Is it true that there will be a caliphate in Jerusalem?

- According to hadiths, is it true that there will be a caliphate in Jerusalem in the future?
- Did the Prophet (pbuh) mention Jerusalem after Istanbul while listing the cities where the caliphate would be established?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Some narrations regarding the issue are as follows:

a) Muadh b. Jabal narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following (about the events in the end times):

“The flourishing of Baytul-Maqdis will be followed by the destruction of Yathrib. The destruction of Yathrib (Madinah) will be followed by a great war. This great war (great killing) will be followed by the conquest of Istanbul. After the conquest of Istanbul, the Antichrist (Dajjal) will emerge...” (Ibn Hanbal, h. no: 22023; Abu Dawud, h. no: 4294)

b) Hakim also narrated the same hadith and he reported it as Muadh’s words. As a matter of fact, Dhahabi said, “This narration is sound, but it is mawquf” indicating that this information was the word of Muadh. (see Hakim, no: 8297; Dhahabi, Talkhis, ibid)

c) We could not find a hadith narration stating, “there will be a caliphate in Jerusalem (Quds)” as it is mentioned in the question.

We think that attention was drawn to this caliphate with the comments made based the narrations quoted above and similar narrations. In particular, the expression “the flourishing of Baytul-Maqdis” in the hadith has been the focal point regarding the issue. Accordingly, it may have been understood that the Islamic caliphate will dominate the world in the future and the center of the caliphate will be Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, similar comments are made on Arabic websites.

It is very difficult to determine the exact time of the events mentioned in the hadiths because expressions such as “end times” or “in the future” cover a period of about 15 centuries. It is not very easy to determine which ones occurred and which ones will occur...

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