Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu. There are Hadiths of speculative transmission (dhanni al-thubut) that we use as evidence when interacting with people to spread the idea of Islam and rejoice in the glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah (saw), such as the Hadith:
تَكُونُ النُّبُوَّةُ فِيكُمْ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ... ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ نُبُوَّةٍ
"Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills it to be... then there will be a Khilafah on the method of Prophethood."
The question is: this Hadith is dhanni and speaks about the political conditions the Ummah passes through. From the meaning of the Hadith, we see that the Prophet (saw) divided these conditions into five (Prophethood – Rashidun Khilafah – Biting Kingship – Compulsive Rule – Rashidun Khilafah). Since we have seen that four-fifths of the Hadith have already occurred to the Ummah, does this Hadith not elevate to the rank of mutawatir (recurrent) on the basis that a part of it has occurred?
Answer:
A Hadith that implies action is sufficient, whether it is mutawatir or dhanni. As long as the Hadith is sahih (authentic), it provides a strong drive for action according to the obligation it contains.
For example, the Hadith:
لَتُفْتَحَنَّ الْقُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةُ، فَلَنِعْمَ الْأَمِيرُ أَمِيرُهَا، وَلَنِعْمَ الْجَيْشُ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشُ
"You shall certainly conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be." (Narrated by Ahmad)
Even though it is an account (khabar), it carries the meaning of action. Therefore, every Muslim ruler was keen to see the Hadith realized at his hands; several armies were sent to Constantinople until Allah honored Muhammad al-Fatih with this conquest. Similar is the Hadith regarding fighting the Jewish state and its removal... and likewise the Hadith of the coming Khilafah on the method of Prophethood. It does not affect the matter whether it is mutawatir or not as long as it is a sahih Hadith. We are quickening our pace so that it may be realized at our hands, Allah willing; we take it as good tidings, are reassured of its occurrence sooner or later, and we do not exhaust ourselves diving into its depths to determine its tawatur (recurrence) or ahad (solitary) status.
In addition to all this, the realization of a part of it increases the reassurance in the realization of the rest of the Hadith, such as the conquest of Rome after the conquest of Constantinople was realized, as the conquest of the two cities was mentioned in another Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw). But as I mentioned to you previously, since the Hadith implies action, there is no need to delve into its tawatur, because a sahih dhanni Hadith is sufficient for action, belief, reassurance, and rejoicing in its realization. Thus, the Muslim is keen to attain this merit.
As for your saying, "as long as a part of it has been realized, do we consider it mutawatir?..." the answer is that mutawatir has conditions in the chain of narration (isnad) adopted by the science of Hadith terminology to determine tawatur. That is, tawatur in this science does not depend on observing whether the Hadith has been realized or not, because tawatur is judged according to the chain of narration of the Hadith and its attachments. Nevertheless, the realization of parts of the Hadith increases the soul's reassurance in the degree of its authenticity and serves as an incentive to work for the realization of the remaining part with strength and vigor. And Allah (swt) is the Grantor of success.