He also reported among the material he knew to come from God’s
messenger that he said, "At the beginning of every century God will
send one who will renew its religion for this people.” Abu Dawud
transmitted it.
Abu Huraira transmitted , "The time is approaching when men will urge on their camels in search of knowledge, but
will find no one more learned than the learned man of Medina.” Tirmidhi transmitted it. and in his Jami' he quotes Ibn ‘Uyaina as saying
that Malik b. Anas was meant, and the same view is expressed by ‘Abd
ar-Razzaq. Ishab b. Musa said he heard Ibn ‘Uyaina say that he
was al-‘Umari the ascetic, whose name was ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abdallah.
Ibrahim b. ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-‘Udhri reported God's messenger
as saying, "In every successive century those who are reliable authorities
will preserve this knowledge, rejecting the changes made by extremists, the plagiarisms of those who make false claims for themselves, and the
interpretations of the ignorant.”*
*The source is lacking. The editor of the Damascus edition of the Mishkat says the tradition
is given by Baihaqi in al-Madkhal.
Abu Darda’ told how God’s messenger, on an occasion when they
were with him, turned his eyes to the sky and said, "This is a time when
knowledge will be snatched away from men, so that they will be unable
to acquire any.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.
