The following hadith is in Musnad Ahmad (21296), on the authority of Ibn Lahi‘ah, from ‘Abdullah Ibn Hubayrah, who said: Abu Tamim al-Jayshani told me, who said: Abu Dharr told me, who said:
“I was walking with the Messenger of God ﷺ and he said: ‘I fear for my nation something other than the Dajjal.’ He said it three times. I said: ‘O Messenger of God, what is this that you fear for your nation other than the Dajjal?’” He said: “Misleading leaders”
The meaning of the hadith is that the misguided imams are among the things that the Prophet ﷺ fears most for his nation, to the point that he fears them more for his nation than the Dajjal.
The misleading imams referred to are the imams who are followed and who lead people astray from the path of God. This includes corrupt rulers, wicked scholars, and ignorant worshippers.
Just as there were wicked scholars among the People of the Book who turned people away from the path of Allah and led them astray, there are likewise scholars and worshippers among this Ummah who resemble those wicked scholars and worshippers among the People of the Book. Most of them are the Munafiqoon (hypocrites):
“The majority of the hypocrites in my nation are its reciters (of the Qur’an).” [Musnad Ahmad (6633)]
This refers to those who recite or possess knowledge of the Qur’an outwardly, but whose hearts and actions are insincere. The narration is attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
An-Nawawi رحمه الله said in “Sharh Muslim” (18/64):
“(The thing I fear most for my nation is the misleading imams) means: Out of all the things that I fear for my Ummah, the ones most deserving of being feared are the misguiding leaders.”
Al-Sindi said in “Hashiyat Ibn Majah” (2/465):
“(Misleading Imams) meaning: those who call people to innovations.”
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله said:
“(The misleading imams) are the imams of evil, and the Prophet ﷺ spoke the truth when he said that the greatest thing to fear for the nation is the misleading imams, such as the leaders of the Jahmiyyah and the Mu’tazilah and others, because of whom the nation was divided.
What is meant by his saying: (The misleading imams) is: those who lead people in the name of the Shari‘ah, and those who take people by force and authority, so it includes corrupt rulers, and misleading scholars, who claim that what they are upon is the Shari‘ah of Allah, while they are the most hostile of people to it.” [Al-Qawl Al-Mufeed ‘alaa Kitab Al-Tawheed (1/365)]
Allah cautions us:
“And if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah’s Path. They follow nothing but conjectures, and they do nothing but lie.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-An‘am, 6:116]
According to this verse, most of them will lie about the teachings of Islam to mislead us from the way of Allah. They are advocates to false beliefs and innovations that have no basis in the teachings of Al-Qur’an and As-Sunnah.
May this be beneficial.