Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
To Abrar Thawabteh
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum, I have a question, may Allah bless you.
I wrote to Jabir bin Samurah via my servant: "Inform me of something you heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." He wrote back to me: "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a Friday, the evening the Aslami was stoned, saying:
لَا يَزَالُ الدِّينُ قَائِماً حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ، أَوْ يَكُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفةً كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ 'The Deen will continue to be established until the Hour begins, or there have been twelve Khalifahs over you, all of whom are from Quraysh.'
And I heard him saying:
عُصْبَةُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَفْتَتِحُونَ الْبَيْتَ الْأَبْيَضَ، بَيْتَ كِسْرَى وَآلِ كِسْرَى 'A small group of Muslims will conquer the White House, the house of Kisra and the family of Kisra.'
And I heard him saying:
إِنَّ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ كَذَّابِينَ، فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ 'Verily, before the Hour there will be liars, so beware of them.'
And I heard him saying:
إِذَا أَعْطَى اللَّهُ أَحَدَكُمْ خَيْراً، فَلْيَبْدَأْ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَأَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ 'If Allah gives one of you something good, let him start with himself and the people of his household.'
And I heard him saying:
أَنَا فَرَطُكُمْ عَلَى الْحَوْضِ 'I am your predecessor at the Cistern (al-Hawd).'"
What is the authenticity of this Hadith and what is the interpretation of: "A small group of Muslims will conquer the White House"?
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
- The noble Hadith you mentioned in your question is narrated by Ahmad. Muslim also narrated this noble Hadith with a slight difference in some wording. Muslim narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Amir bin Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, who said:
كَتَبْتُ إِلَى جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ مَعَ غُلَامِي نَافِعٍ أَنْ أَخْبِرْنِي بِشَيْءٍ سَمِعْتَهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيَّ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَوْمَ جُمُعَةٍ عَشِيَّةَ رُجِمَ الْأَسْلَمِيُّ يَوْمَ يَقُولُ: «لَا يَزَالُ الدِّينُ قَائِماً حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ أَوْ يَكُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ» وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَوْمَ يَقُولُ: «عُصَيْبَةٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَفْتَتِحُونَ الْبَيْتَ الْأَبْيَضَ بَيْتَ كِسْرَى أَوْ آلِ كِسْرَى» وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ السَّاعَةِ كَذَّابِينَ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ» وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «إِذَا أَعْطَى اللَّهُ أَحَدَكُمْ خَيْراً فَلْيَبْدَأْ بِنَفْسِهِ وَأَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ» وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «أَنَا الْفَرَطُ عَلَى الْحَوْضِ»
This Hadith is Sahih (authentic), and its inclusion in Sahih Muslim is sufficient proof of its authenticity.
- Regarding the interpretation of the Hadith, it contains several matters. The first is his ﷺ saying: "The Deen will continue to be established until the Hour begins, or there have been twelve Khalifahs over you, all of whom are from Quraysh." Scholars have differed over its meaning. Among the opinions, the most likely—and Allah knows best—is what Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned in Kashf al-Mushkil min Hadith al-Sahihayn regarding this noble Hadith under the third point, where he says: ["The third point: That he intended the existence of twelve Khalifahs throughout the entire duration of the Khilafah until the Day of Resurrection, who act with righteousness, even if their reigns are not consecutive. A man may be just, followed by one who is oppressive, then after a period, another just ruler comes, until the count of twelve just rulers is completed by the Day of Resurrection. This view is supported by what Abu Mansur informed us (...) Abu Bahr narrated that Abu al-Mujallad narrated to him and swore upon it: 'This Ummah will not perish until there have been twelve Khalifahs in it, all of whom act according to guidance and the Deen of Truth. Among them are two men from the household of the Prophet ﷺ, one of whom lives for forty years and the other for thirty years.'"]
This is the most likely interpretation, and Allah knows best, because the Hadith says: "The Deen will continue to be established until the Hour begins, or there have been twelve Khalifahs over you, all of whom are from Quraysh." The context, therefore, is about the establishment of the Deen until the Day of Resurrection, during which the reigns of twelve Khalifahs from Quraysh will be completed. Since many Khalifahs from Quraysh and others have ruled, the Hadith should be understood as referring to twelve specific Khalifahs from Quraysh. They are not merely Khalifahs who rule by Islam like all others, but distinguished and specific Khalifahs who rule with justice and truth on the Method of Prophethood (Manhaj al-Nubuwwah). Their Khilafah is entirely one in which "they act with guidance and the Deen of Truth." It is not far-fetched that the four Rightly Guided Caliphs (al-Khulafa’ ar-Rashidun) are among them, and the fifth is Umar bin Abdul Aziz... and that in the coming days, upon the establishment of the second Rightly Guided Khilafah on the Method of Prophethood, there will be those who follow their path and methodology... meaning there will be Khalifahs ruling by Islam until the Day of Resurrection... then the rule is interrupted during the era of the "forced rule" (al-Mulk al-Jabari) as it is now... then the Khilafah on the Method of Prophethood returns... as the Messenger ﷺ said in the Hadith of al-Nu'man bin Bashir on the authority of Hudhayfah. During this second Khilafah on the Method of Prophethood, there will be many Khalifahs ruling by Islam, among whom will be seven just, rightly guided Khalifahs on the Method of Prophethood, even if their reigns are not consecutive... Thus, the twelve just Khalifahs on the Method of Prophethood will be completed. This is what I find most likely, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
As for the meaning of his ﷺ saying: "A small group of Muslims will conquer the White House," the "White House" is explained in the Hadith itself where he ﷺ says in its interpretation: "the White House, the house of Kisra or the family of Kisra." It refers to the palace of Kisra (the Persian Emperor), which the noble Sahabah conquered during the time of Umar bin al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them all. It is stated in Sharh al-Nawawi ala Muslim: ["...His ﷺ saying: (A small group of Muslims will conquer the White House, the house of Kisra) This is one of the clear miracles of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they conquered it—praise be to Allah—in the time of Umar bin al-Khattab (ra). And العُصَيْبَة is the diminutive form of عُصْبَة, which means a group. And كِسْرَى is pronounced with a kasrah or fathah on the Kaf."] End quote.
Regarding his ﷺ saying: "Verily, before the Hour there will be liars, so beware of them," scholars have interpreted this in several ways as mentioned by the author of Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih as follows:
["... (On the authority of Jabir bin Samurah, who said: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying: 'Verily, before the Hour there will be liars'). Al-Mazhar said: He meant by this the prevalence of ignorance, the lack of knowledge, the introduction of fabricated (mawdu') hadiths, and what they invent against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. It is also possible that it refers to those claiming prophethood as happened in his time and after his time, and it could refer to a group who advocate for corrupt desires and attribute their false beliefs to him ﷺ, such as all the people of innovation (ahl al-bida'). ('So beware of them')..."]
- As for the rest of the Hadith, Al-Nawawi explained it as follows:
["His ﷺ saying: 'If Allah gives one of you something good, let him start with himself' is similar to the Hadith: 'Start with yourself then those whom you support.' His ﷺ saying: (I am your predecessor at the Cistern) (الْفَرَط) with a fathah on the Ra, means: the one who precedes you to it and waits to give you drink from it. The al-Farat and al-Farit is the one who goes ahead of the people to the water to prepare for them what they need."]
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
26 Shawwal 1445 AH 05/05/2024 CE
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