Abdullah · The Book of Knowledge

I went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in the morning and he heard the voice of two persons who had an argumentation with each other about a verse. Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) came to us (and) the (signs) of anger could be seen on his face. He said: Verily, the (peoples) before you were ruined because of their disputation in the Book.

Ruined, were those who indulged in hair-splitting. He (the Holy Prophet) repeated this thrice.

Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people but He takes away knowledge by taking away the scholars, so that when He leaves no learned person, people turn to the ignorant as their leaders; then they are asked to deliver religious verdicts and they deliver them without knowledge, they go astray, and lead others astray.

, I met 'Abdullah b. 'Amr at the end of the year and I asked him about it, and he narrated to us the hadith as he had narrated before that he had heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying.... (The rest of the hadith is the same).