The Narrations In Question
There is a weak narration within the Sunnan of Abi Dawud (under Kitab al-Mahdi) that details a bunch of events that are to occur before the arrival of the Islamic eschatological figure; Imam Mahdi. It should be emphasized that this narration in question is graded as weak (da’if) by Sunni traditional scholars, the narration will be divided up in different sections in order to better track the events in question:
Grading: Da’if
Isnad: Muhammad b. Al-Muthanna – Muad b. Hisham – Hisham – Qatada – Salih Abi Al-Khalil – the companion of Salih Abi Al-Khalil [broken isnad, name is concealed/isn’t identified] – Umm Salamah
Narrated by: Umm Salamah, Mother of the Believers:
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
Disagreements will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam.
An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the dessert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the eminent saints pf Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between thee Corner and the Maqam.
Then there will arise a man from Quraish whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace be upon him) and establish Islam on earth. He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him. (Sunnan Abi Dawood 4286, Book 38, Hadith 8)
(Abu Dawood said: Some transmitted from Hisham ‘nine years’, others say ‘seven years’.
Deciphering The Narration
When looking into the isnad of this narration, there is a missing individual that disconnects Umm Salamah to Salih Abi Al-Khalil. The same narration was transmitted via a different strand of narrators:
Grading: Da’if
Isnad: Muhammad b. Al-Muthanna – Amr b. Asim – Abu Al Awwam – Qatada – Salih Abi Al-Khalil – AbdAllah b. Al-Harith – Umm Salamah (Sunnan Abi Dawood 4288, Book 38, Hadith 10)
The name of the individual cited in the isnad that is missing in the previous narration, is a man named AbdAllah b. Harith. There is important information in regards to who AbdAllah b. Harith was within al-Taqbat al-Kubra of Ibn Sa’d (d.845 CE):
… وَبَبَّةُ قَدْ بَايَعْتُهُ وَهُوَ نَائِمٌ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ عَامِلا لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ عَلَى الْبَصْرَةِ سَنَةً ثُمَّ عَزَلَهُ وَاسْتَعْمَلَ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي رَبِيعَةَ الْمَخْزُومِيُّ. وَخَرَجَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ نَوْفَلِ إِلَى عُمَانَ فَمَاتَ بِهَا.
…They wrote to Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr that we were satisfied with him. Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr appointed him governor of Basra. Abdullah ibn al-Hareth ibn Nawfal ascended the pulpit, and he continued to pledge allegiance to Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr until he fell asleep, and then he pledged allegiance to them while he slept, holding out his hand. Suhaym ibn Wathayl al-Yarbawi said: I pledged my allegiance awake and fulfilled my pledge … Abdullah ibn al-Harith remained the governor of Basra for a year, then he dismissed him and appointed al-Harith ibn Allah ibn Abu Rabi’ah ibn Abu Zubayr al-Makhzoomi as governor. Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Nawfal went to Oman and died there.
It seems that AbdAllah b. Al-Harith was a Governor of Basra, Iraq who had pledged his allegiance to AbdAllah b. Al-Zubair during the feud between Al-Zubayr (Zubayrids) and Yazid b. Muawiya (Umayyads).
Setting Up The Historical Context
After the assassination of Ali b. Abi Talib, the future of the caliphate was in limbo. Many individuals were claiming they were the rightful leader of the empire Muhammad and the believers had set up. After the death of Ali, there was confusion as to whether the caliphate was going to go to Hasan b. Ali or Muawiya. After some intense negotiations, Hasan compromises and settles on Muawiya taking the caliphate until his death. Once he died, Hasan would be the one to re-take the caliphate. Muawiya agreed to these terms and remained caliph
The expectation was that Muawiya would die first, which ended up not coming into fruition. Hasan dies, and Muawiya remained caliph until he had died, several years after Hasan’s death. Confusion had set within the Muslim lands and newly Muslim lands as to who the caliph was after the death of Muawiya. Husain (the brother of Hasan, son of Ali) attempted to retake the caliphate from Yazid. He ends up getting killed for the action in Kufa.
