Assalaamu Alaykum,
It was reported in Al-Musnad of Imaam Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy upon him, the Hadeeth that is narrated by An-Nu‘maan ibn Basheer, may Allaah be pleased with him, about the classification of time by the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, into a period of prophethood, then a period of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, then there will be an oppressive reign, then a tyrannical reign, and then the reign that follows the prophetic methodology will return again. After that he kept silent. Is it a Saheeh Hadeeth? What does it mean? Has it all taken place or are we still in one of these stages and if so, which one? What is the indication of “then he kept silent.”?
May Allaah Reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

It was narrated that An-Nu‘maan ibn Basheer said: “While we were sitting in the Mosque, Abu Tha‘labah Al-Khushani came and said: O Basheer ibn Sa‘d, do you remember the Hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, about the rulers. Huthayfah said: I remember his Khutbah. Then, Abu Tha‘labah sat down (to listen). Then Huthayfah said: “Prophethood will remain among you for as long as Allaah Wills it to be. Then Allaah Will Raise it when He Wills to Raise it. Then there will be the reign that follows the prophetic methodology. And it will last for as long as Allaah Wills it to last. Then Allaah Will Raise it when He Wills to Raise it. Then there will be an oppressive reign, and it will remain for as long as Allaah Wills it to Remain. Then Allaah Will Raise it when He Wills to Raise it. Then there will be tyrannical reign and it will remain for as long as Allaah Wills it to Remain. Then He Will Raise it when He Wills to Raise it. Then there will be a reign that follows the prophetic methodology.” Then the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, kept silent.

Habeeb said: "When ‘Umar ibn Abdul-'Azeez became Caliph and Yazeed ibn An-Nu‘maan ibn Basheer was one of his friends, I wrote to him, mentioning this Hadeeth in order to remind him of it, saying, "I hope you will be the Commander of the Believers after the oppressive and tyrannical reigns." It pleased and delighted him, i.e. ‘Umar ibn Abd Al-Azeez." Also, other narrators of this Hadeeth were Ahmad, At-Tabari, At-Tayaalisi Al-Bayhaqi in Dalaa‘il An-Nuboowah, Al-Albaani: Saheeh and Al-Arnaa’oot: Hasan.

Moreover, there is another narration that supports this Hadeeth which was narrated on the authority of Safeenah that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The rule (after me) in my Ummah will last for thirty years. Then there will be a rule based on kingship after that.” Then Safeenah, said (to me): ‘Calculate the duration of the reign of Abu Bakr,' then he said, ‘And the duration of the reign of ‘Umar and the reign of ‘Uthmaan. Then he said to me: ‘Calculate the duration of the reign of ‘Ali.’ Then he said: We found that it was thirty years. [Ahmad and Al-Arnaa‘oot: Hasan]

Also, Huthayfah said: “The prophethood is gone, then came the reign that ruled according to the prophetic methodology.” [Ahmad and Al-Arnaa‘oot: Saheeh]

The meaning of the Hadeeth, the reign that will follow the prophetic methodology refers to the reign of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, and Ali and that is according to the apparent meaning of the narrations.

As for the realization of the Hadeeth, some of the righteous predecessors said that it has taken place in all its different stages and that the other reign that will rule according to the prophetic methodology refers to the reign of ‘Umar ibn Abdul-Azeez .

However, Imaam Al-Albaani said in the As-Silsilah As-Saheehah: “In my opinion it is not convincing that this Hadeeth refers to (the reign) of ‘Umar ibn Abdul-Azeez, because the time of his reign was close to the reign of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and the two types of rule, both the oppressive and tyrannical had not yet occurred. Allaah Knows best.”

In conclusion, it seems that we are under the tyrannical rule and this can be substantiated by what was reported on the authority of Maajid As-Sadafi that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “After me there will be Caliphs, and after the Caliphs, sovereigns, and after the sovereigns, kings, and after kings, tyrants. Then, a man from (the descendants of) my Household (i.e. Al-Mahdi) will come and fill the Earth with justice just as it had been filled with transgression. Then, after him will take over rule the Qahtaani and by He Who Has Sent me with the Truth (i.e. Allaah), he (i.e. Qahtaani) is not less than him (i.e. Al-Mahdi) in justice.” This Hadeeth indicates that Al-Mahdi will come after the tyrants and that his reign will be according to the Prophetic Methodology. However, Imaam Al-Albaani deemed it as a Dha‘eef Hadeeth.

As for the meaning of “then he kept silent”, what is apparent is that it indicates that the Hadeeth was completed and ended.

Allaah Knows best.