English Mutawatir Hadith Compilations and Researching the Hadiths of Gibril and Kingship

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas
Question: 1) Are there any English translations of Imam Suyuti’s (rahimullah) or Imam al-Kattani’s (rahimullah) mutawatir ahadith compilations?
2) Where can I find the different isnad for the groups of people who narrated the famous hadith of Jibreel (as) about islam, iman and ihsan, and the hour?
3) I heard shaykh Hamza Yusuf mention that there was a hadith that mentions that our beloved Prophet (saw) predicted that “the political tradition of his faith would dissipate very rapidly after 30 years.” Can you tell me which hadith book this is in, its number, its rating, and its isnad?
Answer: assalamu `alaykum
1. Not that I know of.
2. You can refer to the commentaries written on this narration. For one in English, see: Commentary on the Hadith of Gibril.
3. The following is perhaps what Sh. Hamza was referring to. This is courtesy of Sh. Girbril Haddad:
1.1 The Prophet said – Allah bless and greet him: “This business began as prophethood and mercy, then mercy and a khalifate, then a voracious kingdom, and then arrogance and tyranny and corruption will enter the community.” In Qadi`Iyad’s al-Shifa’, chapter on the Prophet’s (SAWS) knowledge of the Unseen. This is a proof in Islam and Shari`a that kingship is not as good as caliphate but is better than tyranny. Here are some narrations to that effect in their precise wordings insha Allah:
1.2 “Successorship (al-khilâfa) after me shall last for thirty years. After that, there will be kingship.” Imam Ahmad declared this narration sound and adduced it as a proof for the caliphate of the four Imams. A sound hadith narrated from Safina by al-Tirmidhi (hasan) with a fair chain according to Shaykh ‘Abd Allah al-Talidi who declared it sahîh because of its cor-robo-rative and witness-chains in his edition of al-Suyuti’s Tahdhib al-Khasa’is (p. 293 #375); also narrated by al-Nasa’i, Abu Dawud,Ahmad in his Musnad with two chains; al-Hakim; Ibn Hibban with two fair chains as stated by al-Arna’ut (15:34 #6657, 15:392 #6943); al-Tayalisi in his Musnad (p. 151, 479); and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with several chains.
This narration is among the “Proofs of Prophethood” (dalâ’il al-nubuwwa) as the sum of the first five caliphates is exactly thirty years: two years and three months for Abu Bakr, ten years and a half for ‘Umar, twelve years for ‘Uthman, four years and nine months for ‘Ali, and six months for al-Hasan as narrated from Safina by al-Suyuti in Tahdhib al-Khasa’is (p. 293 #375) and Tarikh al-Khulafa’ (p. 22, 198-199). Al-Dhahabi cites the saying by Mu’awiya: “I am the first of the kings” (anâ awwalu al-mulûk) in the Siyar (3:157).
1.3 To the man who said: “O Messenger of Allah! I saw in my dream as if a balance came down from the heaven in which you were weighed against Abu Bakr and outweighed him, then Abu Bakr was weighed against ‘Umar and outweighed him, then ‘Umar was weighed against ‘Uthman and outweighed him, then the balance was raised up.” The Prophet ? said: “Successorship of prophethood (khilâfa nubuwwa)! Then Allah shall give kingship to whomever He will.” Narrated from Abu Bakrah by Ahmad with three chains, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi who said: hasan sahîh, and from Safina by Abu Dawud with a fair chain and al-Bazzar with a fair chain as indicated by al-Haythami. Al-Tirmidhi’s narration omits the last statement of the Prophet (SAWS). Al-Hakim narrated it with a chain similar to al-Tirmidhi’s and graded it sahîh, and al-Dhahabi concurred.
1.4 “There shall be Prophethood (nubuwwa) among you for as long as Allah wishes it to be among you. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be successorship (khilâfa) on the pattern (minhâj) of Prophetship for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be a trying kingship (mulkan ‘âddan) for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be a tyrannical kingship (mulkan jabriyyatan) for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up.Then there shall be successorship on the pattern of Prophetship.”Narrated from Hudhayfa by Ahmad with a sound chain as stated by al-Zayn in the Musnad (14:163 #18319) and as indicated by al-Haythami (5:188-189): “Narrated by Ahmad, al-Bazzar with a more complete wording, and al-Tabarani partly, in al-Awsat. The narrators in its chain are trustworthy.” Also narrated from Abu ‘Ubayda by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (1:157) with the wording “Then there shall be kingship and tyranny” after the mention of successorship. It was pointed out that the sequence of events described in these narrations is strikingly similar to the Christian Eastern Orthodox explanation of the Prophet Daniel’s interpretation of the dream of the Babylonian King in Daniel 2:31-43.
Salman
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani