AL-ALBANI,
Concise Guide to
the Chief Innovator of Our Time
By GF Haddad
N
asir al-Albani is the arch-innovator of the Wahhabis and "Salafis" in our time. A watch repairman by trade, al-Albani is a self-taught claimant to hadith scholarship who has no known teacher in any of the Islamic sciences and has admitted not to have memorized the Book of Allah nor any book of hadith, fiqh, `aqîda, usûl, or grammar. He achieved fame by attacking the great scholars of Ahl al-Sunna and reviling the science of fiqh with especial malice towards the school of his father who was a Hanafi jurist. A rabid reviler of the Friends of Allah and the Sufis, he was expelled from Syria then Saudi Arabia and lived in Amman, Jordan under house arrest until his death in 1999. He remains the qibla of the people of Innovation, self-styled re-formers of Islam, and other "Salafi" and Wahhabi sympathizers, and the preferred author of book merchants and many uneducated Muslims.Most of the contemporary Sunni scholars warned of his heresy and many of them wrote articles or full-length works against him such as:- The Indian hadith scholar Habib al-Rahman al-A`zami who wrote al-Albani Shudhudhuh wa Akhta'uh ("Al-Albani's Aberrations and Errors") in four volumes.
- The Syrian scholar Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti who wrote the two classics al-Lamadhhabiyya Akhtaru Bid`atin Tuhaddidu al-Shari`a al-Islamiyya ("Not Following A School of Jurisprudence is the Most Dangerous Innovation Threatening Islamic Sacred Law") and al-Salafiyya Marhalatun Zamaniyyatun Mubaraka La Madhhabun Islami ("The `Way of the Early Muslims' Was A Blessed Historical Epoch, Not An Islamic School of Thought")
- The Moroccan hadith scholar `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Siddiq
al-Ghumari who wrote Irgham al-Mubtadi` al-Ghabi bi Jawaz al-Tawassul
bi al-Nabi fi al-Radd `ala al-Albani al-Wabi ("The Coercion of
the Unintelligent Innovator with the Licitness of Using the
Prophet 
as an
Intermediary in Refutation of al-Albani the Baneful"), al-Qawl
al-Muqni` fi al-Radd `ala al-Albani al-Mubtadi` ("The Persuasive
Discourse in Refutation of al-Albani the Innovator"), and Itqan
al-Sun`a fi Tahqiq Ma`na al-Bid`a ("Precise Handiwork in
Ascertaining the Meaning of Innovation").
- The Moroccan hadith scholar `Abd al-`Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari who wrote Bayan Nakth al-Nakith al-Mu`tadi ("The Exposition of the Treachery of the Rebel").
- The Syrian hadith scholar `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda who wrote Radd `ala Abatil wa Iftira'at Nasir al-Albani wa Sahibihi Sabiqan Zuhayr al-Shawish wa Mu'azirihima ("Refutation of the Falsehoods and Fabrications of Nasir al-Albani and his Former Friend Zuhayr al-Shawish and their Supporters").
- The Egyptian Hadith scholar Muhammad `Awwama who wrote Adab al-Ikhtilaf ("The Proper Manners of Expressing Difference of Opinion").
- The Egyptian hadith scholar Mahmud Sa`id Mamduh who wrote Wusul al-Tahani bi Ithbat Sunniyyat al-Subha wa al-Radd `ala al-Albani ("The Alighting of Mutual Benefit and Confirmation that the Dhikr-Beads are a Sunna in Refutation of al-Albani") and Tanbih al-Muslim ila Ta`addi al-Albani `ala Sahih Muslim ("Warning to the Muslim Concerning al-Albani's Attack on Sahih Muslim").
- The Saudi hadith scholar Isma`il ibn Muhammad al-Ansar who wrote Ta`aqqubat `ala "Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da`ifa wa al-Mawdu`a" li al-Albani ("Critique of al-Albani's Book on Weak and Forged Hadiths"), Tashih Salat al-Tarawih `Ishrina Rak`atan wa al-Radd `ala al-Albani fi Tad`ifih ("Establishing as Correct the Tarawih Salat in Twenty Rak`as and the Refutation of Its Weakening by al-Albani"), and Ibahat al-Tahalli bi al-Dhahab al-Muhallaq li al-Nisa' wa al-Radd `ala al-Albani fi Tahrimih ("The Licitness of Wearing Gold Jewelry for Women Contrary to al-Albani's Prohibition of it").
