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Shaykh Saalih al-Fowzaan said:
When the scholars pass away, evil and discord prevail.
He ﷺ said:
«Indeed, Allaah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the chests of the men, but rather He takes away knowledge by way of the death of the scholars, until no scholar remains, and the people [then] turn to the ignorant as their leaders. They deliver religious verdicts without knowledge. They themselves are misguided and so, misguide others.»[1]At the end of time, when knowledge is taken away, people will appoint ignorant leaders who have no knowledge.
They will give rulings without knowledge, going astray themselves and leading others astray.
As for the true scholars, they give rulings based on knowledge.
However, these [ignorant leaders] have no knowledge to issue rulings; they issue rulings without knowledge, thereby going astray themselves and leading others astray.
This demonstrates the virtue of scholars and the importance of their presence in the Ummah.
Therefore, it is not permissible to oppose them as long as they remain upright and upon sound knowledge.
It is not permissible to oppose them, for they are the inheritors of the Prophets – conveying on behalf of the Messenger ﷺ.
And do not belittle their status and say:
“We are equal to them.”
[No!] There is no comparison!
The scholar is not like the ignorant.
Shirk did not appear among the people of Nooh except after the passing away of the scholars.
That is because Shaytaan made the people of Nooh believe that they should make images of the righteous, thinking that this would help them remember their state, and inspire them in worship.
So they obeyed Shaytaan, and made images of the righteous, and set them up in their gatherings.
But Shaytaan wanted evil and destruction for them.
But he could not achieve this in the presence of the scholars, and as such, he did not command them to worship these images while the scholars were still alive.
Instead, he waited until the scholars passed away and knowledge was erased or forgotten [then] he told them:
“Your forefathers only set up these images to worship them, and through them they were granted rain.”
So they began to worship them besides Allaah, because there were no scholars left to prohibit them from [doing so].
As a result, shirk spread, and destruction came upon the people of Nooh, as Allaah mentioned in the Qur.aan.
And this was all due to the passing away of the scholars.
Translation originally published on 12 July, 2025.
[1] Saheeh Muslim, The Book of Knowledge.
