It is narrated from Masruq that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The year that will come upon you will be worse than the previous year. I do not mean that one year will be more fertile and lush than the other, nor do I mean that one ruler will be better than the other. What I mean is that your scholars, the righteous and the jurists, will depart, and you will not find anyone to succeed them, and there will come people who will measure matters and affairs according to their own opinions.