- The Syrian scholar Badr al-Din Hasan Diab who wrote Anwar al-Masabih `ala Zulumat al-Albani fi Salat al-Tarawih ("Illuminating the Darkness of al-Albani over the Tarawih Prayer").
- The Director of Religious Endowments in Dubai, `Isa ibn `Abd
Allah ibn Mani` al-Himyari who wrote al-I`lam bi Istihbab Shadd
al-Rihal li Ziyarati Qabri Khayr al-Anam
("The
Notification Concerning the Recommendation of Travelling to
Visit the Grave of the Best of Creation
) and al-Bid`a
al-Hasana Aslun Min Usul al-Tashri` ("The Excellent Innovation
Is One of the Sources of Islamic Legislation").
- The Minister of Islamic Affairs and Religious Endowments in the United Arab Emirates Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khazraji who wrote the article al-Albani: Tatarrufatuh ("Al-Albani's Extremist Positions").
- The Syrian scholar Firas Muhammad Walid Ways in his edition of Ibn al-Mulaqqin's Sunniyyat al-Jumu`a al-Qabliyya ("The Sunna Prayers That Must Precede Salat al-Jumu`a").
- The Syrian scholar Samer Islambuli who wrote al-Ahad, al-Ijma`, al-Naskh.
- The Jordanian scholar As`ad Salim Tayyim who wrote Bayan
Awham al-Albani fi Tahqiqihi li Kitab Fadl al-Salat `ala al-Nabi
.
- The Jordanian scholar Hasan `Ali al-Saqqaf who wrote the
two-volume Tanaqudat al-Albani al-Wadiha fi ma Waqa`a fi Tashih
al-Ahadith wa Tad`ifiha min Akhta' wa Ghaltat ("Albani's Patent
Self-Contradictions in the Mistakes and Blunders He Committed
While Declaring Hadiths to be Sound or Weak"), Ihtijaj al-Kha'ib
bi `Ibarat man Idda`a al-Ijma` fa Huwa Kadhib ("The Loser's
Recourse to the Phrase: `Whoever Claims Consensus Is a Liar!'"),
al-Qawl al-Thabtu fi Siyami Yawm al-Sabt ("The Firm Discourse
Concerning Fasting on Saturdays"), al-Lajif al-Dhu`af li al-Mutala`ib
bi Ahkam al-I`tikaf ("The Lethal Strike Against Him Who Toys
with the Rulings of I`tikaf), Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi
Sallallahu `alayhi wa Sallam ("The Correct Description of the
Prophet's Prayer
"), I`lam al-Kha'id
bi Tahrim al-Qur'an `ala al-Junub wa al-Ha'id ("The Appraisal of
the Meddler in the Interdiction of the Qur'an to those in a
State of Major Defilement and Menstruating Women"), Talqih al-Fuhum
al-`Aliya ("The Inculcation of Lofty Discernment"), and Sahih
Sharh al-`Aqida al-Tahawiyya ("The Correct Explanation of al-Tahawi's
Statement of Islamic Doctrine").
Among Albani's innovations in the Religion:
1- In his book Adab al-Zafaf he prohibits women from wearing gold jewelry - rings, bracelets, and chains - despite the Consensus of the Ulema permitting it.
2- He claims that 2.5% zakât is not due on money obtained from commerce, i.e. the main activity whereby money circulates among Muslims.
3- He absolutely prohibits fasting on Saturdays.
4- He prohibits retreat (i`tikaf) in any but the Three Mosques.
5- He claims that it is lawful to eat in Ramadan before Maghrib as defined by the Law, and similarly after the true dawn.
6- He compares Hanafi fiqh to the Gospel.1
7- He calls people to imitate him rather than the Imams of the Salaf such as the founders of the Four Schools, and his followers invalidate the hadiths that contradict his views.