The opposition of Yazid’s caliphate is looking grim. A man named AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr, then Governor of Medina, travels to Mecca to seek the allegiance of the Meccans
‘Ibn al-Zubair’s companion rose to him and declared, “Man, make public your acceptance of the oath of allegiance to you, for no one remains now that Husain is dead who can dispute this affair with you.‘ The people had been giving the oath of allegiance to him secretly, while he was saying publicly that he was seeking refuge at the Sacred Mosque. He told them not to be too hasty.’ V.19, p.190 The History of Al-Tabari: The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah
The Historical Context Alongside the Da’if Narration of The Mahdi
If we compare the historical context of AbdAllah ibn Al-Zubayr alongside the da’if narration of the narrations provided earlier, we will see a strong indication of an ex-eventu prophecy taking place:
Disagreements will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. The death of the caliph is the death of Muawiya b. Abi Sufyan, the man from Medina running towards Mecca is AbdAllah b. Al-Zubair.
Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. (See pages 190 and 191 of The History of Al-Tabari above)
An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the dessert between Mecca and Medina. The Syrian army was the Umayyad army led by Muslim b. Uqba (see page 221 of The History of Al-Tabari above)
When the people see that, the eminent saints of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. AbdAllah b. Al-Harith was the Governor of Basra, Iraq who had pledged allegiance to AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr (See biography of. b. Al-Harith al-Taqbat al-Kubra of Ibn Sa’d (d.845 CE)
The ex-eventu prophecy hadith ends here, the rest is war-time propaganda to motivate troops to give the appearance of divine victory coming ahead.
Then there will arise a man from Quraish whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. This individual is Abd Al-Malik b. Marwan, there family established marriage ties with Kalb and he was running the Umayyad caliphate which sent expeditionary forces against the Zubayrids. (see highlighted page from translator notes of Tarikh at-Tabari, below).
Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace be upon him) and establish Islam on earth. He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him. The narration ends here and does not come into fruition. Abd Al-Malik/the people of Kalb end up utterly defeating AbdAllah b. Al-Zubair and capturing Mecca/Medina. The rhetoric about not receiving the plunder of Kalb was a means of the fabricator to entice the Zubayrid soldiers to join the fight.
The Variants in Sahih Muslim
The narrations mentioned above and the historical context make it clear that the hadith is an ex-eventu prophecy by AbdAllah b. Al-Harith (Basran Governor who pledged allegiance to Ibn Al-Zubair) in order to give the allusion that the Prophet predicted the rebellion of Ibn Al-Zubayr. Ibn Al-Harith narrated everything that occurred up until the point of the plunder of Abd Al-Malik. In order to encourage the Zubayrids to defend themselves against the Umayyads and advance in their territory (blue), Ibn al-Harith fabricated an account from Umm Salamah claiming that the Prophet said the army would be dissapointed if they didn’t collect the plunder of Kalb (Abd Al-Malik). The assumption is made by Ibn Al-Harith that Abd Al-Malik + The Umayyads were going to lose to the Zubayrids, but this doesn’t occur. The Zubayrids lose to Abd Al-Malik and he gains the Zubayrid territory, making it a successful ex-eventu prophecy up until the battle against Kalb (Abd Al-Malik + Umayyads).
We can conclude that AbdAllah b. Al-Harith is the fabricator of the account. It’s important to mention that these narrations are considered da’if by Sunni hadith authorities. Despite this, there are Sahih variants of this tradition within Sahih Muslim:
1)
Grading: Sahih
Isnad: Qutayba b. Sa’id, Abu Bakr b. Abi Shayba, Ishaq b. Ibrahim – Jarir – Abd Al-Aziz b. Rafo’ – UbaydAllah b. al-Qibtiyyah – Al-Harith b. Abi Rabi’ah, AbdAllah b. Safwan – Umm Salamah
Harith b Abi Rabi’a and ‘Abdullah b. Safwan both went to Umm Salama, the Mother of the Faithful, and they asked her about the army which would be sunk in the earth, and this relates to the time when Ibn Zubair (was the governor of Mecca). She reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) had said that a seeker of refuge would seek refuge in the Sacred House and an army would be sent to him (in order to kill him) and when it would enter a plain ground, it would be made to sink. I said: Allah’s Messenger, what about him who would be made to accompany this army willy nilly? Thereupon he said: He would be made to sink along with them but he would be raised on the Day of Resurrection on the basis of his intention. Abu Ja’far said. ‘ This plain, ground means the plain ground of Medina. (Sahih Muslim 2882a, Book 54 Hadith 6)
2)
Grading: Sahih
Isnad: Amr al-Naqid, Ibn Abi Umar – Sufyan b. Uyaynah – Umayyad b. Safwan – AbdAllah b. Safwan – Hafsa
Abdullah b. Safwan reported that Hafsa told him that she had heard Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) as saying: An army would attack this House in order to fight against the inhabitants of this House and when it would be at the plain ground the ranks in the center of the army would be sunk and the vanguard would call the rear flanks of the army and they would also be sunk and no flank would be left except some people who would go to inform them (their kith and kin). A person (who had been listening to this hadith from Abdallah b. Safwan) said: I bear testimony in regard to you that you are not imputing a lie to Hafsa. And I bear testimony to the fact that Hafsa is not telling a lie about Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him).(Sahih Muslim 2883a, Book 54 Hadith 8)
3)
Grading: Sahih
Isnad: Muhammad b. Hatim b. Maimun – Al-Walid b. Salih – UbaydAllah b. Amr – Zaid b. Abi Unaisa – Abd Al Malik Al-Amiri – Yusuf b. Mahek – AbdAllah b. Safwan – Mother of the Believers (not specified which one)
Abdullah b. Safwan reported the Mother of the Faithful as saying that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: They would soon seek protection in this House, viz. Ka’ba (the defenseless), people who would have nothing to protect themselves in the shape of weapons or the strength of the people. An army would be sent to fight (and kill) them and when they would enter a plain ground the army would be sunk in it. Yusuf (one of the narrators) said: It was a people of Syria who had been on that day coming towards Mecca for an attack and Abdullah b. Safwan said: By God, it does not imply this army.
