Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī Ḥadīth [100] – The Death of Scholars and the Departure of Knowledge

In this ḥadīth, there is a great urge and advocation for the Muslims that they should value and honor their God-conscious scholars, the people should get maximum benefit from them, otherwise the time may be near that they will be deprived of this favor.

• Reference: [2652 (5/54-55), Sunan at-Tirmidhī, Dārussalām (Eng)]

a) Muslims will not lose knowledge of religion in one go. What in fact will happen is that the true scholars will gradually be taken away from the community. That will herald the end of the religious sciences as well. In order to forestall such a dangerous situation, the Muslim community must exert its utmost effort to produce scholars specializing in the Islāmic sciences and law.

b) It is the duty of a religious scholar to give his verdict in the light of the Qurān and aḥādīth, instead of giving it on the basis of his own personal opinion or analogy.

• Reference: [52 (1/108-109), Sunan ibn Mājah, Dārussalām (Eng)]

The author, al-Ḥāfiẓ an-Nawawī, may Allāh shower blessings on him, recorded this ḥadīth of ‘Abd Allāh bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘Āṣ (may Allāh be pleased with him and his father) under the chapter on the virtues of knowledge which is learnt and taught for the sake of Allāh – the most High. He narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Verily, Allāh does take away knowledge by snatching it from the people.”

The ḥadīth indicates that knowledge will be taken away and there will be no scholar on the surface of the earth to guide mankind to the Religion of Allāh, so the Ummah will degenerate and go astray. Therefore, the Qurān will be taken away; it will be snatched from the hearts of men and from copies of the Qurān.

As Ahlus-Sunnah would say: “The Qurān is the revealed word of Allāh, and not created. From Him it originated and to Him it will return.” They say the meaning of ‘to Him it will return’ is that it will go back to Allāh, the Mighty and Sublime, towards the end of time when people would have abandoned it completely; neither would they recite it nor act by it.

Similar to this is the honored Ka’bah. Allāh protected it when Abrahah who wanted to demolish it moved towards it with mighty elephant and numerous soldiers. Allāh, the Mighty and Sublime, shielded it from him and Allāh revealed an entire chapter of the Qur’ān about it: “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant [The Elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abraham al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka’bah at Makkah]. Did He not make their plot go astray? And He sent against them birds, in flocks, striking them with stones of sijjīl (baked clay). And He made them like (an empty field of) stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).” [al-Qurān (105: 1-5)]

“Ṭayran Abābīl”: Allāh sent the birds; Abābīl, different groups, with each bird carrying between its legs stones of sijjīl; that is, from roasted and hard clay. Allāh commanded these birds to throw the stones at the soldiers, and whenever the stone hits a man on his head it would come out from his anus. This continued until He made them like a field of plants eaten by animals and blended together.

However, people will desecrate the sanctity of this House and commit various acts of disobedience in it towards the end of time. Then, Allāh will overpower them with a short man with curved legs from Abyssinia who will demolish it stone by stone. He will come with soldiers to break and demolish the Ka’bah stone by stone. Whenever a stone is removed, it will be passed down the line of soldiers from Makkah until it will end up in the ocean. They will remove its stones to the last.

Contemplate on this matter, Allāh, the Mighty and Sublime, had protected it in the earliest time from these disbelievers because He knew that He will raise a Messenger there who will remove people from misguidance, oppression and polytheism to guidance, justice, and His Oneness. When people will desecrate its sanctity towards the end of time, Allāh will empower the one who will destroy it. This is based on His wisdom. No one will challenge or oppose this man. Allāh, the Mighty and Sublime, with His wisdom will make him firmly established on this.

Similarly, the Qurān will be removed from the hearts of men and from copies of the Qurān and it will ascend to the Lord, the Mighty and Sublime. This is because it is His words; it originated from Him and to Him will it return.

However, knowledge will not taken be away from the hearts of men, but it will be taken away by the death of the scholars. The real scholars will die and there will be no learned person left. Then people will choose those who will rule them as leaders and they will consult them for legal ruling. But they will be ignorant people who will issue verdict without knowledge, so they will go astray and lead others astray, and refuge is with Allāh.

And the sharī’ah will remain among these ignorant people, they will give judgement with it among the people while they are ignorant. At that time, the real Islām, which is based on the Qurān and Sunnah, will be lost because its bearers have been taken.

The ḥadīth encourages and emphasizes seeking for knowledge as not to reach the situation described by the Messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).

Informing of an event is not the same as endorsing it. That is, that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) tells us about something does not mean that he approves of it and legalizes it. He (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) stated and swore that: “Surely, you will follow the ways of those before you” that is, you will tread the paths of those that came before you. They asked: ‘The Jews and the Christians?’ He (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Yes, the Jews and the Christians.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3456 & 7320] He stated that this Ummah will commit what the Jews and Christians are upon. This information is a warning and not an approval or a validation. We must understand the difference between what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) stated as a validation and what he stated as a warning.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) stated that the scholars would die. Thus, we should devote ourselves to learning so that this time will not meet us, a time in which the scholars will die and only these ignorant leaders will remain. Those who will deliver religious verdicts without knowledge, and then they will go astray and will lead others astray.

We ask Allāh for beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and pure and abundant provision.

• Reference: [1392 (5/500-503), Riyāḍuṣ Ṣāliḥīn, Dārussalām (Eng)]

It is a sign of the nearness of the Day of Judgement that the world will be deprived of genuine religious scholars, and illiterate people will become leaders who will have neither the knowledge of the Qurān nor that of the ḥadīth. Despite their ignorance of the Qurān and the ḥadīth, they will be called mujtahid (jurist entitled to independent reasoning) and Imām (leader) and will mislead people with their legal opinions and self-created problems. Besides urging us to acquire religious knowledge with a view to producing more scholars in the society, this ḥadīth also warns us against the ignorant self-styled “ulamā’”. It also warns us against entrusting religious leadership to them.

• Reference: [1392 (2/1031-1032), Riyāḍuṣ Ṣāliḥīn, Dārussalām (Eng)]

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