Hadith: That will be at the time when knowledge disappears

عن زِياد بن لَبِيد، قال: ذَكَر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم شيئًا، فقال: "ذاك عند أَوان ذَهابِ العِلْم"، قلتُ: يا رسولَ الله، وكيف يَذْهَبُ العِلْم، ونحْن نَقْرأ القرآنَ ونُقْرِئُه أبْناءَنا ويُقْرِئُه أبْناؤُنا أبناءَهُم إلى يوم القيامة؟ قال: "ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ يا زياد، إن كنتُ لَأراكَ مِن أَفْقِه رَجُلٍ بالمدِينَة، أَوَلَيْس هذه اليهود والنَّصارى يَقْرؤون التَّوراةَ والإنجِيلَ، لا يَعْمَلُونَ بِشَيءٍ ممّا فِيهِما؟!".
[صحيح لغيره] - [رواه ابن ماجه]

Ziyād ibn Labīd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned something and said: "That will be at the time when knowledge disappears." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, how will knowledge disappear when we recite the Qur’an and teach it to our children, and they teach it to their children (and so on) until the Day of Judgment?" He said: "May your mother be bereaved of you, O Ziyād! I thought you were the most knowledgeable man in Madīnah. Is it not the case with these Jews and Christians who read the Torah and the Gospel, yet they do not act upon anything therein?"
Sahih/Authentic by virtue of corroborating evidence. - [Ibn Maajah]

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned something grave and dreadful and pointed out that it will happen when knowledge disappears and is taken away. Thereupon, Ziyād said: O Messenger of Allah, how can knowledge be taken away while we, Muslims, recite the Qur'an and make our children recite it and they will make their children recite it and so on. So, when will this take place and how will knowledge disappear while the Qur'an remains among people until the Day of Judgment? To this the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) replied: May your mother be bereaved of you, O Ziyād. This supplication, which literally means: may you die and your mother lose you - is a way of expressing wonder at his unawareness of this matter, whereas he thought that he was the most knowledgeable man in Madīnah. Is it not true that the Jews and Christians read the Torah and the Gospel yet they do not act upon them? Those who are ignorant and those who know and do not act upon their knowledge are alike. The latter are even like donkeys that carry books upon their backs.