Following the Understanding of the Salaf

Al-Majdhoob What They Said “The Allaamah, the Shaikh, the Faqih, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, said about Shaikh al-Albaani, ‘I have not seen under the

Following the Understanding of the Salaf

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

The following is the translation of a lecture given by the Shaikh The PDF version can

be found here: The Understanding of the Salaf

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

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Chapter

Being a Discussion of the Sources which the Ahlus-Sunnah Derive Proofs from: The Book, TheSunnah, and The Understanding of the Pious

Predecessors of the Ummah And a Clarification of the Effect of Deviating from

the Methodology of the Pious Predecessors in the Affairs of Creed

“In the Name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, all praise is for Allaah, and may the peace and praise of Allaah be upon the Messenger of Allaah, may the prayers of Allaah, the Most High, be upon him, his family, and his

Companions As for what follows:

Then verily Allaah, the Most High, has favoured us with the blessing of faith, and has

favoured the ummah with the scholars, the ones whom He, the Most High, honoured

through the knowledge He gave them so that they could illuminate the path to Allaah and to the worship of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, for the people And they are the inheritors of the Prophets without doubt The reason for our coming here [today], [a

reason] which will remain, inshaa Allaah, is [to seek] the Pleasure of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and to seek [that] knowledge which leads to it, inshaa Allaah.

And by Allaah, this is certainly an excellent hour that we are able to meet our Shaikh, our scholar and our great teacher, the Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani,

in the name of the residents of this district firstly, the Shuwaikah district, we welcome our excellent Shaikh wholeheartedly, and [we welcome him] in the name of the

residents of Al-Mafraq, and especially [in the name of] its students of knowledge, who all welcome [him] too and who have been eager to meet our noble teacher today–and there is no harm in that because all of us are eager to hear the pearls of knowledge

and wisdom that he possesses inshaa Allaah.

So let us listen to the knowledge that Allaah, the Most High, has favoured him with, then after he finishes, or after our Shaikh finishes, the door to questions will open, on the condition that they are written [for which] small pieces of paper are readily

available inshaa Allaah I repeat again, a pleasant hour, and welcome to our noble

Shaikh.”

Al-Albaani: “Welcome to you all Indeed all praise is due to Allaah, we praise Him

and seek His Aid and we seek His Forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls, and the evil of our actions Whoever Allaah guides then there

is none to misguide him; and whoever He misguides then there is none to guide him And I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, alone, having

no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Slave and His Messenger And the worst of the affairs are the newly invented matters, and every newly invented

matter is an innovation

And every innovation is misguidance And all misguidance is in the Fire

I thank the brother, the teacher, Ibrahim for his introduction and praise, and there is nothing for me to say in response to that except that I follow the first Caliph Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, may Allaah the Most High be pleased with him, who was the true and first Caliph of the Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) yet even so when he would hear someone praise him with good–and I believe that that praise, whatever excessiveness the one who said it [to Abu Bakr] may have gone to, since he was the Caliph of the Prophet of Allaah then it [i.e., such praise] was true, yet despite that, and Allaah’s aid is sought, despite that he would say, “O Allaah! Do not hold me to account for what they say, and make me better than what they think, and forgive me concerning those things

they do not know about.” This is what the greatest truthful one [As-Siddeeq al-Akbar]

would say, so what should we who came after him say?

So I say, emulating him, “O Allaah! Do not hold me to account for what they say, and make me better than what they think, and forgive me concerning those things they do not know about.”

The truth, and the truth I say, is that I am not the one who you heard described just now

by our noble brother Ibrahim

I am only a student of knowledge Nothing else

And it is upon every student of knowledge to implement the saying of the Prophet ( !# "

"+ ), “Narrate from me even if it is only one aayah, narrate from me even if it is

only one aayah … narrate from the People of Israa’eel and there is no harm … and whoever lies upon me let him take his seat in the Hellfire.” Reported by al-Bukhaari

from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr.

So upon this, and to be in accordance with this noble prophetic text and the other

successive texts mentioned in the Book of Allaah and the hadiths of the Prophet of

Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) we expend efforts to convey to the people what they may not know–but this does not mean that we have become as [described in] the good

suspicions our brothers have about us, it is not like that

The reality which I feel from the depth of my soul is that when I hear such speech [i.e., praise] I remember the old proverb, well-known among the writers, and it is, “Indeed, in

our land, the bugaath has become an eagle,” “Indeed, in our land, the bugaath has

become an eagle.” Maybe the meaning of this speech or this proverb will be hidden

from some people The bugaath is a small bird of no value, so this small bird becomes

an eagle in the eyes of the people due to their ignorance of the strength and hugeness

of the [real] eagle So this proverb applies to many of those who, [either] with truth and correctness, or with mistakes and falsehood, call to Islaam

But Allaah knows that the land, all the Islamic lands, are empty of those concerning whom it is correct to say, “So and so is a scholar,” except for very, very few As occurs

in the authentic saying of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) which Imaam Bukhari reported

in his Sahih by way of Abdullaah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas, may Allaah be pleased with him,

that he said that the Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said that Allaah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the breasts of the scholars, but He takes it away

by taking away the scholars such that when no scholar remains–and here is that which proves the point–such that when no scholar remains, the people take the ignorant ones as leaders and so they are asked and they give religious verdicts without

knowledge and [thus] are misguided and lead others astray too

When Allaah intends to take away knowledge, he does not snatch it away from the breasts of the people of knowledge, such that the scholar becomes as though he had never ever learnt anything, no, this is not from the Way of Allaah, the Mighty and

Majestic, concerning His Servants, especially His righteous servants: that He take away the knowledge they gained from their breasts, [knowledge which they gained] to seek His Pleasure, solely for His Face, the Mighty and Majestic, as you just heard what the brother Ibrahim, may Allaah bless him, said, even if only brief, that this gathering is only for seeking knowledge

So Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, is Just and Fair, [He] truly does not pluck away the knowledge from the breasts of the people of knowledge But Allaah’s established Way

is that He takes away the knowledge by taking the [souls of the] scholars, as He did with the Master of the scholars, Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad (("'&% $#"!)

*

"+ ) such that when there is no scholar left, the people take the ignorant ones as

leaders who are then asked and who give religious verdicts without knowledge, so they are misguided and misguide others

This does not mean that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, will leave the earth devoid of any scholars who will establish the proof of Allaah against His servants, rather it

means that the further we go in time, the less knowledge there will be, and [that] the further [we go in time] the more it will decrease and the more deficient it will become until there will not remain on the face of the earth anyone who will say, “Allaah,

Allaah.”

You hear this hadith many times, and it is an authentic one, “The Hour will not be

established when there is someone on the face of the earth saying, ‘Allaah,

Allaah.’” [Reported by Muslim 392] “… someone saying, ‘Allaah, Allaah.’” And many

are the likes of those mentioned at the end of the earlier hadith, [the hadith stating that]

Allaah’s taking away of knowledge is by taking away the scholars, until when no

scholar remains the people take the ignorant ones as leaders, from these leaders are

those who interpret the Quraan and the Sunnahwith an interpretation which opposes

what the scholars were upon, and I don’t say [that it opposes] only [what

the] Salaf were upon, rather [that it also opposes what] those who came later

[the khalaf] were upon too.

For they use this hadith, “Allaah, Allaah …” to prove the permissibility, the

recommendation even, to remember Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, with this word

alone, “Allaah, Allaah …”

[And so] that a person is not deceived and that an ignorant one does not act ignorantly

upon hearing this hadithbased upon such misinterpretations, I see it fit that I should

remind our brothers present here, even if only in passing, that this interpretation is invalid

Firstly, due to the fact that it is elucidated in another narration from the Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)

Secondly, since if this interpretation were correct, our Pious Predecessors [Salaf

as-Saalih], may Allaah be pleased with them all, would have acted upon it [in that

manner], so when they did not do so, then their turning away from acting upon it based

on this interpretation proves its falsehood

So what do you think if the other narration is added to this, that Imaam Ahmad, may

Allaah have mercy upon him, reported this hadith in his Musnad [3/201, no 13104] with an authentic chain of narration with the wording,“The Hour will not be established

when on the face of the earth there is someone who says, ‘Laa ilaaha illallaah.”So this

is what is meant by Allaah’s Name which was repeated, repeated in the first narration.The point is that today the earth, most regrettably, is void of those scholars who used

to fill this wide, expansive earth with their knowledge which they would spread

between the ranks of their nation, so today they have become, as is said:

“And they were, when counted, few in number

So today they have become the fewest of the few.”

So we hope that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, makes us students of knowledge who truly adopt the same course as the scholars and who truthfully follow their path This is what we hope for from Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, that He makes us from those students who follow that way about which the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)

said, “Whoever treads a path seeking knowledge thereby, Allaah will make easy for

him the path to Paradise.”Reported by Muslim [no 7028].

And this opens the door for me to speak about this knowledge which is mentioned

many times, very many times, in the Quraan, as in His Saying, the Most High, “Are

those who know equal to those who do not know?” [Zumar 39:9], and His

Saying, the Mighty and Majestic, “Allaah will raise those who have believed

among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees,” [Mujaadilah

58:11] What is this knowledge whose people Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, praised along with those who follow it and those who follow their path?

The answer is as Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him, the student of the Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said:

“Knowledge is, “Allaah said … His Messenger said …The Companions said …” and it is not hiddenKnowledge is not your raising up a dispute foolishly

Between the Messenger and the opinion of a faqeeh,

Never! And nor is it the denial of the Attributes or the negation of them

Whilst trying to be cautious in avoiding tamtheel [holding that Allaah has equals from His creation in all aspects]and tashbeeh [holding that Allaah has equals in some

aspects].”

So we take from these words, from this poetry which we rarely hear from the speech of the poets, since the poetry of the scholars differs from that of the poets, and this is a man of knowledge who is also good at poetry, and he is saying that knowledge is,

“Allaah said,” at the first level, and the second is, “The Prophet of Allaah said,” and the third level is, “The Companions said.”

