Anas ibn Malik said, "I shall tell you a Hadîth which I heard from the Messenger of Allâh, and which no-one will tell you after me. I heard him say, 'Among the signs of the Hour will be the disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance. Adultery will be prevalent and the drinking of wine will be common. The number of men will decrease and the number of women will increase until there will be fifty women to be looked after by one man.' " This Hadîth was reported in the two Sahîhs from the Hadîth of 'Abd Rabbihi.
'Abdullâh said, "The Prophet said, 'Just before the Hour, there will be days in which knowledge will disappear and ignorance will appear, and there will be much killing.' " (Ibn Majah; also narrated by al-Bukhârî and Muslim, from the Hadîth of al-A'mash.)
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman said, "The Prophet said, 'Islâm will become worn out like clothes are, until there will be no-one who knows what fasting, prayer, charity and rituals are. The Qur'ân will disappear in one night, and no Ayah will be left on earth. Some groups of old people will be left who will say, 'We heard our fathers saying La ilaha illa Allâh, so we repeated it.'Silah asked Hudhayfah, "What will saying La ilaha illa Allâh do for them when they do not know what prayer, fasting, ritual and charity are?" Hudhayfah ignored him; then Silah repeated his question three times, and each time Hudayfah ignored him. Finally he answered, "O Silah, it will save them from Hell", and said it three times. (Ibn Majah)
This indicates that in the last days, knowledge will be taken from the people, and even the Qur'ân will disappear from the Mushafs and from people's hearts. People will be left without knowledge. Only the old people will tell them that they used to hear people saying La ilaha illa Allâh; and they will repeat it to feel close to Allâh, so it will give them some blessing, even if they do not have any good deeds or beneficial knowledge. Knowledge will be taken away from men and ignorance will increase during the last days, and their ignorance and misguidance will increase until the end, as in the Hadîth of the Prophet: "The Hour will not come upon anyone who says, 'Allâh, Allâh'; it will only come upon the most evil of men."
