TODAY MARKS 102 years since one of the most significant moments in modern Islamic history, the abolishment of the Ottoman Khilafah on 3rd March 1924.
On this occasion, it is worth reflecting on a profound prophecy of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that frames where we stand today.
The Hadith That Frames Our Times
Imam Ahmad recorded the following:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills. Then, Allah will raise it up when He wills. Then, there will be Khilafah on the Prophetic method, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, Allah will raise it up when He wills. Then, there will be a biting monarchy, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, Allah will raise it up when He wills. Then, there will be a tyrannical rule, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, Allah will raise it up when He wills. Then, there will be Khilafah on the Prophetic method.’ Then he remained silent.”
Where do we find ourselves in this prophecy? Whilst there is always room for interpretation of a prophecy based on what has been observed over time, looking honestly at the Muslim world today, it is difficult to argue that we are anywhere other than the era of tyrannical rule.
Walking Through the Stages
The era of Prophethood ended with the passing of the Messenger ﷺ. Then came the blessed Khilafah Rashidah, the rightly guided leadership of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all, spanning approximately thirty years.
After that, the Khilafah continued, but something fundamental changed. It became dynastic, passed down through family lines rather than remaining open to any qualified Muslim. One scholar described the phrase “biting monarchy” as a figure of speech, in such rulers would cling to power as though biting onto it. Power had become personal, something to be held rather than served. This period began with Mu’awiya (ra) appointing his son Yazid.
That era too came to an end. On this very date in 1924, the last institutional remnant of the Khilafah was dissolved in Istanbul. What followed has been, as the hadith foretold, the era of tyrannical rule, and not a day passes without fresh proof of that.
When Despair Knocks
It would be dishonest not to acknowledge that living through this era can fill the heart with despair. We look at the Muslim world and ask, Will things ever change?
This is precisely why this prophecy is so uplifting. It does not leave us guessing. It tells us what is coming next. The Messenger ﷺ, the most truthful of all who ever spoke, already told us how this chapter ends.
We are also not waiting in the dark. The signs of change are gathering. The tyrants and everything they represent are now exposed, their masks have slipped, and the world is watching. The systems humanity has organised itself around, built on exploitation and the domination of the powerful over the weak, have proven themselves unfit for human society. People across the world, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, feel that something is broken and are searching for something real.
That restlessness is not hopelessness. It is the ground being prepared.
The Promise That Fills Us With Hope
After tyranny, the Messenger ﷺ tells us, there will come once again a Khilafah upon the Prophetic method.
When it is in the hands of Allah alone. But our deen teaches us that Allah’s promise is fulfilled through people, people who work, who carry a call, who sacrifice, and who remain sincere.
I see this prophecy coming to pass when four conditions are realised. First, a group must sincerely carry the call to reestablish the Khilafah upon the Prophetic method and provide leadership to that effort. Second, people of influence and power must give their support to those carriers, just as the Ansar of Madinah supported the Prophet ﷺ. Third, the general Muslim masses must accept and live by that work. And fourth, encompassing all of it, is the will of Allah. When these four converge, we will see the final stage of this prophecy fulfilled, in shaa Allah.
The Question For All of Us
The when belongs to Allah. But what we are doing belongs to us.
Are we learning about the Khilafah with confidence and depth, so that we can speak about it as the genuine alternative the world so desperately needs? Are we among those who carry its call, those who support it, or at the very least, those who do not become an obstacle to its return?
The Sahabah were honoured by Allah to establish the first Khilafah Rashidah. We ask Allah that this generation and those that follow are among those honoured to witness and contribute to its return.
Living For Islam 