8- He prohibits the make-up performance of prayers missed intentionally.
9- He claims that it is permissible for menstruating women and those in a state of major defilement (junub) to recite, touch, and carry the Qur'an.
10- He claims over and over that among the innovations in
religion existent in Madina is the persistence of the Prophet's
grave in the
mosque.
11- He claims that whoever travels intending to visit the
Prophet or to
ask him for his intercession is a misguided innovator.
12- He claims that whoever carries dhikr-beads in his hand to remember Allah Most High is misguided and innovating.
13- He invented a location to Allah Most High above the Throne which he named al-makân al-`adamî - "the non-existent place."
14- He claims in Tamam al-Minna that masturbation does not annul one's fast.
15- He published "corrected" editions of the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, which he deceitfully called "Abridgments" (mukhtasar) in violation of the integrity of these motherbooks.
16- He published newly-styled editions of the Four Sunan, al-Bukhari's al-Adab al-Mufrad, al-Mundhiri's al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, and al-Suyuti's al-Jami` al-Saghir, each of which he split into two works, respectively prefixed Sahih and Da`if in violation of the integrity of these motherbooks.
17- He said: "Many of those who interpret figuratively [the
Divine Attributes] are not heretics (zanâdiqa), but they say
what heretics say," and "figurative interpretation is the very
same as nullification (al-ta'wîl `ayn al-ta`tîl)."2
18- He suggests that al-Bukhari is a disbeliever for
interpreting the Divine Face as dominion or sovereignty (mulk)
in the verse (Everything will perish save His countenance(
(28:88) in the book of Tafsir in his Sahih: "Except His wajh
means except His mulk, and it is also said: Except whatever was
for the sake of His countenance." Albani blurts out: "No true
believer would say such a thing" and "We should consider al-Bukhari
innocent of that statement."3
19- In imitation of the Mu`tazila, tawassul (seeking means),
istighâtha (asking for help), and tashaffu` (seeking
intercession) through the Prophet
or one of the
Awliyâ' he declared prohibited acts in Islam (harâm) tantamount
to idolatry (shirk) in his booklet al-Tawassul as did his
friends Bin Baz and those who obey them such as al-Qahtani in
al-Wala' wa al-Bara' and others, in flat rejection of the
numerous sound and explicit narrations to that effect, such as
al-Bukhari's narration of the Prophet
from Ibn `Umar
- Allah be well-pleased with him -: "Truly the sun shall draw so
near on the Day of Resurrection that sweat shall reach to the
mid-ear, whereupon they shall ask (istaghâthû) help from Adam -
upon him peace -, then from Musa - upon him peace - , then from
Muhammad who
will intercede (fa yashfa`u)... and that day Allah shall raise
him to an Exalted Station, so that all those who are standing
[including the unbelievers] shall glorify him (yahmaduhu ahlu
al-jam`i kulluhum)."
20- He denies that the name of the Angel of death is `Azrâ'îl and claims such a name has no basis other than Israelite reports, although `Iyad reports the Consensus on the Umma on it in al-Shifa'.
21- Like the rest of Wahhabi and "Salafi" innovators he
declares Ash`aris, Maturidis, and Sufis to be outside the fold
of Ahl al-Sunna and even outside the fold of Islam, although
Allah Most High and His Prophet
praised them!
Upon revelation of the verse (Allah shall bring a people whom He
loves and who love Him( (5:54), the Prophet
pointed to
Abu Musa al-Ash`ari - Allah be well-pleased with him - and said:
"They are that man's People."4
Al-Qushayri, Ibn `Asakir, al-Bayhaqi, Ibn al-Subki, and others
said that the followers of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari - i.e.
Ash`aris who were mostly Sufis - are included among Abu Musa's
People for in every place that a people are affiliated to a
Prophet, what is meant is the followers of that Prophet. As for
Maturidis, they are referred to in the narration of the Prophet
from Bishr
al-Khath`ami or al-Ghanawi with a sound (sahîh) chain according
to al-Hakim, al-Dhahabi, al-Suyuti, and al-Haythami: "Truly you
shall conquer Constantinople and truly what a wonderful leader
will her leader be [Mehmet Fatih Sultan - Allah be well-pleased
with him -], and truly what a wonderful army will that army be!"
