It is narrated from Hazrat Nu’man (may Allah be pleased with him) that once we were sitting in the mosque. Basheer used to withhold his narrations. In our gathering, Abu Tha’labah Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said,“O Basheer Sa’d! Do you remember any hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the rulers?”Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“I remember the sermon of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”Hazrat Abu Tha’labah (may Allah be pleased with him) sat down, and Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be a caliphate on the way of Prophethood, and it will remain as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be biting (oppressive) kingship, and it will remain as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be tyrannical rule, and it will remain as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be a caliphate on the way of Prophethood.’ Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell silent.”

The narrator of the hadith, Habeeb, says: When Umar bin Abdul Aziz was appointed as caliph, Yazid bin Nu’man (may Allah be pleased with him) became his advisor. I wrote this hadith in a letter to Yazid bin Nu’man as a reminder, and at the end I wrote:“I hope that the rule of the Commander of the Faithful has come after the biting and tyrannical rule.”Yazid bin Nu’man presented my letter to the Commander of the Faithful, and after reading it, he became very pleased and happy.