Chapter: The Taking Away Of Knowledge And The Spread Of Ignorance At The End Of Time

It is from the conditions of the Last Hour that knowledge would be taken away and ignorance would prevail (upon the world), the liquor would be drunk, and adultery would become rampant.

May I not narrate to you a hadith which I heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) which no one would narrate to you after me who would have personally heard it from him (the Holy Prophet) (as I have the good fortune to do so)? -" It is from the signs of the Last Hour that knowledge would be taken away, ignorance would prevail upon (the world), adultery would become common, wine would be drunk, the number of men will fall short and the women would survive (and thus such a disparity would arise in the number of men and women) that there would be one man to look after fifty women.

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Anas b. Malik through another chain of narrators, but with a slight variation of wording.

I was sitting with 'Abdullah and Abu Musa that they reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) having said: Prior to the Last Hour, there would be a time when knowledge would be taken away, and ignorance would take its place and there would be bloodshed on a large scale.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) and Abu Musa (al-Asha'ri) through other chains of transmitters.

A hadith like this has been narrated on the authority of Abu Musa through another chain of transmitters.

I was sitting with Abu Musa and 'Abdullah and they were conversing with each other and Abu Musa reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying (that we find in the above-mentioned ahadith).

(When) the time would draw close to the Last Hour, knowledge would be snatched away, turmoil would be rampant, miserliness would be put (in the hearts of the people) and therewould be much bloodshed. They said: What is al-harj? Thereupon he said: It is bloodshed.

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira with a slight variation of wording.

The time would draw close to the Last Hour and knowledge would decrease. The rest of the hadith is the same.

" Miserliness would be put (in the hearts of the people)."

Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people but He takes away knowledge by taking away the scholars, so that when He leaves no learned person, people turn to the ignorant as their leaders; then they are asked to deliver religious verdicts and they deliver them without knowledge, they go astray, and lead others astray.

, I met 'Abdullah b. 'Amr at the end of the year and I asked him about it, and he narrated to us the hadith as he had narrated before that he had heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying.... (The rest of the hadith is the same).

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Amr b. al-'As through another chain of transmitters.

This news has reached me that 'Abdullah b. 'Amr al-'As would pass by us during the Hajj season, so you meet him and ask him (about religious matters) as he has acquired great knowledge from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). I thus met him and asked him about things which he narrated from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). And amongst these the one he mentioned was that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge from people directly but he takes away the scholars and consequently takes away (knowledge) along with them and leaves amongst persons the ignorant as their leaders who deliver religious verdicts without (adequate) knowledge and themselves go astray and lead others astray. 'Urwa said: When I narrated this to 'A'isha, she deemed it too much (to believe) and thus showed reluctance to accept that (as perfectly true) and said to, 'Urwa: Did he ('Abdullah b. 'Amr) say to you that he had heard Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: ('Urwa had forgotten to ask this from 'Abdullah b. 'Amr). So when it was the next year, she ('A'isha) said to him ('Urwa): Ibn Amr has come (for Hajj), so meet him. talk to him and ask him about this hadith that he narrated to You (last year on the occasion of the Hajj) pertaining to knowledge. He ('Urwa), said: So I met him, and asked about it and he narrated to me exactly like one that he had narrated (to me) for the first time. So when I informed her ('A'isha) about that, she said: I do not think but this that he has certainly told the truth and I find that be has neither made any addition to it, nor missed anything from it.