An Evaluation the Hadith “Al-Khilafah Ba’di Thalathon” (The Caliphate Will be for Thirty Years After My Life) from the Perspective of the Two Major Sects of Islam

The hadith of “Al-Khilafah Ba’di Thalathon” (The Caliphate will be for Thirty years after my life) has been accepted in the sources of the Sunnis with several narrations and a single theme, and it has been narrated in theological, commentary, hadith and historical sources and became proof of Sunni beliefs, including the legitimacy and quadruplicating (tarbi’) of the caliphs. The question is, can this hadith be an acceptable document for Sunnis in the discussion of Imamate? Using the accepted rules of the two major sects of Islam in examining the authenticity chain and contents of this hadith, it is a distorted narration; However, Imamiyyah has used it as an element of dialectic in debates by case studies. This hadith is inconsistent with Sunni beliefs; Such as limiting the duration of the caliphate to 30 years and the illegitimacy of the caliphs after Amir al-Mu’minin Ali bin Abi Talib, as well as the conflict with the hadiths of the twelve imams, which are agreed upon by both sects. Sunni writers have tried to find a solution to solve these inconsistencies and have stated issues such as forging two periods for the caliphate, i.e. up to 30 years of the caliphate of Prophethood and after that the caliphate of al-Mulk.