Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ عَنْ أَبِي الْأَحْوَصِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ أَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي رَجُلٍ نَسْتَأْذِنُهُ أَنْ نَكْوِيَهُ فَسَكَتَ ثُمَّ سَأَلْنَاهُ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى فَسَكَتَ ثُمَّ سَأَلْنَاهُ الثَّالِثَةَ فَقَالَ ارْضِفُوهُ إِنْ شِئْتُمْ كَأَنَّهُ غَضْبَانُ.
English Translation
Abdullah said: 'How will you be when you are covered by a fitnah (tribulation) in which the young grow up and the old grow old? If any part of it is abandoned, it will be said: The Sunnah has been abandoned.' It was said: 'When will that be, O Abu Abd al-Rahman?' He said: 'When your scholars have passed away, your reciters have become many, your jurists have become few, your leaders have become many, your trustworthy ones have become few, the worldly life is sought through the deeds of the Hereafter, and knowledge is sought for other than the sake of religion.'