During this pleasant evening gathering [which is] blessed inshaa Allaah, I will make

my speech about [the fact that] these words of Ibn Al-Qayyim remind us of an

extremely important reality which the majority of the callers to Islaam spread-out [in the world] today [and who call] in the name of Islaam, are ignorant of

This reality, what is it?

What is well-known amongst all of these callers is that Islaam is only the Book of

Allaah and the Sunnah of Allaah’s Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) and this is true, there being no doubt about it, but it is [still] deficient This deficiency is what Ibn al-Qayyim

pointed to in his previous poetry where after the Book and the Sunnah he mentioned

the Companions [So] knowledge is: Allaah said, His Prophet said, the Companions said … and so on

Nowadays it is very rare that we hear anyone mention the Companions along with the

Book and the Sunnah, and they all, as we know, are the Leaders of the Pious

Predecessors, about whom it has been narrated in mutawaatirform from the Prophet

( "+*)("'&% $#"!) that he said, “The best of the people is my generation …” and do not say as the majority of people from the callers do, “The best of generations …” [since this wording] “The best of generations …” has no basis in the Sunnah The

authentic Sunnah in the two Sahihs and other than them from the references

of hadith and the sunnah are absolute in reporting the hadith with the wording, “The

best of the people is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.”

Imaan Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah included these Companions–who are at the head

of the three generations which have been given the testimony of goodness–with the

Book and the Sunnah So was this inclusion on his part [based upon] an opinion, independent judgement [ijtihaad], or a deduction which is possible could be mistaken,

since [as is said], ‘Every thoroughbred stumbles [once],’ if I might say, [stumbles] many times? [Transl note i.e., every scholar, no matter what his status, will make a mistake] The answer is no, this is not a deduction and nor independent judgement which is possible can be mistaken, it is, in fact, compliance with the Book of Allaah and the saying of the Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) As for the Book, then it is the saying of

our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, in the Noble Quraan, “And whoever opposes the

Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the Believers …” [Nisaa 4:115]“… and follows other than the way of the

Believers …” our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, did not limit in this aayah–and if He

did it [still] would have been true [i.e., whatever He says is true]–He didn’t [limit

Himself] by saying, “And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become

clear to him we shall keep him in the path he has chosen.”

Rather He said out of perfect and extensive wisdom which is what we are in the

process of explaining and clarifying right now, He said, “… and follows other than

the way of the Believers …” [He said], “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the Believers we shall keep him in the path he has chosen and burn him in Hell–and evil it is as a destination.”

I’d like you to keep this aayah firmly in your minds and hearts and [I’d like that] you do

not let it go, for it is the truth just as sure as it is that you can speak, and with that you will be saved from deviating towards the left or right and [you will be saved]–even if only in a single matter or single issue–from being from a group other than the Saved Sect, or the misguided sects, because the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said in the well-

known hadith, and I will restrict myself now to just mentioning the point of proof from it,

“And my nation will split into seventy three groups, all of them will be in the Fire except one.” They said, “Which [group] is it, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “It is the

Jamaa’ah.” [Saheeh al-Jaami, 2042] The Jamaa’ah is the path of the believers So

the hadith, even if it isn’t a direct revelation [revealed like the Quraan] from Allaah to

the heart of His Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) then nevertheless it is an extraction from the

previous aayah, “… and follows other than the way of the Believers …”

So when the one who contradicts and opposes the Messenger and follows other than the way of the Believers has been threatened with the Fire, then the converse is also true: that whoever does follow the path of the Believers has been promised Paradise without any doubt or uncertainty

Thus, when the Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) answered the question, “What is the

Saved Sect? Who are they?” He said, “The Jamaa’ah,” so the Jamaa’ah is the group

of Muslims, and then there is another narration which confirms this meaning, rather, increases upon this one in explanation and clarity, where he ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said “It is

what I and my Companions are upon.” “My Companions …” so this is the path of the

Believers

So when Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in his previously

quoted poetry, “The Companions said …” then he extracted that solely from the

previous aayah and this hadith Likewise the well-known hadith, the hadith of Irbaad

ibn Saariyyah, may Allaah the Most High be pleased with him, [concerning] which I will also restrict myself to mentioning that part which proves the point so that there will be

an opportunity for questions, he ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said, “So upon you is [to follow] my

Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me.”

Therefore, here, as was the case with the hadith before it and the previous aayah the

Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) didn’t say, “Upon you is to follow my Sunnah only,” rather in addition to [following] his Sunnah, he added [the necessity of] following the rightly

guided Caliphs And from here we say, especially in this day and age, a time in which opinions, thinking and groups are in conflict [with each other], and where the sects and groups have become numerous such that many of the Muslim youth live in a state of bewilderment, not knowing which group to join–it is here that the answer comes in

the aayah and the two aforementioned sayings of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)

Follow the path of the Believers: the path of the believers of this day and age? The answer is no, rather those of the past era, the first era, that of the Companions, the Pious Predecessors, it is fitting that these are the ones who are our example and the ones we follow–and no one else on the face of the earth, whatsoever

Thus, our call, and here is the point of proof, is based upon three foundations: the

Book, the Sunnah and following the Pious Predecessors So whoever thinks that he follows the Book and the Sunnah and does not follow the Pious Predecessors and

[along with this] his unspoken condition says, and perhaps he [even] says it verbally,

that, “They [i.e., the Salaf], were men, and we [too] are men,” then he will be in

deviation and misguidance Why? Because he has not acted upon these texts which I just read out to you

Did he follow the path of the Believers? No

Did he follow the path of the Companions of the Noble Prophet? No

What did he follow? He followed, if not his desires, then [at the very least] he has

followed his intellect And is the intellect infallible? The answer is no So he has gone plainly astray

I believe that the cause for the great conflict inherited in these well-known groups of old, and that new conflict which arises today is the lack of returning to this third source: the Pious Predecessors

Because everyone claims affiliation to the Book and the Sunnah, and for so long we’ve

heard the bewildered youth say statements such as, “O my brother, these people say,

‘The Book and the Sunnah.’ And those people [also] say, ‘The Book and the Sunnah.’ What is the determining judgement?” [It is] the Book, the Sunnah and the methodology

of the Pious Predecessors So whoever relies upon the Book and the Sunnah without

relying upon the Pious Predecessors then he has not relied upon the Book and

the Sunnah, but has rather relied upon his intellect, if not his desires.

It is from my habits that I coin some examples to clarify this issue, this crucial

fundamental principle in fact, concerning the methodology of the Pious Predecessors

There is a saying that is reported from Al-Faarooq, Umar ibn al-Khattaab, may Allaah

the Most High be pleased with him, that he said, “When the people of desires and innovations debate with you using the Quraan, then debate with them using

the Sunnah, for the Quraan can be interpreted in many different ways.” For what, why

did Umar say this sentence?

I say: [he did so] due to the fact that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, said, addressing his Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) in the Quraan, “And We sent down unto you the

Reminder [i.e., the Quraan] that you may explain clearly to the people what was sent down to them,” [Nahl 16:44] So what do you say? Do you think that an Arab

Muslim, let’s say as it were, he is the Seebawayhi [i.e., the famous master grammarian]

of his time in being acquainted with the Arabic language, its literature, and its

expression, can he understand the Quraan through a path other than that of our

Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)? The answer is no, since if not then His Saying, the Most

High, i.e., “…that you may explain clearly to the people what was sent down to

them,” would be in vain And far be it that the Speech of Allaah contain anything vain

whatsoever

So, whoever wants to understand the Quraan by other than the way of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) then he has indeed strayed far away Thereafter, is it possible for that

man to understand the Quraan and the Sunnah by other than the way of the Prophet

( "+*)("'&% $#"!) (Compilers Note: I think this is a slip of the tongue on behalf of the

Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, and I think what he meant to say was, “other than the way of the Companions,” may Allaah be pleased with them all) the answer

here also is no, [and] that is because they are the ones who:

Firstly: Transmitted the wording of the Quraan to us which Allaah revealed to the heart

of Muhammad ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)

Secondly: Conveyed his ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) explanation to us which was mentioned in

the previous aayah, and [they also conveyed] his implementation ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) of this Noble Quraan And here I have to make a point, which I hope will be brief

The Prophet’s, ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) explanation is of three types:

1 Verbal

2 Action

3 His consent

His verbal [explanations], who conveyed them [to us]? His Companions

His [explanations in the form of] actions, who conveyed them [to us]? His Companions.His [explanations in the form of his] consent, who conveyed it [to us]? His Companions.Due to this, it is not possible for us to restrict ourselves to understanding the Book and

the Sunnah based upon our linguistic capabilities alone, rather we have to seek help

in that [Yet at the same time] this does not mean that we can dispense with the

language, no

For this reason we believe that those foreigners who have not mastered the Arabic language have fallen into many, many mistakes Especially when they fall into this mistake [which is connected to] the fundamental principles: and that is their lack of

returning to the Pious Predecessors in understanding the Book and theSunnah.

I do not mean by what I have just said that we do not rely upon the language How so? When we want to understand the speech of the Companions then we must understand the Arabic language just as we must be acquainted with it to understand the Quraan

and the Sunnah But we say: the explanation of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) which has

been mentioned in the aforementioned aayah is split into three categories:

1 Speech/verbal

2 Actions/non-verbal

3 Silent approval

Let us give an example or more in order to grasp that this classification is a reality

which none can deny His Saying, the Blessed and Most High, “[As for] the thief, the

male and the female, amputate their hands …” [Maa’idah 5:38] Look now at how

we cannot rely solely on the language when explaining the Quraan [since]

linguistically a thief is anybody who steals some wealth from a secure place, whatever this wealth is, it can have no value, [maybe] he stole an egg, for example, a penny or

five, linguistically such a person is called a thief He said, “[As for] the thief, the male

and the female, amputate their hands …” does everyone who steals have their

hand amputated? The answer is no Why? Because the one who explains and who was charged with explaining–the one who explains is the Prophet of Allaah, and the thing being explained is the Speech of Allaah–the Prophet explained to us whose

hands from the male and female thief is to be cut off, “It is not cut off except for a

quarter of a deenaar and upwards.” Reported by Bukhaari and Muslim [no 4494] by

way of Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Amrah from Aishah, may Allaah be pleased with her

So whoever steals less than a quarter of a deenaar, then even though linguistically he

is called a thief, he is not named as such in the Sharee’ah.

