It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) - and I consider it to be attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself - that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty will send for this Ummah, at the end of every hundred years, a person who will renew its religion for it."

I heard Ustadh Abu al-Walid (may Allah have mercy on him) saying: I was present in the gathering of Abu al-Abbas bin Surayj when an elderly man stood up to praise him. I heard him saying: Abu al-Tahir al-Khawlani narrated to us that Ibn Wahb informed (us), from Sa'id bin Abi Ayyub, from Shurahbil bin Yazid, from Abu Alqamah, from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty will send, at the head of every hundred years, a person who will renew its religion for this Ummah." Then the elderly man said: O Qadi, rejoice at the glad tidings, for Allah Almighty sent Umar bin Abd al-Aziz at the end of the first century, and Muhammad bin Idris al-Shafi'i at the end of the second century, and at the end of the third century there is you (Abu al-Abbas bin Surayj). Then he recited these verses: "Two have passed away in whom blessing was placed: one the Caliph Umar (bin Abd al-Aziz), and the other the embodiment of nobility, the most brilliant and sagacious Muhammad bin Idris al-Shafi'i, the bearer of the inheritance of prophethood and the cousin of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). O Abu al-Abbas, rejoice, for you are the third after them; may Allah water the soil of the grave of Ahmad (that is, you)." The narrator says: Hearing this, Qadi Abu al-Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) began to weep bitterly and said: This elderly man has announced to me my own death. Some of my companions told me that they were present in the gathering of Shaykh Imam Abu al-Tayyib Sahl bin Muhammad bin Sulayman, where this story was mentioned; in my absence they related this incident before him. The jurist Abu Amr al-Bistami was also present in that gathering, and he extemporised these verses: "And the fourth, the renowned (renewer), is Sahl bin Muhammad, who has become an Imam in the eyes of every believer in Tawhid. All the Muslims turn to him for knowledge when they are troubled by some grave matter. May he always remain among us the Shaykh of creation and the best renewer of the chosen school." Then I asked the jurist Abu Amr about these verses in my own gathering, and he recited them to me.

It is narrated from a female servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) - or to one of the honoured wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) - while I was present there, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When evil becomes manifest (in society) and people do not forbid it, Allah sends down His punishment upon them." Someone said: O Prophet of Allah, (will the punishment come) even if there are righteous people among them? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, the same affliction that befalls the others will befall them too; then they will return to the forgiveness and mercy of Allah" - or he said: "to the mercy and forgiveness of Allah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the Hour, his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed cheeks would turn red, his anger would intensify and his voice would rise, as though he (peace and blessings be upon him) were warning of an army, saying that it "will attack you in the morning, or will attack you in the evening." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Abd al-Rahman bin Ghanm al-Ash'ari; he said: Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) asked me: How do you find the people? I said: They are well; their call is one, their Imam is one, their enemy is wretched, and their stipends and provisions flow in abundance. He said: (That is how it is now,) but what will their state be when their hearts are filled with hatred against one another, their tongues curse one another, their enmity becomes openly manifest, their mutual relations are corrupted, and they begin striking one another's necks?! This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.