The departure of knowledge

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: On the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up. He (peace and blessings be upon him) had seated Sayyiduna al-Fadl bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) behind him on his mount, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was riding an ash-coloured camel. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! Acquire knowledge before knowledge is taken away and before it is lifted." Allah Almighty had revealed this verse: "O you who believe! Do not ask about things which, if they were made plain to you, would displease you; and if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you. Allah has pardoned that, and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing." The narrator says: We already disliked asking him (peace and blessings be upon him) many questions, and when Allah Almighty revealed this verse to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we became cautious. The narrator says: We came to a Bedouin and gave him a sheet, which he tied as a turban, until I saw the border of the sheet coming out over his right eyebrow. Then we said to him: "Ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." He said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "O Prophet of Allah! How will knowledge be lifted from among us when the Qur'an is present among us, and we have learned what it contains and have taught it to our wives, children and servants?" The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his blessed head, and his blessed face had turned red with anger. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O man! May your mother lose you! The Jews and the Christians also had their sacred books among them, yet they do not hold on to a single letter of what their prophets brought to them. Remember! The departure of knowledge means the departure of those who carry it (the scholars)." (The narrator says:) He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times.
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; Ibn Majah recorded part of it. However, al-Tabarani's chain is more sound, because Ahmad's chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Yazid, and he is very da'if (weak). Al-Tabarani recorded it through several routes, some of whose chains contain a narrator, Hajjaj bin Artat; he is a mudallis who is saduq (truthful), his hadith are written down, and he is not one of those who lie deliberately. And Allah knows best.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon knowledge will be lifted." The narrator says: He (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this three times. Sayyiduna Ziyad bin Labid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Prophet of Allah! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! How will knowledge be lifted from us when this Book of Allah is present, which we have read, and our children will teach it to their children?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards him and said: "O Ziyad bin Labid! May your mother lose you! I used to count you among the people of understanding in Madinah. Did these Jews not have the Torah and the Injil? Yet of what use were they to them? Indeed, Allah Almighty will not take away knowledge by lifting it up; rather, He will take away its bearers (that is, the scholars)." The narrator says: I think the narration also contains these words: "Whenever a scholar of this Ummah departs, a breach will open in Islam that will not be closed until the Day of Resurrection."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain contains a narrator, Sa'd bin Sinan, whom al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him), Yahya bin Ma'in and a group declared da'if (weak). However, Abu Mushir says: Sadaqah bin Khalid narrated to us; he said: Abu Mahdi Sa'id bin Sinan, the muezzin of the people of Hims, narrated to me, and he was a thiqah (trustworthy) and well-regarded person.

Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards the sky and said: "This is the time in which knowledge will be lifted." A man from the Ansar named Ziyad bin Labid said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! How will that be, when it (that is, knowledge) has been made firm and hearts have preserved it?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "I used to count you among the people of understanding in Madinah." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that the Jews and Christians also fell into misguidance, even though the Book of Allah was among them. Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Salih, the scribe of al-Layth. Abd al-Malik bin Shu'ayb says: He is thiqah (trustworthy) and reliable; the others declared him da'if (weak).
Al-Tabarani recorded it likewise in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and added these words: Jubayr bin Nufayr narrates: I met Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) and narrated to him the narration of Sayyiduna Awf. He said: "Sayyiduna Awf has spoken the truth. Shall I not tell you about the first thing (to be lifted)? Humility (khushu') will be lifted (first of all); you will not see (anyone) who has humility."