4)
Grading: Sahih
Isnad: Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaybah – Yunus b. Muhammad – Al-Qasim b. Al-Fadl, Al-Hadaani – Muhammad b. Ziyad – AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr – Aisha
‘A’isha reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was startled in the state of sleep. We said: Allah’s Messenger, you have done something in the state of your sleep which you never did before, Thereupon he said: Strange it is that some people of my Ummah would attack the House (Ka’ba) (for killing) a person who would belong to the tribe of the Quraish and he would try to seek protection in the House. And when they would reach the plain ground they would be sunk. We said: Allah’s Messenger, all sorts of people throng the path. Thereupon he said: Yes, there would be amongst them people who would come with definite designs and those who would come under duress and there would be travelers also, but they would all be destroyed through one (stroke) of destruction. though they would be raised in different states (on the Day of Resurrection). Allah would, however, raise them according to their intention.
The Issues with The Variants Within Sahih Muslim
As noted before, the narrations about the Mahdi were in Sunan Abi Dawood and was classified as weak. The variants cited above are from Sahih Muslim, an authentic collection of narrations of the Prophet that narrate the same incident mentioned in Sunan Abi Dawood. Out of the four mentions in Sahih Muslim, three of them have an individual named AbdAllah b. Safwan, and one of them has AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr in the isnad.
AbdAllah b. Safwan was a man that sided with Ibn Al-Zubayr against the Umayyads:
عبد الله بن صَفْوَان بن أُميَّة بن خلف الجُمَحِي الْقرشِي قتل وَهُوَ مُتَعَلق بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَة وَكَانَ مَعَ ابْن الزبير سنة ثَلَاث وَتِسْعين
روى عَن حَفْصَة فِي الْفِتَن
Abdullah ibn Safwan ibn Umayya ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi al-Qurashi was killed while he was hanging on the curtains of the Kaaba and was with Ibn al-Zubayr in the year ninety-three. (Rijal Sahih Muslim – Ibn Manjuwayh)
The last individual in question is AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr who shows up in the isnad of the 4th narration listed above and is whom the ex-eventu prophecy is about.
Conclusion
It’s evident that the three individuals: AbdAllah b. Al-Harith, AbdAllah b. Safwan, and AbdAllah b. Al-Zubayr conspired together to fabricate narrations in order to bolster support of the Zubayrids against the Umayyads. The narrations are fabricated by Ibn Al-Zubayr’s group to make it seem that the Prophet endorsed their side instead of the Umayyads, so the figure of Al-Mahdi was created (and later repurposed). They created an ex-eventu prophecy given by the Prophet that foretold everything that Ibn Al-Zubayr had already done until that point, which was the defeating the army of Kalb. This incident hadn’t occured yet, so the three created a prophecy to motivate the Zubayrid army that the Prophet claimed they would win and plunder the Umayyads. In order to incentivize them, the booty of the Umayyads was emphasized for the army to feel motivated to join the fight. This doesn’t occur and they fail to defeat Abd Al-Malik and the Umayyads. The Zubayrid side loses and the prophecy does not come true. The narrations are later picked up by hadith scholars who believe that these narrations are for the future and therefore the figure of the Mahdi is repurposed.