(3) Abu Kurayb and Abu Sa’eed narrated from Abu Ussama from al-Ash’ath from Aamir from his uncle that Massrooq had said: One day we were sitting with Abdullah bin Mass’ood in his house. He was reciting Qur’an for us. A man asked him: “O Abu Abdurrahman, have you asked the messenger of Allah about how many caliphs will rule this umma after him?” Ibn Mass’ood said: “No one has asked about this since I have come from Iraq. Yes, we have asked him and he said: “They are twelve as the number of the chieftains of the Israelites.”