So from here we come to a knowledge-based reality which many of the students of knowledge are heedless of: [which is that] there is [on one hand] a traditional Arabic

language and [on the other]there is a Sharee’ahlanguage, [and] Allaah is the One who

laid it down The Arabs who speak the language of the Quraan, the language in which

the Quraan was revealed, did not know such [Sharee’ah] usage before it So when the

[term] thief is used linguistically, it includes all thieves, but when it is mentioned in the legislative sense, then it does not include every thief, but only those who have stolen a

quarter of a deenaar or more.

Thus, this is an actual example showing us that we cannot restrict ourselves to our

acquaintance with the Arabic language when understanding the Book and

the Sunnah And this is something which many of the authors of today fall into, they

invest their knowledge of the Arabic language with authority over the

noble aayahs and the prophetic sayings explaining them [based upon this], and thus

they come with an innovated explanation which the Muslims before them did not know For this reason we say that it is obligatory to understand that the true call of Islaam is based upon three principles, on three fundamentals:

1 The Book

2 The Sunnah

3 What the Pious Predecessors were upon

Thus the aayah, “[As for] the thief, the male and the female …,” is not explained

according to the language, but rather in conformity with the language of

the Sharee’ah which said that, “It is not cut off except for a quarter of a deenaar and

upwards.”

Then at the end of the aayah, He said, “… amputate their hands …” what is a hand

linguistically? All of this is a hand, from the fingertips to … so is it amputated from here

or from here or from here? The Prophet explained this through his actions, we do not have an authentic saying [from him] as there was regarding the definition of the theft

for which the hand of the thief deserves to be cut off, we do not have a hadith defining

the place that is to be amputated from his verbal explanations We only have his

actual, practical, applied [non-verbal, physical] explanation Where did we get this practical implementation from? From our Pious Predecessors, the Companions of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!)

This is the second category, the physical [non-verbal] explanation

The Third Category: The Prophet’s ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) approval for something: he doesn’t reject or forbid it, this approval is not a saying from him, [i.e., is not verbal], and neither is it an action which he carried out, rather this action was performed by

someone else, everything which he saw and acknowledged … so when he saw

something and remained silent and agreed to it, then this thing became an

established, permissible matter And when he saw something and rejected it, even if some of the Companions did that thing but it has been established that the Prophet forbade it, then this thing which he forbade differs totally from that which he approved

And here are two examples for both of these issues, and this is from the hadith not

commonly known to the students of knowledge: Abdullaah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattaab, may Allaah the Most High be pleased with them both, said, “We used to drink and eat while standing, and we would eat while walking in the time of the Prophet (("'&% $#"!)

*

"+ ).” In this hadith Abdullah spoke about two matters:

1 About drinking while standing

2 And about eating while walking

And [he mentioned] that this was something which occurred during the time of the

Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!), so what is the legislative ruling regarding these two matters, i.e., drinking while standing and eating while walking? When we apply what we

previously said, we are able to come to a ruling, naturally, whilst bearing in mind an inescapable addition which is that: whoever has knowledge regarding what the

Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) was upon [whether it is a] saying, an action or a tacit

approval … so when we refer back to the authentic Sunnahconcerning that which is

connected to the first issue which many Muslims have been afflicted with if not most of them and [in which] they have opposed the saying of the noble Prophet, [this issue being] drinking while standing, they used to drink while standing, they used to wear gold, they used to weak silk, these are realities which it is not possible to deny, but did the Prophet approve of that?

The answer is that he rejected some things and approved of others So whatever he disapproved of falls under the definition of being something rejected, and whatever he approved of falls under the category of being something known So he rejected

drinking while standing in many hadiths, and I do not want to go into mentioning them

here so that we do not leave, firstly, that which we planned for ourselves [about]

summarizing the speech in this topic so as to make way for questions, and secondly, that this issue alone requires a separate sitting to deal with it

But it is sufficient for me to report one authentic hadith to you which Imaam Muslim relates in his Sahih, [and it is] from the hadiths reported from Anas ibn Maalik, may

Allaah the Most High be pleased with him, that he said, “The Prophet of Allaah (% $#"!

"+ ) forbade us from drinking while standing,” and in another wording, “The

Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) prevented/deterred [us from] drinking while

standing,” Thus, this thing [i.e., drinking while standing] which, according to the

[above] hadith of Ibn Umar, was done in the time of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!), [but then] he ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) forbade it, and so that which they used to do [i.e., drinking while standing] became something overruled/annulled, due to the Prophet forbidding

it But the second part of thehadith, i.e., that they would eat while walking, no

forbiddance of the Prophet

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concerning it has been reported to us, and so we can deduce a

legislative ruling from this tacit approval

I will suffice with this for now in clarifying the necessity of relying upon the

understanding of the Pious Predecessors when understanding the Book and

the Sunnah, and that a person does not restrict himself to understanding the Book and the Sunnah according to whatever seems to be correct to him according to his [own]

knowledge, if I don’t say, his ignorance

But so that the importance of this check, i.e., ‘… upon the methodology of the Pious

Predecessors…’ be understood, I must mention some examples to you.

From a long time ago the Muslims split up into many groups You hear of

the Mu’tazilah, the Murji’ah, theKhawaarij, you hear of the Zaidiyyah let alone

the Raafidee Shi’ites, and so on However deeply-rooted in misguidance these groups

are, you will not find any of them not sharing with all of the Muslims in their saying that,

“We are on the Book and the Sunnah.’ None of them will say, “We do not embrace the Book and theSunnah,” since if not, if one of them were to say this, he would have left

Islaam totally So, why then is there this difference when all of them rely on the Book

and the Sunnah? And I bear witness that they rely on the Book and the Sunnah, but

how is this reliance? [It is a reliance] without the third principle, “… on the

understanding of the Pious Predecessors.”

Along with another addition which must be pointed to, which is that the Sunnah differs

totally from the Noble Quraan in that the Noble Quraan is preserved between its two

covers as is known by everybody As for theSunnah then it:

Firstly: is spread out over hundreds of books, if I don’t say thousands of books, from them is a very large portion which is still in the world of the unseen, the world of

manuscripts

Thereafter, even those books which are in print today contain that which is authentic

and that which is weak So those who rely on the Sunnah, whether it be those who associate themselves to Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ahand the methodology of the

Pious Predecessors, or those from the other groups, many of these [are people who]

cannot distinguish the authentic Sunnah from the weak and thus they fall into that which contravenes the Book and the Sunnah, due to their relying on weak or

fabricated hadiths.

The proof is that there are some groups of old and those of today which we pointed to that reject certain Quranic realities and prophetic sayings {For example] the Noble Quraan confirms and gives glad tidings to the believers of an extremely great blessing which they will be honoured with when they meet Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, in the Garden of Pleasure–wherein the Lord of all the worlds will appear to them and so

they will see Him, as that Salafi scholar said:

“The Believers will see Him without asking ‘How?’ [And without] tashbeeh and nor

coining any similtudes [for Him].”

There are texts from the Quraan and tens of sayings of the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) concerning this, so how could some of the old and present day groups deny this

blessing? As for the old groups: the Mu’tazilah, today there is not found, as far as I know, anyone on the face of the earth who says, “We are Mu’tazilah, we are on

themadhhab of the Mu’tazilah.”

But I did see a stupid man, proclaiming that he was a Mu’tazilee and who strenuously denied legislated [shar’iyyah] realities, [and this was] because he had made his

intellect his judge

So these Mu’tazilah denied this blessing and said, based upon their weak intellect,

they said, “It is impossible that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, be seen.” So what did

they do? Did they reject the Quraan? In the Noble Quraan, Allaah says, “[Some]

faces that Day, will be radiant Looking at their Lord.” [Qiyaamah 75:22-23] Did

they reject this aayah? No If they had rejected it they would have disbelieved and

committed apostasy But to this day, Ahlus-Sunnah judge that the Mu’tazilah are

misguided but they do not throw them out of the fold of Islaam, because they did not

reject this aayah, rather they rejected its true meaning which has come in

theSunnah as we shall mention.

So when Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, said about the Believers, the people of

Paradise, “[Some] faces that Day, will be radiant Looking at their Lord,” they

resorted to trickery, believing in its wording but disbelieving in its meaning, and the wording, as the scholars say, is the mold from which the meaning is taken So if we believe in the wording but disbelieve/reject the meaning, then this faith does not

nourish nor avail against hunger [i.e., does not benefit] But why is it that these [people] rejected this seeing?

[They did so because] it was too difficult for their intellects to perceive and envisage that it can be possible for this feeble, created servant to openly see Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, as [happened with] the Jews when they made [that] request of Moosaa,

so Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, told them that they were incapable of that in the

famous story, “… look at the mountain, if it should remain in place, then you will

see Me.”[A’raaf 7:143] Their intellects were not able to comprehend this, so they were

forced to play around with the Quranic text and to misinterpret it Why?

Because their faith in the Unseen was weak and their faith in their [own] intellects was stronger than their faith in the Unseen which they were ordered with at the beginning

of Surah al-Baqarah, “Alif Laam Meem This is the Book about which there is no

doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allaah Those who believe in the Unseen …” [Baqarah 2:1-3] So Allaah is the most unseen of all the unseen, thus it is

upon us to attest to the truthfulness of and to believe in whatever our Lord says about Himself, for our senses are very limited

The Mu’tazilah never acknowledged this reality and for this reason they denied many facts from the Sharee’ah, from them is His Saying, the Blessed and Most

High, “[Some] faces that Day, will be radiant Looking at their Lord,” likewise the

other aayah, which maybe lighter as regards those people than the first one, and it is

His Saying, the Mighty and Majestic, “For those who have done good is the best

[reward], and extra …”[Yunus 10:26] “For those who have done good is the best [reward] …” i.e., Paradise, “… and extra …”i.e., seeing Allaah, the Mighty and

Majestic, in the Hereafter, as occurs in the hadith reported in Sahih Muslim with an

authentic chain of narration from Sa’d ibn Abee Waqqaas, who said, “The Prophet of Allaah ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said, “For those who have done good is the best [reward]

…” ‘Paradise,’ “… and extra …” ‘Seeing Allaah.’”

