Mishkat al-Masabih 3543

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Anas b Malik reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Disagreement and division will arise among my people. Some will speak well but do evil; they will recite the Qur’an but it will go no farther than their throats; they will swerve from the religion as an arrow goes through the animal shot at and will not return till an arrow comes back to the place where it was strung. They are the worst of men and animals. Blessed are they who kill them and are killed by them! They summon people to God’s Book, but they have no part with us. He who fights with them is nearer to God than they.” God’s Messenger was asked what mark they had, and said it was shaving.* Abu Dawud transmitted it. * Tahliq is here explained as going to extremes in shaving the head and taking the hair out by the roots.