Narrated Abu Hurayrah:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah will raise for this community at the end of every hundred years the one who will renovate its religion for it”.

حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ الْمَهْرِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي سَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ شَرَاحِيلَ بْنِ يَزِيدَ الْمَعَافِرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، فِيمَا أَعْلَمُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ رَوَاهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ شُرَيْحٍ الإِسْكَنْدَرَانِيُّ لَمْ يَجُزْ بِهِ شَرَاحِيلَ ‏.‏

[Abu Dawood, Graded Saheeh by Shaykh Albani]

Imam Munaawi said:

meaning:
send to it [i.e. the ummah]
“at the end of every hundred years”
from hijrah or other than it
and what is meant by “at the end/head”
approximately [close to it]
“who” meaning
a man or more,
“renovate its religion for it”
meaning: clarify the Sunnah from the Biddah [innovation] and increase knowledge and aid its people and shatter/destroy people of innovation and humiliate them.
They [scholars] said, “he will not be except a scholar of the sciences of the religion apparently and hidden.”
[Faid Al Qadir (2/281-282)]

Ibn kathir rahimahullah said, “Every nation claimed this regarding their imam, it is meant by this Hadith and what is apparent, generally in a sentence [is that] he will be from the scholars  from every  طائفة  and every category from Mufassir [scholar of tafseer], Muhaddith [scholar of Hadith] faqih, nahwi, laghawi, and other then them”.

[اضواء من فتاوى شيخ الاسلام ابن تيمية]

Translated by

Naveed Sultan