أَخْبَرَنَا صَالِحُ بْنُ سُهَيْلٍ مَوْلَى يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى ، عَنْ مُجَالِدٍ ، عَنْ الشَّعْبِيِّ ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ :" لَا يَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ عَامٌ إِلَّا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ مِنْ الَّذِي كَانَ قَبْلَهُ، أَمَا إِنِّي لَسْتُ أَعْنِي عَامًا أَخْصَبَ مِنْ عَامٍ، وَلَا أَمِيرًا خَيْرًا مِنْ أَمِيرٍ، وَلَكِنْ عُلَمَاؤُكُمْ وَخِيَارُكُمْ وَفُقَهَاؤُكُمْ يَذْهَبُونَ، ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُونَ مِنْهُمْ خَلَفًا، وَيَجِيءُ قَوْمٌ يَقِيسُونَ الْأُمُورَ بِرَأْيِهِمْ "

Salih bin Suhail, the client of Yahya bin Abi Zaida, told us: Yahya told us, on the authority of Mujalid, on the authority of al-Sha`bi, on the authority of Masruq, on the authority of Abdullah, may God be pleased with him, said: “No year will come upon you except that it is worse than the one before it, but I do not mean a year more fertile than A general, and there is no prince better than a prince, but your scholars, your best, and your jurists will go, and then you will not find among them a successor, and a people will come. They measure matters according to their opinion.”