Both the leader and his army were classic Hanafi Maturidis and
it is known that Mehmet Fatih loved and respected Sufis,
practiced tawassul, and followed a Shaykh. Moreover, enmity
against Ash`aris, Maturidis, and Sufis, is nifâq and enmity
against the Umma of Islam as most of the Ulema of Islam are thus
described.
22- In at least five of his books5
he calls for the demolition of the Green Dome of the Prophet's
Mosque in al-Madina al-Munawwara and for taking the Prophet's
grave outside the Mosque.
23- He states: "I have found no evidence for the Prophet's
hearing of
the salaam of those who greet him at his grave" and "I do not
know from where Ibn Taymiyya took his claim6
that he hears
the salaam from someone near." This and the previous item are
among his greater enormities and bear the unmistakable signature
of innovation and deviation.7
24- He considers it an innovation to visit relatives,
neighbors, or friends on the day of `Eid and prohibits it.8
25- He gave the fatwa that Muslims should exit Palestine en
masse and leave it to the Jews as it is part the Abode of War (dâr
al-harb).9
26- He advocates in his Salat al-Nabi
, the formula
"Peace and blessings upon the Prophet" instead of "upon you, O
Prophet" in the tashahhud in contradiction of the Four Sunni
Schools, on the basis of a hadith of Ibn Mas`ud whereby the
Companions used the indirect-speech formula after the passing of
the Prophet .
But the Prophet
himself
instructed them to pray exactly as he prayed saying: "Peace and
blessings upon you, O Prophet" without telling them to change it
after his death, nor did the major Companions (whose Sunna we
were ordered to imitate together with that of the Prophet
), such as Abu
Bakr and `Umar, teach the Companions and Successors otherwise!
27- He prohibits praying more than 11 rak`as in Tarawih
prayers on the grounds that the Prophet
never did and
in blatant rejection of his explicit command to follow the Sunna
of the well-guided Caliphs after him.
28- He declares that adding more to 11 supererogatory rak`as
in the late night prayer (tahajjud) is an innovation rather than
an act of obedience on the grounds that the Prophet
"never ever
prayed one hundred rak`as in his whole lifetime"10
although the Ulema agree that there is no prescribed limit to
something which the Prophet
commanded without specifically quantifying it, and he
said in three
authentic narrations: "Know that the best of your good deeds is
prayer,"11
"Prayer is a light,"12
and "The night prayer is in cycles of two [rak`as] and when one
of you fears the rising of the dawn, let him pray a single
one."13
It is also established in many authentic narrations collected by
Imam `Abd al-Hayy al-Lacknawi in the second part of his Iqamat
al-Hujja `ala anna al-Ikthar min al-Ta`abbudi Laysa bi Bid`a
that the Companions and Salaf prayed hundreds if not thousands
of rak`as in every twenty-four hours!
29- He considers it an innovation to pray four rak`as between
the two adhâns of Jumu`a and before Salat, although it is
authentically narrated that "the Prophet
prayed four
rak`as before Jumu`a and four rak`as after it."14
30- He declares it prohibited (harâm) and an innovation to
lengthen the beard over a fistful's length although there is no
proof for such a claim in the whole Law and none of the Ulema
ever said it before him.15
31- He gives free rein to his propensity to insult and vilify
the Ulema of the past as well as his contemporaries. As a result
it is difficult to wade through his writings without being
affected by the nefarious spirit that permeates them. For
example, he considers previous editors and commentators of al-Bukhari's
al-Adab al-Mufrad ("Book of Manners"!) "sinful," "unbearably
ignorant," and even "liars" and "thieves." Of one he says:
"There are so many weak hadiths [in his choice]... that it is an
unislamic practice"; of another: "It is ignorance which must not
be tolerated"; of another: "Forgery and open lie... His edition
is stolen [from a previous one]."16
Such examples actually fill a book compiled by Shaykh Hasan `Ali
al-Saqqaf and titled Qamus Shata'im al-Albani wa Alfazihi al-Munkara
al-Lati Yatluquha `ala `Ulama' al-Umma ("Dictionary of al-Albani's
Insults and the Heinous Words He Uses Against the Scholars of
the Muslim Community").
