Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that during the days of the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) final illness, one day Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came out from his presence. The people asked: O Abu al-Hasan! How is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He replied: All praise is due to Allah, he is better. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) took his hand and said: Do you not see? By Allah! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) will pass away in this illness of his. I recognize the faces of the sons of Abdul Muttalib before death befalls them—what their condition is. Come, let us go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him about this matter (of caliphate). If it is our right, we will know it, and if it concerns someone else, we will ask about it, so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) may make a will in our favor. Upon hearing this, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If we ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) about this and he deprives us of it, then people will never give us this right. Therefore, by Allah! I will not ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) anything about this.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said on the day of the Battle of Jamal: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not say anything to us regarding leadership (caliphate), rather this is a matter which we—the Ummah—chose by our own judgment, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was selected as caliph; may Allah have mercy on him. He fulfilled his responsibility excellently. After him, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was selected as caliph, and he too fulfilled his responsibility so well that Islam prevailed over the entire earth.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that it was asked from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "After you, whom should we appoint as the leader?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you appoint Abu Bakr as the leader, you will find him such that he will have no desire for the world and will have longing for the Hereafter. If you appoint Umar as the leader, you will find him strong and trustworthy, who will not care about the blame of any blamer regarding Allah. And if you appoint Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) as the leader, you will find him a guide and rightly guided, who will lead you to the straight path. But I think you will not appoint him as the caliph."

Qais Kharfi says: I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) saying on this pulpit: First, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from this world. After him, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the Ummah in prayers. Third came Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). After him, we were overtaken by trials and tribulations, then whatever Allah willed, happened. In another narration it is stated: Allah will forgive whomever He wills.

(Second chain) There is a similar narration, except that in it: After those gentlemen, trials befell us, then what Allah Almighty willed, happened. Abu Abdur Rahman says: My father said that when Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said that after those gentlemen, trials befell us, he said this out of humility.

Bukair bin Wahb Jazari narrates: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: I will narrate to you a hadith which I have not narrated to anyone else. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at the door of this house and we were also in that house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The rulers will be from among the Quraysh. You have rights upon them and likewise, they have rights upon you. If mercy is sought from them, they will show mercy. When they make a promise to anyone, they will fulfill it, and when they judge, they will judge with justice and fairness. If any of them fails to fulfill these responsibilities, then upon him will be the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were once in the house of an Ansari, when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived. He came and, holding the side of the doorframe, stood and said: The rulers will be from among the Quraysh, ... .

I heard from Sayyiduna Abu Barzah Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The caliphs and rulers will be from among the Quraysh. When mercy is sought from them, they will show mercy; when they make a promise to anyone, they will fulfill it; and when they make judgments, they will do so with justice and fairness. If anyone among them does not fulfill these responsibilities, then upon him will be the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people.

Imam Zuhri says that Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut’im was present with a Quraishi delegation at the court of Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). He narrated that news reached Muawiyah that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had narrated this hadith:“Soon there will be a king from (the tribe of) Qahtan.”Upon hearing this, Muawiyah became angry, stood up, praised and glorified Allah Almighty, and said:“I have heard that some people narrate such things which are neither found in the Book of Allah nor transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). These people are extremely ignorant. Beware of such desires which mislead those who follow their whims. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘This (leadership) matter will remain among the Quraish as long as they uphold the religion. Allah Almighty will bring down on their faces anyone who opposes them.’”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we, about eighty (80) men of the Quraysh, were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), all of us were Qurayshi. By Allah! That day these people looked very handsome. They mentioned women and talked about them, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also conversed with them (and spoke so much that) I wished that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would become silent. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he recited the sermon of testimony and said: After praise and blessings (I will say this): O Quraysh! You are deserving of this (leadership) as long as you do not disobey Allah Almighty. If you disobey, Allah Almighty will send people who will strip your skin off just as the bark is stripped from this branch (which was in his hand). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stripped the bark from his branch, (because of which) it suddenly appeared white and hard.