The Mu’tazilah–as did the Shi’ites, and they are Mu’tazilah in creed,

the Shi’ites are Mu’tazilah in creed–they rejected [the fact] that Allaah will be seen, [something which was] openly declared in the first aayah and which was explained by the Prophet of Allaah concerning the other aayah, along with the fact that

the hadiths from the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) in this regard have reached the level of

being mutawaatir.

So their misinterpretation of the Quraan caused them to fall into rejecting the

authentic hadiths from the Prophet ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) so they left [the possibility of them]

being the Saved Sect, “That which I and my Companions are upon.” The Prophet was

upon the belief that the believers will see their Lord, because it has been reported in

the two Sahihs from the hadith of a group of the Companions of the Prophet (% $#"!

"+ ) from them: Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, Anas ibn Maalik, and in other than

the Sahih from Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq and so on, [that] he ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) said,

“You shall certainly see your Lord on the Day of Resurrection as you see the moon on the night of the full moon, and you will have no difficulty or trouble in seeing

Him.” [There are] two narrations, one reporting [the Arabic word which occurs in

the hadith and whose meaning is], “… and you will have no difficulty or trouble in

seeing Him …”with a shaddah and the other without.

The meaning is that you will not doubt seeing Him just as you do not doubt seeing the moon on the night of the full moon when there are no clouds

They rejected these hadiths based upon their intellects, thus they did not submit and

believe, and as a result they were weak in faith This is an example of what some of the groups of the past fell into

And upon this today are the Khawaarij, and from them the Ibaadiyyah who have now

become active in calling to their misguidance And they have articles and books which

they distribute, and they are reviving the rebellion which the Khawaarij of old were

known for in many of their deviations, from which is their denial that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, will be seen in Paradise

Now we will bring you a modern-day example: the Qadianis Maybe you have heard of them, they say the same as we do: we bear witness that none has the right to be

worshipped except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah [and so do

they], they pray the five prayers, establish the Jumu’ah, perform the pilgrimage [Hajj] to the Sacred Sanctuary, and they perform the lesser pilgrimage [umrah], there is no

difference between us and them as Muslims

But they differ with us in many issues of creed–and here is the point of proof–they say that the door to prophethood has not yet been closed, they say that messengers after Muhammad ( "+*)("'&% $#"!) will come, and they believe that one of them came to Qadiyan in a town in India, and that whoever does not believe in this prophet who was

with them is a disbeliever How did they say this when there is the clear aayah, “But

he is the Messenger of Allaah and the Seal of the Prophets …?” [Ahzaab 33:40]

How did they say this when there are mutawaatir hadiths that, “There is no prophet

after me?” [Bukhaari and Muslim].

So they misinterpreted the Quraan and the Sunnah and did not explain them as the

Pious Predecessors explained them, [an explanation] which the Muslims followed one another in, in succession, without any difference between them, until this aberrant, misguided one came alone, called Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiyani, so he claimed

to be a prophet, and his is a long story which we are not now in the middle of

explaining So many people were fooled by him from those who had no knowledge of this reality [i.e., taking the understanding of the Pious Predecessors] which is a

protection for the Muslim from deviating to the right or left as these Qadiyanis did with

this Dajjaal of theirs who claimed prophethood.

What did he do with the aayah, “But he is the Messenger of Allaah and the Seal of

the Prophets …”? They said, “The Seal of the Prophets doesn’t mean that there is no

prophet after him It means that he is the adornment of the Prophets, just as a ring is the adornment of the fingers, in the same way, Muhammad is the adornment of the

Prophets.” So they did not disbelieve in the aayah, they didn’t say, “Allaah did not

reveal this to the heart of the Prophet.” But they disbelieved in its true meaning Thus, what benefit is there in believing in the wording without believing in the true meaning? And when this is the reality in which there is no doubt, what is the path to attaining the

true meanings of the Book and the Sunnah?

You have come to know the path [now]: it is not that we rely on our knowledge of the [Arabic] language or its literature and [nor that] we explain the Quraan and

the Sunnah with our desires or our habits or our customs or our schools of thought or

our ways, it is only as was said, and I will end the talk with this quote:

“All good is in following the Salaf, and all evil is in the innovations of those who came later [khalaf].”

Maybe in this there is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind].”

Mawsoo’atul-Allaamah, Imaam, Mujaddidil-Asr, Muhammad Naasirid-Deen Albaani, of Shaikh Shady Noaman, vol 1, pp 212-230.

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Apr 23, 2011 (3 days ago)

The Definition of Creed [Aqeedah] and the Importance of Calling

to it

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Shared by you

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

[1] Chapter: The Definition of Creed [Aqeedah]

The Imaam said, “Creed is everything that is connected to the world of the Unseen to which a ruling regarding actions is not connected.”

[2] Chapter: The Importance of Calling to Creed

“My opinion is that we must talk about creed in all of the Islamic world, and [talk about] the failure of the entire Islamic world in turning away from [the affairs of] creed and from clarifying it to the people The greatest proof is that the well-known Islamic sects, [which have] large numbers and have been around rallying for a long time, hold that busying oneself with calling to Allaah and correcting [people’s] views is a mistake.And we have had many unfortunate experiences [in this matter] More than thirty years ago when I was in Madeenah, we were sitting in a gathering exactly like this one, but

we were sitting as they do in an Arabic gathering, on the floor, and I was sitting in the place where this brother Maneer is sitting, i.e., [I was] the last one

A man entered who was an eloquent orator [khateeb] and the head of an Islamic group which was well-known in some lands So he gave salaam and started to shake

[everyone’s] hand I noticed his facial features started to change [i.e., he was upset

and started to frown] as occurs in the hadith And the reason was that nobody stood

up for him, and there is no doubt that this is something which is not common in such gatherings, [especially] for someone entering [who is] of his standing in society

[He carried on] until he reached me and I was the last one sitting there, right next to the

door, so I said [trying] to [console] him, “O Ustaadh! As we say in Syria, ‘[You are]

honourable without [anyone even having to] stand up,’” [I said this] because I felt that

he felt something in himself due to these people not having stood up for him He had

hardly heard these words when he exploded and said, “O Ustaadh! We now want to

busy ourselves with such details and such and such …” and he was boiling as they

say in the Arabic language [yahdur]: boiling … and he was a khateeb, [and he was

saying], “And we have to be united, and we are living with the Ba’athists and the

Shi’ites and …” and so on

So I left him until he finished and then said, “O Ustaadh! Does it suffice me to say

based upon what I have heard from you that it suffices us to unite upon [the declaration

of faith], ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah,’ without understanding?”

He said, “[Yes], even without understanding.”

What do you think? The head of an Islamic group!

And I know that these sects live on this principle They are satisfied that the generality

of the Muslims say, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah,’ even if they have not understood that this declaration of faith or that these good words demand

disbelieving in the false objects of worship [taaghoot] But not [just] disbelieving in the

false objects of worship which only refer to the present day meaning, because this too

is from the present-day calamities–[that] many of the Muslim youth nowadays [hold

that] the false object of worship [taaghoot] is the ruler who does not judge by what

Allaah has revealed, whereas [the reality is that] there are many different types of false objects of worship … these vows and oaths and supplications directed to other than Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, these negate the declaration [that], ‘None has the right

to be worshipped except Allaah …’ in the eyes of the one who understands [that],

‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah,’ means tawhid

al-uluhiyyah and tawhid al-ibaadah.

The Islamic world lives like this, for this reason it is upon the callers to Islaam to truly gather, not only on good technique, which their talk is always centred on, but rather [to

gather on] correct knowledge from the Book and the Sunnah along with that, this is

what the Islamic world is in need of …”

Mawsoo’atul-Allaamah, Imaam, Mujaddidil-Asr, Muhammad Naasirid-Deen Albaani, of Shaikh Shady Noaman, vol 1, p 169-170.

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Apr 22, 2011 (4 days ago)

His Illness and Death

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Shared by you

Translated by Ahmed Abu TuraabHis son Abdul-Lateef said, “One time he was speaking in his sleep so I came close to him to listen to what he was saying So he opened his eyes all of a sudden and said,

“You spying on me?” and then laughed He used to join his prayers at the end of his life, in the last two months And his shop is still there in Damascus, ‘Al-Albaani

Watches.’

We used to feel sympathy for him for not sleeping, he would stay awake all night to author [works] and check and verify He would go to sleep at 11 at night, then I could

tell that at 1 in the morning he would get up and stay awake until Fajr He would sleep

for two hours during the day, so he would be busy for twenty hours and sleep for four.And I make special mention of the fact that during his washing [after he passed away]

we noticed the marks/effects on his back of all that [long] sitting.” Al-Imaam al-Albaani, Hayaatuhu, Da’watuhu, Juhooduhoo fee Khidmatis-Sunnah, of Muhammad Bayyoomi,

p 268, with editing

Dr Abdul-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullaah as-Sadhaan said, “During the last three years of his life, he, may Allaah have mercy on him, used to suffer from a number of ailments, yet along with all of this he was patient and hoped for Allaah’s reward He had lost a lot of weight and I saw that myself a month before his death Some of the ailments he suffered from were anaemia, and problems with his liver and one of his kidneys

And so after a life full of knowledge and action, calling to Allaah and patience, he, may

Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, passed away after asr time, on Saturday,

22nd Jumaada al-Aakhirah 1420 [October 1999], may Allaah make Firdous his abode.

And his funeral was prepared quickly on the same day as per his will And the bier was

carried on the shoulders from his house to the grave.” Al-Imaam al-Albaani, Duroos,

wa Mawaaqif, wa Ibar, of Abdul-Aziz ibn Muhammad Abdullaah as-Sadhaan, p 292.

