It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The destruction of this Ummah will be at the hands of some young lads of Quraysh." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it. This hadith has other corroborating chains (mutaba'at) and supporting reports (shawahid) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his pure Companions and the leading Imams of the Tabi'in, which I consider it necessary to mention; so I have mentioned some of those that I recall at this time.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdul Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that whenever a child was born (among the Companions), it would be brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would supplicate for it. So Marwan bin al-Hakam was brought to him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is a gecko, son of a gecko, the accursed son of the accursed." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When Banu Abi al-As (their men) reach thirty in number, they will make the wealth of Allah something circulated (among themselves), the servants of Allah their slaves, and the religion of Allah a means of deception." Hallam said: (The people of that time) rejected this statement of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr, so Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) bore witness, saying: Indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "There is no one under the shade of the sky or upon the earth more truthful in speech than Abu Dharr." And I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said this (regarding Banu Abi al-As). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Its supporting report (shahid) is the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When Banu al-As reach thirty in number, they will make the religion of Allah a means of deception, the servants of Allah their slaves, and the wealth of Allah something circulated (among themselves)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When Banu Abi al-As reach thirty in number, they will make the wealth of Allah something circulated (among themselves), the religion of Allah a means of deception, and the servants of Allah their slaves."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was shown in my dream that Banu al-Hakam bin Abi al-As were leaping about on my pulpit the way monkeys leap." (The narrator said:) After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was never seen laughing fully until he passed away. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) that the most disliked of the tribes to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were Banu Umayyah, Banu Hanifah and Thaqif. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ziyad that when (Sayyiduna) Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) took the pledge of allegiance for his son Yazid, Marwan said: "This is the Sunnah (way) of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)." Thereupon Abdul Rahman bin Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Rather, it is the Sunnah of Heraclius and Caesar." Marwan said (sarcastically): This is the one about whom Allah Almighty revealed this verse: "And the one who said to his parents: Fie upon you both" [Surah al-Ahqaf: 17] . When this reached Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: "By Allah! Marwan has lied; it is not about him. Rather, the truth is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed Marwan's father (al-Hakam) while Marwan was still in his loins, so Marwan is a portion of that curse of Allah Almighty." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) that al-Hakam bin Abi al-As asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission (to enter), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recognised his voice and speech and said: "Give him permission; he is a snake. May the curse of Allah be upon him and upon all who come from his loins, except those of them who believe, and they will be few. They will attain great honour and nobility in this world but will be abased and humiliated in the Hereafter. They will be people of great cunning and deceit. They will be given (everything) in this world, but in the Hereafter they will have no share." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed al-Hakam and his offspring. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Let the student of knowledge know that this is a chapter in which I have not mentioned even a third of what has been narrated, and that the first tribulation in this Ummah was their tribulation. Between myself and Allah Almighty, I could not bring myself to leave this book empty of any mention of them.