Reports of Ahle Sunnat that Imams are twelve in number

Of the proofs proving the Imamate of the Master of the Age and that his occultation is not an impossible phenomenon, are narrations of the two distinct denominations: Ahle Sunnat and Imamiyyah: that the Imams after the Prophet (s) are twelve - not more, not less. When this is proved, anyone who is certain of this, will be certain of the Imamate of the Twelve Imams. We profess their Imamate and believe in the existence of Ibn Hasan and his occultation, because anyone who disagrees with the Imamiyah, on anyone of these Imams, their Imams do not remain on this number, but rather, increase. When this specific number is proved through the narrations we will present, our objective will be proved. On the basis of this we have mentioned some of these reports and about the remaining we give the concerned reference so that this book may not be prolonged inordinately, if Allah wills.

I heard Jabir bin Samra say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: After me, there would be twelve Caliphs and all of them would be from Quraish. When the Messenger of Allah (s) returned to his house, Quraish arrived and addressed the Prophet: What will happen after that? The Prophet replied: Confusion and discord.

Messenger of Allah (s) said: After me there would be twelve Caliphs; after that the Prophet mentioned something, which I could not understand. A person in that gathering says: I asked the others [What did the Messenger of Allah (s) say?] They replied: His Eminence said: All of them would be from Quraish.

The Holy Prophet (s) remarked: The people of this religion would be helped against one who intends harm to them till the tenure of the twelve Caliphs. [When the Prophet said this] People were coming and going and there was a lot of disturbance; at that time the Holy Prophet (s) mentioned some words, which I could not understand. So I asked my father or brother: What did the Prophet say? He replied: He said: All of them would be from Quraish.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: The people of this religion would be helped [through the Caliph of God] against those who intend harm to them and this help would continue till the tenure of the twelve Caliphs. Since people were going and coming, I could not make out what the Prophet said after that. So I asked my father or brother: What did the Prophet say? He replied: All the twelve Caliphs would be from Quraish.

I was with Shafi Asbahi when he said: I heard Abdullah bin Umar say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: After me, there would be twelve Caliphs.

Abdullah bin Umar said to me: O Aba Tufayl, you must consider twelve persons from the descendants of Kaab bin Loi as the Caliphs of the Messenger of Allah (s), after whom mischief and bloodshed would occur and people would fight each other [as all those who mention the twelve persons would create a great controversy].

I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: This religion would remain victorious and will not be harmed by those who intend to cause harm to it till the time that twelve Caliphs, all of whom would be from Quraish, rise up [for Imamate].

I was with Ibn Masud when a person asked him: Did your Prophet inform you how many his successors would be? Ibn Masud said: Yes, in spite of the fact that you are the youngest, no one other than you asked me this question. I always heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: After me there will be Caliphs equal to the number of the chiefs of Musa (a.s). Allah, the Mighty and the High said: “…and We raised up among them twelve chieftains…”

“Surely, Allah the High greets you and orders you to hand over this book to the chosen one from your family after you. He will open the first seal and do according to what is in it. When he is about to expire, he should hand it over to his successor after him. Thus, the first will hand over to the last, one after the other.” The Holy Prophet (s) did as he was ordered. Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) opened the first of them (seals) and acted as per its instructions. Then he (a.s) handed it over to Hasan (a.s), who opened his seal and acted on it. He (a.s) handed over to Husain (a.s), who passed it on to Ali Ibn Husain (a.s). This went on from one to another till it reached the last one amongst them.

I asked Isa bin Musa: Have you met any of the companions of the companions? He replied: I don’t know what you are saying, but I was in Kufa, when I heard an old man narrating a tradition from Abdul Khair in Kufa Masjid. He said: Amirul Momineen (a.s) said: the Messenger of Allah (s) told me, “O Ali! The rightly guided, infallible Imams from your progeny are eleven.” And so on…

“Whoever desires to meet Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, in a state of safety and purity and that the Great Fear should not terrify him, he must befriend you and befriend your sons Hasan, Husain, Ali Ibn Husain, Muhammad Ibn Ali, Ja’far Ibn Muhammad, Musa Ibn Ja’far, Ali Ibn Musa, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan and the Mahdi, who will be their last. In the last era, there will be a group, who will befriend you, O Ali. People will hate them, although had they loved them (the Shias), it would have been better for them, if they but knew. They (Shias) will give preference to you and your sons over their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, relatives and kin, blessings of Allah be on them, the best of blessings. They will be gathered beneath the Standard of Praise (Liwaul Hamd), their sins will be overlooked and their grades will be raised as a reward of their deeds.