Shaikh Muhammad Moosaa Nasr said, “And he was buried in a small graveyard … as

he wanted For one day he passed by the Hamlaan graveyard with the brother

Muhammad al-Khateeb, as Ustaadh Muhammad Shaqrah, may Allaah protect him,

told me, and so the Shaikh said to him, “I hope to be buried in this graveyard.” And it was the closest graveyard to his house And Allaah fulfilled his wish and he was

buried there, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him.” Al-Imaam al-Mujaddid, wal-Allaamatul-Muhaddith, Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, p 65.

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Apr 21, 2011 (5 days ago)

Shaikh al-Albaani’s Will

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Shared by you

Here is the Shaikh’s will in his own handwriting:

The translation can be found here:

http://www.alalbany.net/albany_eng_027.php

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Apr 18, 2011 11:46 PM

The Scholar’s Praise of Al-Albaani

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Shared by you

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

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So what can poetry say about a man, Whose enemies even call him ‘The Aider of the Religion!’ [Naasirud-Deen]

And what harm is there if an individual ignores him, When his excellence has spread amongst the millions!

Al-Majdhoob

What They Said

“The Allaamah, the Shaikh, the Faqih, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, said about Shaikh al-Albaani, ‘I have not seen under the

surface of the sky a scholar of hadith in this time of ours like the Allaamah, Muhammad

declared it to be authentic] So he asked, “Who is the reviver [mujaddid] of this

century?” So he, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, “Shaikh Muhammad

Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, he is the reviver of this time in my opinion, and Allaah knows best.”

And he said in his Fatwas (25/71), “Shaikh Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani is from our very

special and trustworthy brothers, well-known for his knowledge, excellence, and his

care in checking the noble hadiths to see which are authentic and weak.”

And he said, “Shaikh Al-Albaani is well-known as being from the Ahlus-Sunnah Jamaa’ah and from the helpers of the Sunnah, and from the callers to the Sunnah, and from those who strive greatly [mujaahids] in the path of preserving the Sunnah.”

wal-And he said about him in a letter which he wrote and sent on 2/5/1377ah

[24/11/1957ce] to Shaikh Abdul-Fattaah al-Imaam, “I’d like that you pass on my

greeting of salaam to those around you from the eminent Shaikhs and brothers, and I

specifically mention from them our noble brother, and the one we love for the sake of

Allaah, the Shaikh, the Allaamah, Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani.”

And he said, “The Shaikh is well-known with us for having sound creed [aqidah] and [a

sound] biography, and for his continuation in calling to Allaah, the One free of all

defects, along with the commendable efforts which he expends in [giving] care and

attention to the noble hadiths, clarifying the authentic from the weak and fabricated,

and all that he has written concerning that in his wide ranging works; [all of this] is work which is laudable and beneficial to the Muslims We ask Allaah that He multiples his reward and aids him to continue progressing on this path, and that he couples his efforts with success from Him and prosperity.”

And he said, “And Shaikh al-Albaani, may Allaah grant him success, is well-known

with us for having a sound creed and good biography, and aiding the madhhab of the

Pious Predecessors and embracing it.”

And he said, “From our trustworthy, well-known brothers, from our good brothers, our

companion and our brother, the Allaamah, the Shaikh, Muhammad Naasirud-Deen– and he is from the revivers [mujaddideen].”

And Shaikh Ibn Baaz along with his brothers, the Shaikhs from the The

Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Issuing Religious

Verdicts, and they are the eminent shaikhs: Abdullaah ibn Qu’ood, Abdullaah ibn Ghudayaan, Abdur-Razzaaq al-Afeefi, said, “The man is well-known with us for

knowledge, excellence, venerating the Sunnah and serving it, aiding

the madhhab of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ahin warning against bigotry and blind

following, and his books are beneficial.” This occurs in the 12th volume from the

Fatwas of The Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Issuing Religious Verdicts, p 224

The Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Issuing Religious Verdicts said,

“As for the book Silsilah al-Ahadith ad-Da’eefah wal-Mawdoo’ah, then its author [i.e., Shaikh Albaani] is well-versed/read in hadith, strong in its critique and in passing

judgement concerning its authenticity or weakness, and at times he has mistakes.”And in one of Shaikh Ibn Baaz’s lessons, Shaikh al-Albaani’s checking of

a hadith from his book Irwaa ul-Ghaleel was read to him, so when the person who was

reading it out aloud finished, Shaikh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, said,

“If hadith checking [takhrij] is not like this, then there is none.”

The Allaamah, the one having expansive and abundant knowledge [al-bahr],

the Shaikh, Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeetee, may Allaah have mercy upon

him, the one who had no comparison in his time in the field of tafseer and language–

used to honour and revere Shaikh al-Albaani to a very great extent such that as soon

as he would see Shaikh al-Albaani passing by while he was giving his lesson in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medinah, Shaikh ash-Shanqeetee would cut off his lesson and

get up and give salaam to the Shaikh, out of respect for him.

The Allaamah, the Shaikh, Muhibbud-Deen al-Khateeb, may Allaah have mercy

on him, said about Shaikh al-Albaani, “From the callers to the Sunnah and those who

gave their life working to revive it, and he is our distant brother, the Shaikh, Abu Rahmaan Muhammad Naasirud-Deen Nooh Najaati al-Albaani.”

Abdur-The Allaamah, the Shaikh, Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Aal ash-Shaikh [the Mufti of

Saudi Arabia before Shaikh Ibn Baaz] may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “And he is

a companion of the Sunnah, an advocate for the truth, battling against the people of

falsehood.”

The Allaamah, the Faqeeh, the Shaikh, Muhammad Ibn Saalih

al-Uthaymeen, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, “That which I know about the

Shaikh through the times I met him, and they were few, is that he was extremely eager

to act upon the Sunnah, and to fight innovations, whether they were in matters of creed

or action.”

He also said, “I came to know this about him through what I read from his works, and

that he has a copious amount of knowledge in hadith, their chains of narrations and

the understanding taken from them, and that Allaah has benefitted many people

through what he has written, as regards knowledge, methodology and turning to the

science of hadith, and this is a great benefit for the Muslims, and all praise is due to

him, said in a letter he wrote to him, “… and an inquiry has reached Shaikh

Ubaidullaah ar-Rahmaani, the Shaikh of the Islamic University, i.e., the Salafi

University in Banaras [India], from the Scientific Research and Religious Edicts

Committee [Daar Al-Iftaa] in Riyaad from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, about

a hadith unusual in its wording and meaning, having a close connection to this age of

ours–so the opinion of those present here from the scholars was united that the

greatest scholar of the prophetic sayings in this time be referred to, and indeed that is

Shaikh al-Albaani, the learned scholar [rabbaani, i.e., pious scholars who practice

what they preach].”

The Allaamah, the Muhaddith, Hammaad al-Ansaaree, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him described him as, “… possessing expansive knowledge in the

science of hadith.” And in the year 1400ah [1979ce] the King Faisal Foundation wrote

to Hammaad al-Ansaaree asking him who he nominates for the King Faisal Award for

the Science of Hadith and its fields So Shaikh Hammaad wrote to them saying that he nominates the Shaikh, the Allaamah, Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani His son, Abdul-Awwal, mentioned this in Al-Majmoo fee tarjumah Waalidihi (2/598), and in it there also occurs, “My father said, ‘Al-Albaani used to be a hanafi, then he entered in

to the [study of] the science of hadith until he reached its peak …”

And he said, “Shaikh al-Albaani studied knowledge fully.”

The Allaamah, the Shaikh, the Specialist [in many fields], Bakr Abu Zaid, may

Allaah the Most High have mercy on him said in At-Tahdheer min Mukhtasaraat Saabooni fit-Tafsir, p 41, “The manifestation of the knowledge of al-Albaani in the eyes of the people of knowledge, his aiding the Sunnah and the creed of the Pious

as-Predecessors is an affair which none except an ignorant enemy disputes.”

And one time Shaikh Ahmad Shaakir and Shaikh al-Albaani were mentioned so he said about them, “The two venerable Shaikhs.”

And Shaikh Zaid ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Fayyaad, may Allaah have mercy on him, said,

“Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani is from the distinguished, eminent authorities of this time, who devoted his attention to the sayings of the Prophet, % $#"!

"+ [hadith], and their paths of narration and narrators, and their grading in terms

of authenticity or weakness–and this is lofty work, from the best of what hours are spent on and effort expended for And he is like the other scholars in that they are correct and [also] make mistakes, but it is befitting that his excellence be known due to his devotion to this great [branch of] knowledge, and that he be thanked for his

concern and care for it, and I ask Allaah to grant us and him success, and [to also grant it] to the scholars of the Muslims and [all the] Muslims in general.”

The Allaamah, the Muhaddith, our Shaikh Abdul-Muhsin al-Abbaad, may Allaah, the Most High, protect him and allow us to enjoy his company [his knowledge etc., by giving him a long life], said, “And al-Albaani is a magnificent scholar who served

the Sunnah, and his creed [aqidah] is good and defaming him is not allowed.”

And he said, “Indeed he is the one all will miss, the great, famous scholar, the Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him and forgive

him He has colossal efforts in serving the Sunnah, and in giving attention to the

sayings of the Prophet of Allaah, "+*)("'&% $#"!, clarifying the sources of those sayings and the books they are mentioned in, [also] clarifying their grade as to whether they

are authentic or weak His service to the Sunnah is well-known and he defended the

creed of the Pious Predecessors and their methodology vigorously, no student of knowledge can suffice himself without referring back to his books and written works, for indeed they contain ample good, and in them is abundant knowledge, his written works are numerous and great, and most libraries will not be devoid of his books, or will at least have some of them, and he paid great attention to researching, writing, and referring back to the speech of the scholars and benefitting from them, and the passing away of scholars such as this is, in all reality, [the cause of] a great deficiency in the Muslims, and a calamity and a breach in the [affairs of the] religion.”

