“(yadrasu): from the expression darasa al-rasmu durūsan, meaning: when the trace has been effaced and has perished.
“(washy al-thawb): its ornamental pattern.

Benefits derived from the ḥadīth:

This ḥadīth contains momentous news: a day will come upon Islam when every vestige of it will be erased, and upon the Qur’an when it will be taken up so that not a single verse remains. That will certainly not happen until Islam has prevailed over the entire globe and its word has become uppermost—as Allah, exalted is He, says: “He it is who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religion,” and as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained in many a ḥadīth, some of which were cited in the first article of this series (The Authentic Ḥadīths).

The removal of the Noble Qur’an at the end of time is only a prelude to the establishment of the Hour upon the worst of creation, people who will know nothing of Islam whatsoever—not even its monotheism.

The ḥadīth also points to the greatness of the Qur’an: its very presence among the Muslims is what preserves their religion and keeps its edifice firm—and that is achieved only through studying it, reflecting on it, and understanding it. For this reason Allah, exalted is He, pledged to safeguard it until He permits it to be withdrawn.

How far astray, then, are some blind imitators who claim that the religion is preserved by the four madhhabs and that it would not harm the Muslims were their Qur’an to be lost, were such a thing even conceivable! This was stated to me by one of the senior non-Arab muftis—he spoke classical Arabic fluently—when a discussion arose between us about ijtihād and taqlīd.

He said—echoing what many people repeat—“The door of ijtihād was closed in the fourth century!”

I replied, “Then what are we to do about the many new issues that today require us to know Allah’s ruling concerning them?”

He said, “These incidents, no matter …”