What is the authenticity of the hadith: "There will come a time upon my Ummah when nothing will remain of Islam but its name, the mosques will be full but devoid of guidance, the jurists of that time will be the most evil jurists under the shade of the sky, from them came out the tribulation and to them it will return"? And is there any authentic hadith with a similar meaning?
The aforementioned Hadith is very weak and is not authentically narrated as Marfu' (attributed to the Prophet) or Mawquf (attributed to a Companion), due to containing three defects: 1. Weakness of the narrator Abdullah ibn Dukayn: Many critics of narrators deemed him weak due to his Munkar (denounced) narrations. 2. Contradiction between Mawquf and Marfu' attribution: This indicates (instability/discrepancy) in Abdullah ibn Dukayn's narration. 3. Discontinuity in the chain of narration (Inqita'): As Ali ibn Al-Husayn did not live to meet Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
Moreover, the other chains through which the Hadith was narrated are also very weak or fabricated, even though a part of its meaning might be perceived by Muslims in reality. As for the phrase "Their mosques are thriving while being devoid of guidance, their scholars are the worst people under the sky, from them emanates tribulation and to them it returns," we have not found any authentic evidence for it.
The first sentence, concerning the strangeness of Islam at the end of time, is supported by the Hadith: "Islam began as something strange and will return as something strange, so blessed are the strangers."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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