It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards the sky and said: "This is the time when knowledge will be taken away." A man from the Ansar (who was called Ibn Labid) said: O Messenger of Allah! How will knowledge be taken away when it is recorded in books and hearts have preserved it? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I used to think that you were the most learned of the people of Madinah." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the misguidance of the Jews and the Christians, that they went astray despite having the Book of Allah with them. (The narrator says:) Then I met Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him the hadith of Awf bin Malik. He said: Awf has spoken the truth. Shall I not tell you of the first thing that will be taken away? I said: Of course. He said: It is khushu' (humble devotion), until (a time will come when) you will not see even one person with khushu'. This hadith is sahih (authentic), and the two Shaykhs used all of its narrators as evidence. There is the shahid (supporting narration) of Shaddad bin Aws for it, and Jubayr bin Nufayr heard this hadith from both of them and from a third Companion, namely Abu al-Darda'.