And he said, “Indeed these two scholars, i.e., Ibn Baaz and al-Albaani, are from the great scholars, [both] experts and verifiers, who paid exceptional care [to the affairs of

religion] and who had very high aims Each one of them had major efforts in aqidah,

great good came about at their hands, and great benefit came to Islaam and the

Muslims because of them, so may Allaah reward them with the best of rewards, and forgive them both, and overlook their faults.”

And he said, “So indeed he, in truth, is from the unrivalled scholars of this time, and [is

from those] who expended great efforts in serving the Sunnah of al-Mustafaa, % $#"!

And the Shaikh, the Allaamah, the Aider of the Sunnah, Humood ibn Abdullaah

at-Tuwaijiri, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, said, “Al-Albaani now is an

eminent authority on the Sunnah, slandering him is helping to slander the Sunnah.”

And when the King Faisal Award for Service to Islaam was mentioned to Shaikh

Humood, he said, “Indeed Shaikh Naasir is the most deserving of those who receive it,

due to his service for the Sunnah.”

And the Shaikh, the Allaamah, Abdul-Aziz Aal ash-Shaikh, the Mufti of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,may Allaah protect him, described him saying, “He aided

the Sunnah in this age.” Shaikh Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan described him in the

same way

And the noble Shaikh, the Allaamah, Saalih ibn Abdul-Aziz Aal ash-Shaikh, may

Allaah protect him said, “There is no doubt that the loss of the Allaamah Muhammad

Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani is a calamity, for he was one of the eminent authorities of

the Ummah, and one of its hadith scholars [muhaddith], and through them, Allaah, the Majestic and Most High, protects this religion and spreads the Sunnah.”

And he also said, “Indeed the late Shaikh has huge achievements in aiding

the Salafi creed and the methodology of the people of hadith, along with major,

numerous works in serving the Sunnah, distinguishing the authentic sayings of the

Prophet from the weak, "+*)("'&% $#"! And his effect on the Islamic world has been

enormous and he is regarded as one of the scholars of the Ummah due to his great

and illustrious achievements.”

The Allaamah, the Muhaddith, the Shaikh, Ahmad Mu’abbad

Abdul-Kareem, may Allaah the Most High protect him: I [i.e., Shaikh Mashhoor] heard him

saying in the house of Shaikh Faalih as-Sagheer in Riyad after midday prayer on Monday 13/11/1327 which corresponds to 4/12/2007, “When I was in secondary

school in 1958 I used to follow what the Shaikh, the Allaamah, al-Albaani would say about weak hadith in Al-Wa’ee al-Islaami al-Kuwaytiyyah And at that time no one else

had raised their head with this knowledge except for al-Albaani and Ahmad Shaakir.” And on the same day but in another sitting he said, “When I went to Jordan with

Shaikh Mahmood al-Meerah we wanted to meet [Shaikh al-Albaani], in fact we

requested that we visit Shaikh al-Albaani, but we were prevented from doing so.” And

he said, “I was waiting for Shaikh al-Albaani to come to Riyad to get some treatment

So that I would get to meet the Shaikh, I was in constant contact with Shaikh Waleed ar-Rashoodee, the one who obtained the order for Shaikh al-Albaani to be allowed to receive treatment But [in the end] the Shaikh never came!”

And the noble Shaikh Abdullaah ibn Abdur-Rahmaan al-Bassaam, a teacher at

the Haram Mosque in Makkah and a member of the Committee of Major Scholars, may

Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Today he is from the Imaams of this time He exerted

himself, his efforts and [spent] his wealth in service of the Sunnah.”

And the Shaikh of the Hanbalees, the Allaamah, Abdullaah ibn Abdul-Aziz ibn

Aqeel said in Fathul-Jaleel, pp 155-156, about Shaikh al-Albaani, “Al-Albaani is our

Shaikh and teacher …”

And he was asked which books of today’s scholars should be read, so he mentioned a group of them and said, “And the books of Shaikh al-Albaani, and we hold that he is

from the Imaams of the Sunnah, and from the major scholars of hadith [muhaddith], and he served hadith in a major way through his [written] works.” And then he was asked, “Some of them say, ‘Hadith can be taken from him but not fiqh.’” So he said, “It

does not harm Shaikh al-Albaani if they say this, [it does not harm him if] one, two, ten

or a hundred [people say this] Shaikh al-Albaani is a scholar and his legacy is present and printed, mistakes do not harm him, is there anyone who doesn’t make a mistake?

Is there anyone who doesn’t have mistakes and faults or errors? Perfection is for

Allaah, the Blessed and Most High, and the just one is he who takes the good deeds of

a person and the bad into consideration How many books did he author? They come

to a hundred.”

And when I [i.e., Shaikh Mashhoor] met Shaikh Ibn Aqeel in Ramadaan in 1428ah [September 2007ce] in Makkah al-Mukarramah I asked him about those who accuse

Shaikh al-Albaani of having Irjaa, so he emphatically rejected that and said, “These

people have no source and nothing to rely upon for what they say.” And in another sitting he said, “What is wrong with them that they accuse Shaikh al-Albaani of

having Irjaa, here he is openly declaring that actions are part of eemaan!”

And Shaikh Abdullaah ibn Sulaimaan al-Manee, the head of the Court of

Cassation in Makkah and a member of the Committee of Major Scholars

said, “The Muslims have been stricken with the loss of a great scholar from

the Salafees, who played a strong role fighting innovations and misguidance and refuting its people with the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger Let

alone the prudent checkings and verifications his excellence had [written] in the path

of purifying the Sunnah and making clear its authentic from its weak.”

And the noble Muhaddith, the explainer of Sunan an-Nisaa’ee, Shaikh

Muhammad Ali Aadam, the Ethiopian [who is in Makkah now] said about

al-Albaani, “And he has great authority in being acquainted withhadiths, the authentic

from the weak, as his priceless books bear witness to, few are the ones who can come close to him in this time, [a time] in which ignorance about this noble branch of

knowledge has become predominant.”

And I [i.e., Shaikh Mashhoor] heard Shaikh Fadl Ilaahi Dhaheer [Ihsaan Ilaahi Dhaheer’s brother] say in Riyad on the 13/11/1427ah [December 2006ce], “I saw light on the face of Shaikh al-Albaani.”

Shaikh Ahmad bin Yahyaa an-Najmee, said, “Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen

al-Albaani, the great hadithscholar [muhaddith], the famous scholar, author of

beneficial works and valuable checkings, who settled in Syria, was Salafi in creed, and expended great efforts in checking and verifying [hadiths] which none can match, so

may Allaah reward him with good.”

And Shaikh Muhammad ibn Lutfee as-Sabbaagh, may Allaah protect him said,

“The Allaamah, the great scholar of hadith [muhaddith], the greatest scholar

of hadith in this time, he devoted his life to serving the pureSunnah, teaching, writing,

checking and verifying.”

Shaikh Abdul-Kareem Zaidaan, may Allaah protect him said, “The muhaddith of this

time, the Ustaadh,Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani.”

Shaikh Muhammad Haamid al-Faqee said, “The Salafi brother, the great

researcher, the Shaikh, Naasirud-Deen.”

And Shaikh Muqbil ibn Haadi al-Waadi’ee said, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “As for what follows: then I have been asked time and again about Shaikh

Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah protect him, so I say, as many of

the Salaf would say when asked about someone who is greater in worth than the one

asked, “I should not be asked about so and so! He should be asked about me …” Indeed no match can be found for Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may

Allaah the Most High, protect him, in [the field of] the science of hadith And through his

knowledge and books Allaah has [caused the Muslims to] benefit many, many times more than what those [people] zealous for Islaam have done upon [their] ignorance, the people of revolutions and [the people who want to] overthrow [governments] And that which I believe and which I hold to be religion before Allaah is that the Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah protect him, is from the revivers which the [following] saying of the Prophet, "+*)("'&% $#"!, applies to, “Indeed, for this nation, at the beginning of every one hundred years, Allaah sends someone who will revive its religion for it.” Reported by Abu Dawud and al-Iraaqi and others declared it to

be authentic [So] when you come to know that the Shaikh, may Allaah protect him, has

no match in the knowledge of the Sunnah, what then do you think his rank is in

understanding the texts? That which I know about him is that his understanding of the texts is like that of our major scholars of today, nevertheless I say as Imaam Maalik, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Everyone has their saying accepted and

rejected, except for the companion of this grave,” i.e., the Prophet of Allaah, ("'&% $#"!)

*

"+ ”

Dr Ameen al-Misree, may Allaah have mercy on him, past head of postgraduate studies at the Islamic University, said, “From the irritable things of this world is that the

likes of us, those with doctorates, should be chosen to teach [the science of] hadith at

the university when there is someone more worthy of that than us, someone whose students we are not even worthy of being in this knowledge, but [alas] such is the system and convention.” And Dr Ameen al-Misree, may Allaah have mercy on him, used to always declare that Shaikh al-Albaani had more right and was more deserving

of that position than him, and he would regard himself as a student of his

And the Shaikh, the historian, the genealogist, Hamad al-Jaasir, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, said, “And I have come to know, in the city of

Damascus, a number of great [people], those concerned with verifying the [Islamic] heritage … just as I knew Shaikh Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani through the many times I

frequented the Dhaahiriyyah Library, for he was always there, and had written many of

its indexes, and had excavated its rare manuscripts, and at the same time he used to work repairing watches, he had a small shop close to the door of the Amawi Mosque.”

And Shaikh Muhammad Tayyib Awkeej al-Yawsenri, teacher

of tafseer, hadith and fiqh at the College of Theology at Ankara University in Turkey,

and in the Higher Islamic Institute in the city of Konya , wrote a number of letters to the Shaikh in which he showed his admiration of the Shaikh and to ask him some

questions From them was a letter he wrote on the 7th Sha’baan , 1389ah

[19th October 1969ce], saying, “His honourable eminence, the Allaamah, the great

researcher, the eminent teacher, the respected Abu Abdur-Rahmaan Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah protect him from all adversity, and benefit us with his knowledge, my esteemed teacher … I congratulate you on this great success

of yours in the field of knowledge, may Allaah increase the likes of you in the Islamic world, I would love to be able to attain all of your priceless works, so if you could

please ask your publishers to send them to me at my address, with thanks in advance.”

