Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2652
حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يَتْرُكْ عَالِمًا اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالاً فَسُئِلُوا فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا " . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ وَزِيَادِ بْنِ لَبِيدٍ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَقَدْ رَوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ الزُّهْرِيُّ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو وَعَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِثْلَ هَذَا .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allah does not take knowledge away by snatching it from people. Rather, He takes knowledge by taking the scholars, until He leaves no scholar. Then people will take ignorant leaders, ask them questions, and they will give legal verdicts without knowledge. They will go astray and lead others astray.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan sahih.’ Reports on this topic are also related from ‘A’ishah and Ziyad ibn Labid. Al-Zuhri also narrated it from ‘Urwah, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, and from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, from the Prophet, with similar wording.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The contrast is between knowledge being abruptly removed and its loss through the death of scholars. The concluding chain note names both ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr and ‘A’ishah routes through ‘Urwah.