۳۶۹. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ لَا يَبْقى فِيهِمْ مِن الْقُرآنِ إِلَّا رَسْمُهُ، وَمِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا اسْمُهُ، وَمَسَاجِدُهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَامِرَةٌ مِنَ الْبِنَاءِ، خَرَابٌ مِنَ الْهُدَى، سُكَّانُهَا وَعُمَّارُهَا شَرُّ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ، مِنْهُمْ تَخْرُجُ الْفِتْنَةُ، وَإِلَيْهِمْ تَأوِي الْخَطِيئَةُ، يَرُدُّونَ مَنْ شَذَّ عَنْهَا فِيهَا، وَيَسُوقوُنَ مَن تأَخَّرَ عَنْهَا إِلَيْهَا، يَقُولُ اللهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فَبِي حَلَفْتُ لَأَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَى أُولئِكَ فِتْنَةً تتْرُك الْحَلِيمَ فِيهَا حَيْرَانَ، وَقَدْ فَعَلَ، وَنَحْنُ نَسْتَقِيلُ اللهَ عَثْرَةَ الْغَفْلَةِ.
369. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: A time will come when nothing will remain of the Qur’ān except its writing, and nothing of Islam except its name. The mosques in those days will be busy with regards to construction but desolate with regard to guidance. Those staying in them and those visiting them will be the worst of all on earth. From them mischief will spring up and towards them all wrong will turn. If anyone isolates himself from it (mischief) they will fling him back to it and if anyone steps back from it they will push him towards it. Says Allāh, the Glorified, (in ḥadīth qudsī — i.e., the tradition in which Allāh Himself speaks) : I swear by Myself that I shall send upon them an evil wherein the endurer would be bewildered, and He would do so. We seek Allāh’s pardon from stumbling through neglect.