Fath al-Rabbani

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah will not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He will take away knowledge by taking away the scholars (i.e., causing their death), until when He leaves no scholar alive, people will take ignorant ones as their leaders. Then, when they are asked (about religious matters), they will give verdicts without knowledge, thus they will go astray themselves and will lead others astray as well.”

(Second Chain) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, when Allah grants knowledge to people, He does not take it away from them by snatching it away, rather He begins to take away the scholars (by causing them to die). When a scholar dies, the knowledge that was with him also departs, until only those people remain who have no knowledge. Then people take the ignorant as their leaders, and when they are asked for a religious verdict, they give verdicts without knowledge, and thus they go astray themselves and lead others astray as well."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Among the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be taken away, ignorance will spread, wine will be drunk, and adultery will become widespread."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: "The final hardship in which a believer is afflicted is death." In the statement of Allah Almighty «یَوْمَ تَکُوْنُ السَّمَاءُ کَالْمُہْلِ», "muhl" refers to the dregs of oil, and «آنَاءَ اللَّیْلِ» refers to the middle part of the night. Then he said: "Do you know what the ending of knowledge is? It is the removal of the people of knowledge from the earth."

Sayyiduna Ziyad bin Labeed (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned something and said: “This will happen when knowledge is taken away.” We said: “O Messenger of Allah! How will knowledge be lost, while we recite the Noble Qur’an and teach it to our children, and then our sons will teach it to their children, and this chain will continue until the Day of Resurrection?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O Ibn Umm Labeed! May your mother lose you! I thought you were the most intelligent and learned man in Madinah. Do not these Jews and Christians read the Torah and the Gospel? But the situation is that they do not benefit from anything in them.”

Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) says: One day we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he looked towards the sky and said: "This will be the time when knowledge will be taken away." A man from the Ansar named Ziyad bin Labid said: "O Messenger of Allah! Will knowledge be taken away while the Book of Allah is present among us and we are teaching it to our children and women?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I used to consider you among the most intelligent people of Madinah." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the misguidance of the People of the Book, i.e., the Jews and Christians, and the state of the Book of Allah with them. When Jubair bin Nufair met Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) at the place of Eid, he narrated to him the hadith of Sayyiduna Awf (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "Yes, Awf has spoken the truth," then he said: "And do you know what the taking away of knowledge is?" I said: "No." He said: "It means the removal of the vessels of knowledge. And do you know which knowledge will be taken away first?" I said: "No." He said: "Khushu' (humility and concentration) in prayer, (and its absence will be so much that) it may be that you do not see a single person performing prayer with khushu'."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: On the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up while he was mounted on a white camel, and Sayyiduna Fadl bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was seated behind him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! Acquire knowledge before knowledge is taken away and lifted up." Meanwhile, Allah the Exalted had also revealed this command: «یٰٓاَیُّہَا الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَسْئَلُوْا عَنْ اَشْیَآئَ اِنْ تُبْدَ لَکُمْ تَسُؤْکُمْ» (O you who believe! Do not ask about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.) We used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) many questions, but when Allah the Exalted revealed this verse to His Prophet, we began to refrain from asking questions. (One day, for the sake of asking a question) we went to a Bedouin and gave him a sheet for this task. He tied it as a turban, and the edge of the sheet was seen hanging over his right eyebrow. Then we said to him: "You ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a question." So he asked: "O Messenger of Allah! How will knowledge be taken away from us while the Qur'an is present among us, and we have learned it and taught it to our women, children, and servants?" The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head, and due to anger, redness was visible on his face, and he said: "O so-and-so! May your mother lose you! These Jews and Christians have their books among them, but the situation is that they do not act upon a single provision of what their Prophets brought to them. Beware! The taking away of knowledge means that the bearers of knowledge will be taken away." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times.