And Shaikh Ahmad Madhhar, head of At-Tamuddan al-Islaami in Damascus, was

impressed by Shaikh al-Albaani’s knowledge and opened up the avenue to spread many of his calm, critical, articles in the magazine, not caring about the desire of many people who were against that, and he said, “Damascus recognised its greatest scholar

of hadith in the Allaamah Badarud-Deen al-Husaini, then when Allaah caused him to

die, the land was left void of an Imaam to whom attention could be turned in the

science of hadith–except for an Arnaa’ooti youth, raised upon knowledge and piety,

and who [indeed] was true to his name [i.e., Naasirud-Deen, ‘Aider of the Religion’],

the Ustaadh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, known among the youths for his service to hadith and its sciences, and they gathered around him and he became well-

known among them, and through his eloquence and his Arabic tongue, and the charm

of his speech and the quality of his debates, he was able to appropriate an elite group [of people] to take from him and study with him.”

And the Shaikh, the Faqeeh, Muhammad Ameen, BuKhubzah, Hasani,

al-Maghribi, said, “… I bear witness with the utmost truth and impartiality, and Allaah is

the witness to what I say, that I have not seen amongst those of the scholars who I have met, and they are many, and from whom I took, anyone like Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen ibn Nooh Najaati al-Albaani al-Arnaa’ooti, in terms of his knowledge,

his sincerity, his research in the sciences of hadith and its intricate details, his fairness

in his research and debates, in addition to his behaviour which is similar to that of the

Pious Predecessors [Salaf as-Saalih], I say this and I do not ascribe piety to anyone

over and above what Allaah knows [about his true reality].”

Shaikh Muhammad Amaan ibn Alee al-Jaamee, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “I have mentioned a number of times that I love Shaikh Naasirud-Deen al-

Albaani and I hold him in high esteem, and truly, I ask Allaah to bear witness and then

I ask all of you who are present to bear witness that I love his eminence, Shaikh

Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani and I hold him in great esteem, and [that I hold] that he is

from the people of knowledge and from the major scholars of hadith So it is obligatory that we love the people of hadith and the people of knowledge, the people of

excellence, we love and respect them.”

And Shaikh Saalih ibn Abdullaah ibn Humayyid [Imaam of the Haram] wrote to

him saying, “The venerable father, the Muhaddith of Syria, in fact, the Muhaddith of the

world in his time …”

And Shaikh Abu Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Aqeel adh-Dhaahiri wrote to him saying,

“Our father, the Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, the one who is revered due to his knowledge and his firmness …”

And Shaikh As-Sayyid Saabiq wrote to him saying, “The scholar, the one who acts

upon his knowledge, the scholar of hadith [muhaddith], the teacher …”

Here is a scan of the certificate of the King Faisal International Prize awarded to

Shaikh al-Albaani in 1999:

Compiled from Juhood al-Imaam al-Albaani, Naasirus-Sunnah wad-Deen, fee Biyaani Aqeedatis-Salaf as-Saaliheen fil-Eemaani billaahi Rabbil-Aalameen, of Ahmad Saalih

Hussain al-Jabboori, with an introduction by Shaikh Mashhoor ibn Hasan Aal

Salmaan, pp 18-25, and Al-Imaam al-Albaani, Duroos, wa Mawaaqif, wa Ibar, of

Abdul-Aziz ibn Muhammad Abdullaah as-Sadhaan, pp 217-228

And here is what Shaikh Rabee said about Shaikh al-Albaani from the Following the Sunnah blog:

http://followingthesunnah.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/the-praise-of-shaykh-rabia

hadeeth-muhammad-nasr-ud-deen-al-albaani/

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Apr 18, 2011 1:52 AM

Shaikh Al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers | E-Book

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

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Apr 16, 2011 4:58 PM

Shaikh al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers … The End

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

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Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

His Imprisonment

Then al-Huwaini asked the Shaikh about the circumstances surrounding his

imprisonment in Damascus two times?

Al-Albaani: One of those times was when Jewish planes struck Damascus, so what

seems apparent is that the state feared that the Shaikhs might start a revolution, so as

a precautionary measure they arrested all the Shaikhs

Then Shaikh al-Albaani said while he was laughing, “And I don’t know how they

regarded me to be from among the Shaikhs this time.”

The second time was when the secret service called me in and said, “What is your opinion about the rulers of today?” So I said to them, “I don’t know them.” They said,

“What is your opinion about the system of the ruler, do you support it?” I said, “No.” They said, “Why?” I said, “Because it is against Islaam.”

They took me in a car transferring me from place to place and then put me in police headquarters in order to transfer me–to where, I did not know A person from my

people, an Arnaa’ooti, passed by me and asked why I was present there so I told him

about the situation, and he left He went and asked about the place to which I was about to be transferred and then came back to me and said, “They have decided to expel you to al-Hasakah,” i.e., [an area in the] north-east [corner of] Syria

So I asked him to go to my son in the shop and tell him to bring my bag to me in which

he should place a copy of Sahih Muslim, a sharpener, a pencil, an eraser etc., and that

he should meet me here, and that if he does not, then he should meet me at the place where the cars leave for Aleppo

So the man went to my son who then hurriedly came and brought everything that I had asked for and met me at the place where the vehicles depart just as it was reversing

getting ready to go He climbed on heading towards me and gave me salaam, hugged

me and bid me farewell, and then it left with us for Aleppo, and from Aleppo to

There is a new, very large and towering prison in al-Hasakah They placed me in an

area which was very long and full of Muslims from Hizb at-Tahrir, the head of them used to attend my lessons in Aleppo, i.e., he was aSalafi and then he turned

towards Hizb at-Tahrir I said to myself, “Many a calamity is beneficial,” [for] I was in

constant debate with this group, day and night–but I had brought my provisions with

me and wanted to start work but the lamp [where I was] was attached to the ceiling which was very high, so I did not benefit from its light whatsoever

So I spoke to this companion of ours who used to be a Salafi, his name was Shaikh

Mustafaa, and, unfortunately, he had spent about two years in the prison Due to him having spent such a long time there, some companionship had developed between him and the warden, and it seemed as though the prison warden had some [positive] natural disposition [in character], even though he was a Ba’athist He indeed used to respond positively to Shaikh Mustafaa and with this group of Muslims and would help them as much as he was able to They would eat together, sharing their food, and I did

so with them too

The point is that I needed some electricity [i.e., a way of getting more light to be able to read], so Shaikh Mustafaa spoke to the prison warden saying to him, “Shaikh al-

Albaani is a student of knowledge and wants to study, because he brought his books with him.” So the warden said to him, “We will bring him what he needs but on his account.” So I told them this was fine and good, he would bring what I needed and I would pay

So [as a result] the lamp was brought down from the top of the ceiling to the top of my head, totally above it–so I never felt any loneliness in the prison whatsoever, just as Ibn Taymiyyah said, “My imprisonment is my solitude.”

Then al-Huwaini asked the Shaikh about his works which he had finished and those

he was still working on and about his methodology in authoring some of those works and he finally asked him to give him some knowledge-based advice so the Shaikh gave him some and encouraged him to fear Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and finished off by saying:

“I hope that you are given even more tawfeeq [from Allaah].”

The End

Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.

And the translation was finished after Ishaa on the 11th of Jumaada 1 which

corresponds to the 15th April, 2011 And all praise is due to Allaah through whose Blessing righteous actions are completed

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Apr 15, 2011 5:37 PM

Shaikh al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers … 13

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

His Migration to Jordan and the Secret Service

Al-Huwaini: In some of your books you mentioned in general terms your entrance into

Amman, Jordan and then your return to Syria once again due to some powerful

circumstances We’d like to know about this situation

Al-Albaani: I used to live there in a small, modest house, and was searching for [a

piece of] land upon which to build a house, so I chose this piece and started to build Our brothers were very eager for me to start giving them a lesson, as had been the case before I had settled here I used to come [to Jordan from Syria] every month, or every other month or every third month–depending on my circumstances, and would give them lessons in the house of Shaikh Ahmad Atiyyah I would also visit Zarqa and give some lessons there This was my habit before I settled here

When I [actually] moved there I became busy with building a house … we [finally] did finish building it and moved in, and all praise is due to Allaah We used to hold the lesson on the roof of Shaikh Ahmad’s house here not the previous one in which I would give the lesson The roof filled up with people even though it was large, and the

lessons were on Riyaad as-Saaliheen [and would last] for about three quarters of an

hour and then questions and answers

The third lesson had hardly come when the secret service turned up behind me I had

prayed dhuhr in NoorMosque along with my older brother whose name is Muhammad

Naaji Abu Ahmad and that day my son, Abdul-Musowwir, was also with me I was going up the stairs and my brother was behind me and then my son when someone said to my brother, “Are you so and so?” So I turned around and said, “I am so and so.”

So he said, “We need you for a while.”

They took me to the secret service and asked me for my ID and asked me about my work and so on Then someone else came in and it seemed as though he was senior

in rank and said to me, “O Shaikh, your presence in this city here is not wanted.”

So I said to him, “Why? For I have been living here for one year now, and not only this, but in fact I bought a piece of land with the permission of the state, and not only this, but I built a home on it with the permission of the state, and not only this, but I got married to one of its women [too].”

So the senior one among them consulted with another and then left

They then transferred me to another room and questioned me again After which they took me downstairs with a soldier and put me in a military car and started to take me from place to place until they took me somewhere where there was a group of people, and judging by their faces most of them were base people, i.e., criminals, and they had their belongings with them Close to them was an army vehicle so I realised that they were about to be transported, and in one of the centres which they had taken me to, one of the people there had said, “They now want to expel you to Syria.”

