People are subservient to the Quraish: the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among the people being subservient to the disbelievers among them.

This is one of the traditions narrated by Abu Huraira from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: People are subservient to the Quraish: the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among them being subservient to the disbelievers among them.

People are the followers of Quraish in good as well as evil (i.e. in the customs of Islamic as well as pre-Islamic times).

The Caliphate will remain among the Quraish even if only two persons are left (on the earth),

I joined the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) with my father and I heard him say: This Caliphate will not end until there have been twelve Caliphs among them. The narrator said: Then he (the Holy Prophet) said something that I could not follow. I said to my father: What did he say? He said: He has said: All of them will be from the Quraish.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The affairs of the people will continue to be conducted (well) as long as they are governed by twelve men. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said words which were obscure to me. I asked my father: What did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say? He said: All of the (twelve men) will be from the Quraish.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura through another chain of transmitters.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Islam will continue to be triumphant until there have been twelve Caliphs. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said something which I could not understand. I asked my father: What did he say? He said: He has said that all of them (twelve Caliphs) will be from the Quraish.

This order will continue to be dominant until there have been twelve Caliphs. The narrator says: Then he said something which I could not understand, and I said to my father: What did he say? My father told me that he said that all of them (Caliphs) would be from the Quraish.

I went with my father to the Messenger of Allah (may peeace be upon him) and I heard him say: This religion would continue to remain powerful and dominant until there have been twelve Caliphs. Then he added something which I couldn't catch on account of the noise of the people. I asked my father: What did he say? My father said: He has said that all of them will be from the Quraish.

I wrote (a letter) to Jabir b. Samura and sent it to him through my servant Nafi', asking him to inform me of something he had heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He wrote to me (in reply): I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on Friday evening, the day on which al-Aslami was stoned to death (for committing adultery): The Islamic religion will continue until the Hour has been established, or you have been ruled over by twelve Caliphs, all of them being from the Quraish. also heard him say: A small force of the Muslims will capture the white palace, the police of the Persian Emperor or his descendants. I also heard him say: Before the Day of Judgment there will appear (a number of) impostors. You are to guard against them. I also heard him say: When God grants wealth to any one of you, he should first spend it on himself and his family (and then give it in charity to the poor). I heard him (also) say: I will be your forerunner at the Cistern (expecting your arrival).

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say, and he then narrated (the above-mentioned hadith).

I was present with my father when he was wounded. People praised him and said: May God give you a noble recompense! He said: I am hopeful (of God's mercy) as well as afraid (of His wrath) People said: Appoint anyone as your successor. He said: Should I carry the burden of conducting your affairs in my life as well as in my death? (So far as Caliphate is concerned) I wish I could acquit myself (before the Almighty) in a way that there is neither anything to my credit nor anything to my discredit. If I would appoint my successor, (I would because) one better than me did so. (He meant Abu Bakr.) If I would leave You alone, (I would do so because) one better than me, i. e. the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), did so. 'Abdullah says: When he mentioned the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I understood that he would not appoint anyone as Caliph.

I entered the apartment of (my sister) Hafsa. She said: Do yoa know that your father is not going to nominate his successor? I said: He won't do that (i.e. he would nominate). She said: He is going to do that. The narrator said: I took an oath that I will talk to him about the matter. I kept quiet until the next morning, still I did not talk to him, and I felt as if I were carryint, a mountain on my right hand. At last I came to him and entered his apartment. (Seeing me) he began to ask me about the condition of the people, and I informed him (about them). Then I said to him: I heard something from the people and took an oath that I will communicate it to you. They presume that you are not going to nominate a successor. If a grazer of camels and sheep that you had appointed comes back to you leaving the cattle, you will (certainly) think that the cattle are lost. To look after the people is more serious and grave. (The dying Caliph) was moved at my words. He bent his head in a thoughtful mood for some time and raised it to me and said: God will doubtlessly protect His religion. If I do not nominate a successor (I have a precedent before me), for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not nominate his successor. And if I nominate one (I have a precedent), for Abu Bakr did nominate. The narrator (Ibn Umar) said: By God. when he mentioned the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr, I (at once) understood that he would not place anyone at a par with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and would not nominate anyone.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'Abd al-Rahman, do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position as a result of your asking for it, you will be left alone (without God's help to discharge the responsibilities attendant thereon), and it you are granted it without making any request for it, you will be helped (by God in the discharge of your duties).

The same tradition has been narrated through a different chain of transmitters.

Two of my cousins and I entered the apartment of the Prophet (ﷺ). One of them said: Messenger of Allah, appoint us rulers of some lands that the Almighty and Glorious God has entrusted to your care. The other also said something similar. He said: We do not appoint to this position one who asks for it nor anyone who is covetous for the same.

I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and with me were two men from the Ash'ari tribe. One of them was on my right hand and the other on my left. Both of them made a request for a position (of authority) while the Prophet (ﷺ) was brushing his teeth with a tooth-stick. He said (to me): Abu Musa (or 'Abdullah b. Qais), what do you say (about the request they have made)? I said: By God Who sent you on your mission with truth, they did not disclose to me what they had in their minds, and I did not know that they would ask for a position. The narrator says (while recalling this hadith): I visualise as if I were looking at the miswak of the Prophet (ﷺ) between his lips. He (the Holy Prophet) said: We shall not or shall never appoint to the public offices (in our State) those who with to have them, but you may go, Abu Musa (or Abdullah b. Qais) (to take up your assignment). He sent him to Yemen as governor. then he sent Mu'adh b. jabal in his wake (to help him in the discharge of duties). When Mu'adh reached the camp of Abu Musa, the latter (received him and) said: Please get yourself down; and he spread for him a mattress, while there was a man bound hand and foot as a prisoner. Mu'adh said: Who is this? Abu Musa said: He was a Jew. He embraced Islam. Then he reverted to his false religion and became a Jew. Mu'adh said: I won't sit until he is killed according to the decree of Allah and His Apostle (ﷺ) (in this case). Abu Musa said: Be seated. It will be done. He said: I won't sit unless he is killed in accordance with the decree of Allah and His Apostle (ﷺ). He repeated these words thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered him (to be killed) and he was kilied. Then the two talked of standing in prayer at night. One of them, i. e. Mu'adh, said: I sleep (for a part of the night) and stand in prayer (for a part) and I hope that I shall get the same reward for steeping as I shall get for standing (in prayer).

I said to the Prophet (ﷺ): Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me to a public office? He stroked my shoulder with his hand and said: Abu Dharr, you are weak and authority is a trust. and on the Day of judgment it is a cause of humiliation and repentance except for one who fulfils its obligations and (properly) discharges the duties attendant thereon.

Abu Dharr, I find that you are weak and I like for you what I like for myself. Do not rule over (even) two persons and do not manage the property of an orphan.