[Parisienne]

“Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: ‘Prophethood will last among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will take it away. Then it will be (followed by) a Khilafah Rashida (rightly guided) on the pattern of the Prophethood. It will remain for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will take it away. Afterwards there will be a hereditary leadership which will remain for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if He wishes. Afterwards, there will be biting oppression, and it will last for as long as Allah wishes, then He will lift it if He wishes. Then there will be a Khilafah Rashida according to the ways of the Prophethood.’ Then he kept silent.” [Musnad Imam Ahmad]

Scholars explain this hadith in this way: Prophethood as in the beginning of the hadith ended with the death of Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam). The next stage was Khilafah Rashida and this was from Abu Bakr Siddiq to Ali ibn Abi Taalib (radi Allahu anhuma). Then the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said it would be Mulkan which was the rule of the Banu Umayyah, Banu Abbas and the Khilafah Uthmaniyyah. Then after that, he said it would be dictatorship, i.e. oppressive rule, which we are living under today. The next stage will be Khilafah Rashida once again insha-Allah.