guides (imams) and the notion that these twelve must be worldly leaders to be successors of Muhammad is rejected. These twelve imams are not a monarchy, but rather are spiritual leaders in the line of Abraham as promised to him in the Quran 2:124:[21] "And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with commands, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam for mankind. (Ibrahim) said: And of my offspring (will there be Imams)? He said, my covenant does not include the unjust."

• List of hadith
• Mahdi
  • At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim
  • Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan al-Mahdi