Chapter 7: Duration of Al-Hasan’s Caliphate
Duration of Al-Hasan’s Caliph:
After allegiance was sworn to Al-Hasan ibn Ali, he remained the Caliph over the Hejaz (the western region of the Arabian Peninsula), which included Makkah, Madinah, Yemen, Iraq and other areas, for approximately seven months.
Imam at-Tirmidhi narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: The Caliphate of my Ummah will last for thirty years, after that, it will become a kingship.
Ibn Kathir commented on this Hadith, saying: The thirty-year period was only completed with the Caliphate of Al-Hasan ibn Ali, when he gave up the Caliphate to Mu’awiyah in Rabi’ al-Awwal, 41 AH, and that completed the thirty years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The Prophet died in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, in the year 11 AH and because of this, Al-Hasan is regarded as the fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph in Islam.
Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud narrated similar Hadiths confirming that the Caliphate of the Ummah would last for thirty years.