Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al’ As:
I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away fromĀ (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when noneĀ of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray.”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book3, Number 100