Upcoming eras will be less virtuous, but goodness will endure

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

It has been reported in Shu’ab Al-Imaan by Bayhaqi from Abee Mas’ud Al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, who stated: “A time will not come upon you except that the subsequent time will be worse than it.” The people remarked: “Indeed, a time has come upon us in which we experienced (harvests, earnings) in abundance and a time in which we did not experienced abundance.” He responded, “By Allah! I do not refer to your times of (abundance) nor your times of (scarcity), but rather to the decline of knowledge or the scholars. Indeed, before you, there was Umar, may Allah be pleased with him; thus, can you show me a time comparable to his?!”

Perhaps, it can be said (in relation to Abee Mas’ud’s statement) concerning our current era, “Ibn Baaz was present, so can you show us someone like him?” Nevertheless, goodness still exists. Although these statements (i.e. Abu Mas’ud’s statement) are transmitted, it is also important to mention the texts that convey reassurance, the people of virtue, and that goodness will endure, such as the saying of the Prophet, “There will always be a group from my Ummah who will adhere to the truth; they will not be harmed by those who oppose them nor by those who betray them until the hour is established [i.e., the day of judgment].”

This demonstrates that goodness will persist, and the likes of these narrations [i.e., the narration by Abee Mas’ud] are not intended to leave an individual in a condition of hopelessness and despair; instead, it is intended for encouraging a person to turn to Allah and to be among the virtuous, even if they are few.

An Excerpt from “Sharh Risalah Al-Mughniyah Fis Sukoot Wa Luzoom Al-Buyut. Lessons 2 – By Shaikh Abdur Razzaq Al-Badr, may Allah preserve him.