When style becomes more important than substance..

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ لإِنْسَانٍ : إِنَّكَ فِي زَمَانٍ كَثِيرٌ فُقَهَاؤُهُ، قَلِيلٌ قُرَّاؤُهُ، تُحْفَظُ فِيهِ حُدُودُ الْقُرْآنِ، وَتُضَيَّعُ حُرُوفُهُ، قَلِيلٌ مَنْ يَسْأَل، كَثِيرٌ مَنْ يُعْطِى، يُطِيلُونَ فِيهِ الصَّلاَةَ، وَيَقْصُرُونَ الْخُطْبَةَ، يُبَدُّونَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ قَبْلَ أَهْوَائِهِمْ، وَسَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَان، قَلِيلٌ فُقَهَاؤُهُ، كَثِيرٌ قُرَّاؤُهُ، يُحْفَظُ فِيهِ حُرُوفُ الْقُرْآنِ، وَتُضَيَّعُ حُدُودُهُ، كَثِيرٌ مَنْ يَسْأَلُ، قَلِيلٌ مَنْ يُعْطِي، يُطِيلُونَ فِيهِ الْخُطْبَة، وَيَقْصُرُونَ الصَّلاَةَ، يُبَدُّونَ فِيهِ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ قَبْلَ أَعْمَالِهِمْ

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abdullah ibn Masud said to a certain man - "You are in a time when men of understanding (fuqaha) are many and Qur'an reciters are few, when the limits of behaviour defined in the Qur'an are guarded and its letters are lost, when few people ask and many give, when they make the prayer long and the khutba short, and put their actions before their desires. A time will come upon men when their fuqaha will be few but their Qur'an reciters will be many, when the letters of the Qur'an will be guarded carefully but its limits will be lost, when many will ask but only few will give, when they will make their khutbas long and their prayers short, and they will put their desires before their actions."


Imam Malik's Muwatta - Book 009, Hadith Number 091