Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 1067
sahih

Abu Dharr reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

Verily there would arise from my Ummah after me or soon after me a group (of people) who would recite the Qur'an, but it would not go beyond their throats, and they would pass clean through their religion just as the arrow passes through the prey, and they would never come back to it. They would be the worst among the creation and the creatures. Ibn Samit (one of the narrators) said: I met Rafi' b. 'Amr Ghifari, the brother of Al-Hakam Ghifari and I said: What is this hadith that I heard from Abu Dharr, i. e. so and so? and then I narrated that hadith to him and said: I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ بْنُ فَرُّوخَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ الْمُغِيرَةِ، حَدَّثَنَا حُمَيْدُ بْنُ هِلاَلٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏

‏ إِنَّ بَعْدِي مِنْ أُمَّتِي - أَوْ سَيَكُونُ بَعْدِي مِنْ أُمَّتِي - قَوْمٌ يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لاَ يُجَاوِزُ حَلاَقِيمَهُمْ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَمَا يَخْرُجُ السَّهْمُ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ ثُمَّ لاَ يَعُودُونَ فِيهِ هُمْ شَرُّ الْخَلْقِ وَالْخَلِيقَةِ ‏

‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ابْنُ الصَّامِتِ فَلَقِيتُ رَافِعَ بْنَ عَمْرٍو الْغِفَارِيَّ أَخَا الْحَكَمِ الْغِفَارِيِّ قُلْتُ مَا حَدِيثٌ سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَذَكَرْتُ لَهُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ فَقَالَ وَأَنَا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 12, Hadith 206
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 5, Hadith 2335 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed the Companions about many of the trials that took place during their generation and that would take place after their generation. One of the trials they witnessed during their time was the trial of the Kharijites. In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) made reference to that. He mentioned people who would be in his Ummah after him; among their characteristics is that they "would recite the Qur'an, but it would not go beyond their throats." They recite the Qur'an but do not get affected by it, understand it, or act upon its verses. So, they will not be recompensed for that by rewards, and their recitation does not go beyond their tongues, so no good deed is accepted from them. This is not something required; instead, it is required to ponder and reflect upon the Qur'an as it influences the heart. This all means that Imān (faith) did not settle firmly in their hearts. "they would pass through the religion as an arrow passes through the prey, and then they would not come back to it", i.e., they come out of the religion like the coming out of a fast arrow, which hits the prey and enters and comes out of it with a high speed, without any trace of the prey sticking to it; this is due to its quick coming out of the target. The "ramiyyah" (prey) is the animal that is hunted and hit with an arrow after getting chased. This is a description of the Kharijites, who do not obey the rulers and revolt against them and declare people as disbelievers on account of major sins that are below Shirk (polytheism) and Kufr (disbelief). They kill the people of Islam and leave the people of idols (disbelievers). After all that, they do not return to the religion again, as they do not repent or reconsider their matter. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remarked: "They are the worst among the creation and the creatures." It is said: "Khalq" (creation) refers to humankind, and "khaliqah" (creatures) refers to animals. It is also said: They both have the same meaning. So, this refers to all creation. They are the worst among all creation because they fight the best people, thus corrupting the land after it was in good condition. The Hadīth includes one of the Prophet's prophecies, as he told about something that would happen after his death, and it did happen as he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed. It warns against misunderstanding the Qur’an and not pondering its verses, goals, and objectives; and it points out that this causes corruption on earth. It also indicates that one of the consequences of poor reflection upon the verses of Allah is to depart from the religion..
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