32- He revived Ibn Hazm's anti-madhhabî claim that
differences can never be a mercy in any case but are always a
curse on the basis of the verse (If it had been from other than
Allah they would have found therein much discrepancy( (4:82).17
Imam al-Nawawi long since refuted this view in his commentary on
Sahih Muslim where he said: "If something is a mercy, it is not
necessary for its opposite to be the opposite of mercy. No-one
makes this binding and no-one even says this, except an
ignoramus or one who affects ignorance." Similarly, al-Munawi
said in Fayd al-Qadir: "This is a contrivance that showed up on
the part of some of those who have sickness in their heart."
33- He expresses hatred for those who read Imam al-Busiri's
masterpiece, Qasidat al-Burda, and calls them cretins (mahâbîl),18
i.e. millions of Muslims past and present including the likes of
Imams Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, al-Sakhawi, and al-Suyuti who all
included it as required reading in the Islamic curriculum.19
34- He perpetuates lies if they detract from Ash`aris, such
as his remark that Imam Sayf al-Din al-Amidi did not pray,20
although Dr. Hasan al-Shafi`i in his massive biography entitled
al-Amidi wa Ara'uhu al-Kalamiyya showed that the story that al-Amidi
did not pray was a forgery put into circulation during the
campaign waged by Imam Ibn al-Salah against him for teaching
logic and philosophy in Damascus.
35- He perpetuates the false claim first made by Munir Agha
the founder of the Egyptian Salafiyya Press, that Imam Abu
Muhammad al-Juwayni - the father of Imam al-Haramayn -
"repented" from Ash`ari doctrine and supposedly authored a tract
titled Risala fi Ithbat al-Istiwâ' wa al-Fawqiyya ("Epistle on
the Assertion of Establishment and Aboveness").21
This spurious attribution continues to be promoted without
verification - for obvious reasons - by modern-day "Salafis" who
adduce it to forward the claim that al-Juwayni embraced
anthropomorphist concepts. The Risala in question is not
mentioned in any of the bibliographical and biographical sources
nor does al-Dhahabi cite it in his encyclopedia of
anthropomorphist views entitled al-`Uluw. More conclusively, it
is written in modern argumentative style and reflects typically
contemporary anthropomorphist obsessions.
36- He derides the fuqahâ' of the Umma for accepting - in
their massive majority - the hadith of Mu`adh ibn Jabal on
ijtihâd as authentic then rejects the definition of knowledge (`ilm)
in Islam as pertaining to fiqh but claims that it pertains only
to hadith,22
although the Ulema of the Salaf explicitly said that a hadith
master without fiqh is a misguided innovator! And he defines the
`âlim as "meaning, of course, the `Salafi' `âlim, not the `Khalafi
[late Egyptian Shaykh] Ghazali'!"23
Al-Qurtubi said: "One of the knowers of Allah said: A certain
group that has not yet come up in our time but shall show up at
the end of time, will curse the scholars and insult the
jurists."24
NOTES
1 In his commentary on al-Mundhiri's Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim,
3rd ed. (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1977, p. 548). This phrase
was removed from later editions.
2 Fatawa (p. 522-523) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 23f.).
3 Fatawa (p. 523).
4 Narrated from `Iyad by Ibn Abi Shayba and al-Hakim who said
it is sahîh by Muslim's criterion, and by al-Tabarani with a
sound chain as stated by al-Haythami.
5 Ahkam al-Jana'iz wa Bida`uha, Talkhis Ahkam al-Jana'iz,
Tahdhir al-Sajid, Hijjat al-Nabi, and Manasik al-Hajj wa al-`Umra.