Sayyiduna Wahshi bin Harb (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon knowledge will be snatched away from people, until they will have no power over any of it." Sayyiduna Ziyad bin Labid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "How will knowledge be snatched away from us when we have read the Qur'an and have taught it to our children as well?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May your mother lose you, O son of Labid! This Torah and Injil were also with the Jews and the Christians, yet they did not even raise their heads (towards them)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty will not take away this knowledge by separating it from people; rather, He will take away knowledge by taking away the scholars. When the scholars have departed, people will take (ignorant ones) as leaders. When they are asked about matters, they will give rulings without knowledge, so they will go astray from the straight path themselves and lead (others) astray as well."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, al-Ala' bin Sulayman al-Raqqi, whom Ibn Adi and others declared da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, after giving you this knowledge, Allah Almighty will not separate it from you; rather, He will take away the scholars together with their knowledge. Then ignorant people will remain; they will be asked about matters, they will give rulings, and they will lead astray and go astray themselves."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Salih, the scribe of al-Layth, and he is da'if (weak), though he has been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty will take away the scholars, and He will take away knowledge along with them. Then young people will come forward who will contend with one another, and the elderly man among them will be regarded as weak."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain mentions that Hajjaj bin Rishdin bin Sa'd narrated it from his father. Hajjaj was declared da'if (weak) by Ibn Adi, and no one declared him thiqah (trustworthy); there is disagreement over using his father as evidence, though most declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, after giving knowledge to people, Allah Almighty will not separate it from them by snatching it away; rather, He will take away the scholars. Whenever a scholar departs, the knowledge he has will depart with him, until no one remains who has knowledge. Then people will go astray and lead others astray as well."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Salih, the scribe of al-Layth, and he is da'if (weak); Abd al-Malik bin Sa'id bin al-Layth declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates this as a marfu' hadith: (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:) "The death of a scholar is a breach in Islam that will not be closed as long as night and day alternate."
Al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain mentions that Muhammad bin Abd al-Malik narrated it from al-Zuhri; al-Bazzar said: This man narrates hadith in which he is not corroborated, and this hadith is one of them.

Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged acquiring knowledge before knowledge departs. A man said: "How will it depart, when we have learned it and taught it to our children?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did the People of the Book not have the Torah and the Injil? Yet were they of any use to them?"
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Maslamah bin Ali al-Khushani, and he is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The death of a scholar is a calamity that cannot be repaired and a breach that cannot be closed. He was a star that has been extinguished. In my view, the death of a whole tribe is easier (that is, a lighter calamity) than the death of one scholar."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Uthman bin Ayman, and I have not seen anyone mention his biography; the same is the case with Isma'il bin Salih.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The likeness of the scholars is that of the stars in the sky, by which guidance is found in the darkness of land and sea. When the stars are extinguished, even those who are on the right path are in danger of going astray."
Ahmad recorded it; discussion of this narration has already passed in the chapter on the virtue of the scholar and the student.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Trials (fitan) will become widespread, killing (harj) will become widespread, and knowledge will be lifted." When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that knowledge will be lifted, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It will not be removed from the breasts of men; rather, the scholars will depart."
Ahmad and al-Bazzar recorded it; it is also reported in the "Sahih", but without the statement of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This Ummah will continue to remain on the Shari'ah as long as three things do not appear among them: as long as knowledge is not taken away from them, the offspring of sin (hinth) do not become many among them, and the 'Saqqarun' do not appear among them." It was asked: "O Messenger of Allah! What is meant by 'Saqqarun'?" (Here the narrator is in doubt about one word.) He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are people who will be in the end times, and their way of greeting one another will be to curse one another."
Ahmad recorded it (in his Musnad) and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains two narrators, Ibn Lahi'ah and Zabban; both of them are da'if (weak), though they have also been declared thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do you know how Islam will diminish?" The people replied: "Just as the dye of a garment fades, or as the fatness of an animal diminishes, or as a dirham wears down after long use." Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That is also part of it, but greater than all of these is the death of the scholars (the narrator is in doubt, or perhaps the words are:) the departure of the scholars."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyab says: I attended the funeral of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him). When he had been buried in his grave, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "O people! Whoever would like to know how knowledge departs, then this is how knowledge will depart. By Allah! Today a great deal of knowledge has departed." Sa'id bin al-Musayyab says: The speaker will also say: "Today a great deal of knowledge has departed", by which he meant Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd bin Jud'an, and he is da'if (weak).

It is reported from him that he said: "Do you know what the departure of knowledge means? It is the departure of the scholars from the earth."
Ahmad recorded it within a hadith that will come later in the chapter on Surah Sa'ala; its chain contains a narrator, Qabus, about whom there is disagreement over whether he can be used as evidence. The hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) will come later in the chapter on the shares of inheritance (fara'id).