Hadith of the Twelve Successors Hadith of the Twelve Successors The hadith of the twelve successors, or twelve caliphs () is an Islamic prophecy, attributed to Muhammad. It is most popular among Twelver Shiites, as they interpret the prophecy was fulfilled by The Twelve Imams. The hadith (classified as Sahih) is widely accepted by all Muslim groups but its interpretation varies heavily. According to the prophecy there will reign twelve caliphs—presumably the first being crowned upon the Prophet's death—and after which the caliphate would cease to exist and mark the beginning of the judgement day or armageddon. It is stated that all twelve caliphs will
Hadith of Golden Chain al-Bayt, hence called "Hadith of Golden Chain". Several Important hadith collections quoted it as "Al-Tawhid", "Ma'ani al-Akhbar", and Oyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha of al-Shaykh al-Saduq and Al-Amali of Shaykh Tusi. The hadith is also narrated in sunni hadith books. Regarding the implications of the hadith, there are two extreme opinions by Sunni scholars; While some of them discrediting the hadith by implying that the Sunni books lack it, some others claim that all Sunni scholars accepted it. According to shia, two important points may be derived from the Hadith. On one hand, monotheism takes the believers to "Allah's fortress", which is