6 In Majmu`a al-Fatawa (27:384).
7 In his notes on Nu`man al-Alusi's al-Ayat al-Bayyinat (p.
80) and his Silsila Da`ifa (#203).
8 Fatawa (p. 61-63).
9 Fatawa (p. 18).
10 Fatawa (p. 315-316).
11 Narrated as part of a longer hadith from Thawban with
sound chains by Ibn Majah and Ahmad. Malik cites it in his
Muwatta'.
12 Part of a longer hadith narrated from Abu Malik al-Ash`ari
(Ka`b ibn `Asim) by Muslim, al-Tirmidhi (hasan sahîh), al-Nasa'i,
Ibn Majah, Ahmad, and al-Darimi.
13 Narrated from Ibn `Umar in the Nine Books.
14 With a fair chain from `Ali and Ibn `Abbas as stated by
al-`Iraqi in Tarh al-Tathrib (3:42), Ibn Hajar in Talkhis al-Habir
(2:74), and al-Tahanawi in I`la' al-Sunan (7:9).
15 Fatawa (p. 53).
16 Sahih al-Adab al-Mufrad (Introduction, p. 15, 20, 26).
17 Al-Silsila al-Da`ifa (1:76 #57).
18 Introduction to al-San`ani's Raf` al-Astar (p. 24-25).
19 Cf. al-Suyuti, Husn al-Muhadara (Cairo 1293 ed. 1:260) and
al-Sakhawi, in A.J. Arberry, Sakhawiana: A Study Based on the
Chester Beatty Ms. Arab. 773 (London: Emery Walker Ltd., 1951,
p. 5-9).
20 In his notes to Nu`man al-Alusi's al-Ayat al-Bayyinat (p.
88).
21 Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 277).
22 In his notes on al-Qasimi's al-Mash `ala al-Jawrabayn (p.
38). On the hadith of Mu`adh see our May 1999 post titled, "[4]
Probativeness of the Sunna" and Note 5 in that post.
23 Tahrim Alat al-Tarab (p. 160).
24 Al-Qurtubi, Tafsir (7:191).
Wal-'Aqibatu lil-Muttaqin.
GF Haddad ©
Typical response by H.A.M., a 'Salafiy',
not caring much about the evidence put forward, as above:
Salaam,
What is all this nonsense on your website about refuting so and so??? Since when did the Prophet or his companions sit back behind the veil and slander their muslims brothers and sisters??? Where did you get this nonsense?
Fear Allah brother. A muslim does not attack his muslim brother/sister. Didn't the Prophet say the one who testifies there is no god except Allah his life is sacred? So if his life is sacred, what makes you think you can sit up and slander him? In the grave, will not Allah punish those who slandered/backbited? So what makes you slander the righteous scholars of the ummah?
Do you know their relationship with Allah? It maybe so that their relationship with Allah is far more firmer than yours or mine, so hold that tongue brother and Fear Allah.
Wa salaamu alaykum,
We are convinced that it is not slandering to say where one
scholar has failed and is wrong and that it is our duty to warn
the Muslims about it
for the safeguarding of our doctrin and our dîn.
Concerning this typical reaction Sidi GFH wrote the following:
“There are notable exceptions in the Law to the prohibition of slander, i.e. of saying something unpleasant but true.
From the strictest viewpoint of the Law, the Prophet
upon him blessings and peace, did mention someone's bad
characteristics to warn others of the danger they represented.
Another time he was reported to say: "Until when will you
refrain from mentioning the wrongdoer [for the wrong they do]?
Mention them so people can protect themselves from them!" or
something to that effect.
So the prohibition of slander and backbiting excludes those that make no effort whatsoever to hide their transgressions nor are they repentent.
Furthermore, Allah Most High said:
Allah does not like the announcing of evil in public speech except by one who has been wronged; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (4:148)
So the prohibition of slander and backbiting also excludes warning about a wrongdoer by someone that has been wronged.
Most relevantly here, such prohibition also excludes warning about innovators. As Imam Ahmad said, this is not backbiting nor slander but obligatory nasiha by and for those that truly fear Allah Most High, was-Salam.”
Hajj Gibril