Then the sergeant came and said, “Come on them, O Youth, get on.” I was the last of them and refused to get on saying to the sergeant, “I do not want to go to Syria,” even though my exit from Syria was totally normal [i.e the Shaikh had not fled Syria for doing something wrong etc.], and this is a point which many people are ignorant of, because a few months after I had left, the Syrian Revolution had taken place After I had settled here [i.e., in Jordan] I didn’t think it a good idea to go back to Syria

So the sergeant lied to me and said, “We will not take you to Syria, we’re taking you to Erbil instead.” Then they took us in the car to the Jordanian-Syrian border and handed

me over to a Jordanian officer, who then permitted me to go to the Syrian border and [once] in Syria they questioned me and so I mentioned the story to them They gave

me a piece of paper which had a note [written] on it, saying, “You must report to the Syrian Secret Service after three days.”

When I went to my brother’s house there and stayed there for two nights I consulted with my brothers: should I go to the Syrian Secret Service or should I leave Syria? So all opinions were unanimous in that I should not go to the Secret Service They said,

“Because you do not know what they [might] do to you.” So based upon this I made my decision and travelled to Lebanon

I remained there for six months approximately and then one of our brothers from the Emirates came and he had a pass to allow me entry into the Emirates and [so] I spent

a few months there

Then one of our brothers here like Abu Maalik [Muhammad Ibrahim Shaqrah] and others made an effort and got in touch with those in authority [in Jordan] until they were able to take the matter to the King [telling him] that the Shaikh is not a revolutionary and nor is he a political person–he is only a person of knowledge And they presented two boxes full of [my] books to the Chief Minister and said to him, “This is the Shaikh.” And so those in authority allowed me to enter

So this is how it was, this is the story you asked about

Al-Huwaini asked the Shaikh about his reason for leaving Syria [to go to Jordan in the first place] and how it happened?

Al-Albaani: Leaving Syria was a natural matter, a plan for the future, i.e., I had made a

plan for myself, saying, “I must withdraw myself from the people in whatever remains from my life, and dedicate what remains from it to complete my projects,” or some of my projects at least Because as you know in Syria I used to travel widely: from Damascus

to Homs, to Hama, to Aleppo, to Idlib, to Latakia So I didn’t want to become busy with the people such that I would not be able to complete my knowledge-based projects.

So I said [to myself], “I will go to a country where I am not well-known.” But the reality turned out to be the total opposite, and this is as it is said in some of

the Israaeeliyyat narrations [i.e., narrations from the People of the Book], “My servant

wants [something], and I want something, and nothing will happen except that which I want,” and this is true without doubt

So I came for this purpose so that I could live far away from being referred back to and [from being asked] questions and so on, and to devote myself to knowledge, so my departure [from Syria] was totally normal

Al-Imaam al-Albaani, Hayaatuhu, Da’watuhu, Juhooduhoo fee Khidmatis-Sunnah, of

Muhammad Bayyoomi, pp 23-25

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Apr 14, 2011 5:49 PM

Shaikh al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers … 12

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

The following post is from the same book we are going through but occurs later and is not part of the questions and answers section but is connected to the previous post about the Shaikh’s time at Medinah, so I thought I would add it here

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

“In their biographies of Shaikh al-Albaani, the two Shaikhs, Eed Abbaasi and Ali

Khashaan said, ‘Due to that continued effort and the tawfiq that Allaah, the Most High,

gave him, many beneficial works [authored by the Shaikh] in the fields

of hadith, fiqh, creed and others came to light which show the people of knowledge

and excellence what Allaah had bestowed upon him from correct understanding,

abundant knowledge, exceptional expertise in the field of hadith and its sciences and

narrators, along with a sound knowledge-based methodology making the Book and

the Sunnah the judge and scale for everything, taking guidance from the

understanding of the Pious Predecessors and their way in understanding and deriving rulings

That [same] methodology which many researchers and verifiers from the people of knowledge [before him] tread upon, especially the Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, his students, and whoever followed them in that

All of this made the Shaikh a distinguished and renowned authority that the people of knowledge would refer back to People supervising institutes of knowledge

appreciated his worth, something which made those in charge of the Islamic University

in Medinah al-Munawwarah when it was established–and at the head of them the

Shaikh, the Allaamah, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Aali-Shaikh, the Principal of the Islamic

University and the Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at that time–choose Shaikh

al-Albaani to take up the teaching of hadith and it sciences, during which he was an

example of earnestness and hard work, to the extent that he would sit with the students

on the sand during the breaks between lectures and some teachers would pass by him while he was sitting on the sand and would say, “This is the real lesson–not the one you just came of it or the one you will go back to [inside].”

The Shaikh would do that whereas the other teachers would head to the staff room and have some dates or tea and coffee, and this is from the Grace of Allaah which He gives to whoever He pleases

And maybe this habit of his and his sincerity was something which led some people to become jealous of him, amongst whom were some of the people of knowledge, due to the affection and love the students had for him and how they would present

themselves to him at the university and outside it during the trips which the university would supervise

The Shaikh’s relationship with the students was that of friend with a friend, without formality, and not like [the relationship] between a teacher and his student, for he wiped out formality which would [normally] prolong matters and replaced it with trust and brotherhood

He said, “In my car I would take with me whichever students I happened to meet on the way to the university and also back to Medinah So at all times, my car would be full of them, going and coming.”

The desire of the students to be with the Shaikh and their love for him and the fact that they felt as though there was no difference between them and their teacher reached such an extent that one day after having given his lectures the Shaikh went to the [university's] administration and left his car outside the building and entered Then it so

happened that Ustaadh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab al-Bannaa wanted to go to

the city, so he came out [of the building] with Shaikh Albaani heading to Shaikh Albaani’s car so that he could take him with him–only to find that Shaikh al-Albaani’s car was [already] full of students! So when the students saw Shaikh al-Bannaa, one of them was compelled to get out for him, and this is how it was

Al-And when he would enter the university in the morning you would hardly be able to see his car due to the multitude of students gathered around it, giving the

Shaikh salaam, asking him questions and benefitting from him.

The Plans of the Malicious and Spiteful Ones

All of these things which we just mentioned when put together stirred up those

teachers at the university who were malicious and spiteful, so they plotted against him and reported him to the university administration fabricating false accusations against him, bearing false witness against him and slander, conspiring and machinating

against him And they forgot Allaah, the Most High, and the [fact that all will have to] stand before Him, on the Day when nothing will be hidden from Him, the Most High.

So the administration terminated his contract

The Shaikh bore the accusations and slander against him, saying, “Sufficient for us is Allaah, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs,” and Allaah wills and chooses, and none can repel His Will, the One free and far removed from all defects

So the Shaikh was satisfied with Allaah’s Decree with a believing and truthful soul, in fact he was happy because Allaah had blessed him to be able to understand complex issues and Islamic problems such that he returned [to Syria] with an even greater fervour to research and investigate those things which would be of benefit to the

Muslims in many different fields of knowledge from the pure Sharee’ah, which he had

been kept away from while he had to teach at the university

[When all of this happened] Shaikh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz said some important words to Shaikh al-Albaani, consoling him, he said, “Wherever you are, you will fulfil the

obligatory duties of calling to Allaah, there is no difference to you [whether you are here or there].” And that is because he knew of the strength of Shaikh al-Albaani’s faith

in Allaah, the Most Great, his vast knowledge and his patience in the face of

calamities

And maybe this explains why Shaikh al-Albaani would so often repeat the supplication

of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, may Allaah be pleased with him, “O Allaah! Do not hold me to account for what they say, and make me better than what they think, and forgive me concerning those things they do not know about.”

Al-Imaam al-Albaani, Hayaatuhu, Da’watuhu, Juhooduhoo fee Khidmatis-Sunnah, of

Muhammad Bayyoomi, pp 115-117

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Apr 12, 2011 4:01 PM

Shaikh al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers … 11

by Ahmed Abu Turaab

Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

How was Al-Albaani chosen to teach at Medinah University?

Al-Huwaini: How were you chosen to teach at the Islamic University of Medinah?

Because the norm is that one needs a doctorate to teach academic study [at

university]?

Al-Albaani: This is the first time that I’ve been asked this question What I recall now

are two things The first is that the university was new to university level teaching [only

recently having been established], especially in Saudi, this is the first reason.

The second is the reputation of some of the books [that I authored] and the satisfaction

of the people [i.e., scholars etc.,] with them, and [also], from what seems apparent to

me, their appreciation of the books as they deserved to be appreciated–this is what caused them to send for me

I didn’t ask and I wouldn’t ask–and I [have] Iived like this, and all praise is due to

Allaah, not requesting any job, for since childhood I would earn my daily sustenance through the labour of my own hands and the sweat of my own forehead

At this time a request came to me from Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim who was then the Mufti of the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia, i.e.,the Mufti before Ibn Baaz], and he was

the Principal of the university, asking me to agree to teach hadith sciences at Medinah

University which would soon open its doors

I took the counsel of some of my brothers there whose understanding and knowledge I trusted, so one of them said to me, “Try it for a year, if you enjoy teaching [there] you can carry on with them for as long as it’s written for you.” And the reality was that when

I went there I found a truly wonderful climate, that was ready and willing to, firstly, accept the call and, secondly, the academic methodology which I was naturally

predisposed to and continued upon

How would Al-Albaani interact with his Students at

Medinah University?

My story at the university, in my opinion, was something that happened rarely with someone who was a teacher of a subject there–for I was with the students as though I was one of them, and there are [different] situations which may make this reality

clearer for you

For example, when my class would finish and it was break time, the [normal] habit of the lecturers was to go to the staff room and sit there for the length of the break,

drinking tea or coffee and talking about different things

As for me, I would turn away from all of that, and would leave the lesson [heading to] to the courtyard and I would sit there on the sand–and the students who I had been teaching only a few minutes earlier would gather [around me], and students from all [other] years [too], because this sitting was in the open

I would give them some guidance and advice and answer some questions This was how I spent all of the years I taught at the university

And I recall very well that someone who in university language was called an assistant

professor, passed by me [while I was sitting outside] one day and said, “As-Salaamu alaikum.” So I replied, “Wa alaikum salaam.”

He then said, “You know, O Shaikh, the real lesson–this is it.”