What is the meaning of the saying of some scholars: "When fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) approaches, the scholars recognize it, and when it recedes, the people recognize it"?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, I have a question. It is a saying of some scholars that when fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) approaches, the scholars recognize it, and when it recedes, the people recognize it. What is the meaning of this statement?

Answer:
It is clear. When it approaches, some people are deceived by it and think it is good, like those who say, "This is jihad (struggle in the path of Allah) in the path of Allah. Bombing is jihad in the path of Allah. And it is for killing the disbelievers and expelling them from the Arabian Peninsula." The common people and the ignorant say, "By Allah, these are good things." But when it became clear that they intended the Muslims and that they bombed the Muslims, then the common people, the scholars, and all the people knew that their speech was erroneous misguidance, and that they did not intend what they claimed, nor did they have any excuse. They exposed themselves through this, and it became clear what the scholars had said about them before, because some people used to curse the scholars and say that they had bad intentions toward these and those, and that their intentions were good. But when they bombed the Muslims, the common people, the ignorant, and the scholars knew that their intention was not as they appeared. This is the meaning of the statement that when it recedes, everyone recognizes it. Yes.