غير الدجال أخوف على أمتي من الدجال، الأئمة المضلون

The Prophet (PBUH) said, “There is something I fear for my Ummah more than the Dajjaal: Misguided scholars.”

Reference: Masnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Sh’uaib Arna’oot graded it as ‘Sahih’. The Arabic word used is ‘ائمه’ which can be translated as both: political leaders (kings, rulers) or religious leaders (scholars). In the times of Allah’s Messenger he was both the political leader and the religious one, and a similar trend was there in times of Rightly Guided Caliphs. We are used to understanding them as separate entities, and as we follow both the religious and political leaders, both will fall under ائمه. And Allah Knows Best.