Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 8597

It is narrated from Sulaym bin Qays al-Hanzali that he said: Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed us in a sermon and said: "What I fear most for you after me is that an innocent man among you will be seized and sawn apart (to torment him) as a slaughtered camel is cut apart, and his flesh will be torn as its flesh is torn, and it will be said that he is a transgressor, whereas he will not be a transgressor." He said: Then Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), who was below the pulpit, said: O Commander of the Faithful! And when will that be, while the calamity has not yet become severe, the partisanship of the Jahiliyyah has not yet appeared, the offspring have not yet been taken captive, and the tribulations have not yet ground the people down as a millstone grinds grain and as fire consumes firewood? (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)) asked: O Ali! When will that be? He replied: "When jurisprudence (fiqh) is acquired for a purpose other than religion, knowledge is learnt for a purpose other than action, and this world is sought through the deeds of the Hereafter."