Al-Albani

Muhammad b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Nijati b. Adam al-Ishqudri al-Albani al-Arnauti (Arabic: مُحَمَّد نَاصِر ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْأَلْبَانِي الأرنؤوط), better known simply as Al-Albani (August 16, 1914 – October 2, 1999), was an Albanian-born Islamic scholar and watchmaker, who in particular was a famous Salafi hadith scholar.[2][3] A major figure of the Salafi methodology of Islam,[4] he established his reputation in Syria, where his family had moved and where he was educated as a child.[5]

Muḥammad Nāṣir ad-Dīn al-Albānī
مُحَمَّد نَاصِر ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْأَلْبَانِي
TitleShāykh al-Īslām[1]
Personal
BornAugust 16, 1914
Shkodër, Albania
DiedOctober 2, 1999 (aged 85)
Amman, Jordan
ReligionIslam
NationalityAlbanian
EraModern
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceAhl al-Hadith/Ijtihad
CreedAthari
MovementSalafi
Main interest(s)Hadith
Aqidah
Occupation
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
AwardsKing Faisal International Prize (in 1999)

Al-Albani did not advocate violence, preferring quietism and obedience to established governments.[6][7] A watchmaker by trade, Al-Albani was active as a writer, publishing chiefly on ahadith and its sciences. He also lectured widely in the Middle East, Spain and the United Kingdom on the Salafist movement.

Biography

Early life

Albani was born in 1914, into a poor Muslim Albanian family in the city of Shkodër, whom spoke Albanian in the Gheg dialect. His father studied Fiqh in Istanbul, and was a leading scholar of the Hanafi School of Thought in Albania.[8][9] During the reign of the secularist Albanian leader Ahmet Zogu, and because Shkodër was completely devastated by earlier Montenegrin sieges, al-Albani's family migrated to Damascus, Syria. In Damascus, al-Albani completed his primary education in Al Isaaf Charity School with distinction, and due to his father's opinions from religious viewpoint, he created a curriculum for him focusing on religious education. He was initially taught by his father in the Quran, Tajwid, and Al Nahwah. He memorized the Quran, and studied numerous books such as 'Mukhtasar Al Quduri'. Hanafi Fiqh and further branches of the Islamic faith, also helped by native Syrian scholars.[10]: 63  In the meantime, he earned a modest living as a carpenter before joining his father as a watchmaker.

Study

Despite his father's systematic guidance to him imitating Hanafi School of Thought and his strong warning against studying the Hadith, he became interested in the Hadith, therefore he learned the Hadith at about twenty years of age, influenced by the al-Manar magazine founded by Muhammad Rashid Rida. Though he was taught by Muhammad Bahjat al 'Atar,'Izz al din al tanoukhi,Shaykh Saeed al Burhani,Ibn al Baghi etc.[10]: 63 [11]: 119 [12] he transcribed and commented on Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi's Al-Mughnee 'an-hamlil-Asfar fil-Asfar fee takhrej maa fil-lhyaa min al-Akhbar. He followed this writing a series of lectures and books, as well as publishing articles in the al-Manar magazine.[9] That work was the beginning of al-Albani's scholarly career, and for this book he became known in the scholarly circles of Damascus, and library allocated him a special room to carry out his research, and gave him a duplicate key of the library. After a while, he began teaching two lessons per week about doctrine, Fiqh and Hadith. His lessons were attended by students and university professors. He also began organizing advocacy trips to various cities of Syria and Jordan. Then, he obtained a leave from Muhammad Rabegh Al Tabakh, to profess Hadith in Islamic University of Madinah from 1381 until 1383 AH, and then he returned to Damascus to complete his studies, and to his work in the library, where he left his place for one of his brothers.

His teachers

The most important teacher of Albani was his father. Moreover, he studied under Muhammad Saeed Al Burhani; where he studied a book named 'Maraqi Al Falah' on Hanafi Jurisprudence, and 'Shadoor Al Dhahab', a book on Arabic Grammar, and some other contemporary books on rhetoric. He also used to attend the lessons of Muhammad Bahjat Al 'Atar, scholar of levant. His other teachers were 'Izz al Din al Tanoukhi and Ibn al Baghi.

Later life and death

Starting in 1954, Albani began delivering informal weekly lessons. By 1960, his popularity began to worry the government, and he was placed under surveillance. He was imprisoned twice in 1969.[13] He was placed under house arrest more than once in the 1970s by the Ba'ath regime of Hafez al-Assad.[13][14] The Syrian government accused Albani of "promoting the Wahhabi da'wa, which distorted Islam and confused Muslims."[14]

After a number of his works were published, Albani was invited to teach ahadith at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia by the university's then-vice president, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz.[15] Shortly upon his arrival, Albani angered the Wahhabi elite in Saudi Arabia, who did not like his anti-traditionalist stances in Muslim jurisprudence. They were alarmed by Albani's intellectual challenges to the ruling Hanbali school of law but were unable to challenge him openly due to his popularity. When Albani wrote a book supporting his view that the niqab, or full face-veil, was not a binding obligation upon Muslim women, he caused a minor uproar in the country. His opponents ensured that his contract with the university was allowed to lapse without renewal.[10]: 66 

In 1963, Albani left Saudi Arabia and returned to his studies and work in the Az-Zahiriyah library in Syria. He left his watch shop in the hands of one of his brothers.

Albani visited various countries for preaching and lectures – amongst them Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He moved a number of times between Syria and a couple of cities in Jordan. He also lived in the UAE. After Bin Baz's intervention with Saudi educational management, Albani was invited to Saudi Arabia a second time in order to serve as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca.[10]: 67  This did not last due to controversy among the Saudi establishment regarding Albani's views.

Albani returned to Syria, where he was briefly jailed again in 1979. He moved to Jordan, living there for the remainder of his time. He died in 1999 at the age of 85.[9]

Views

Albani was a proponent of Salafism, and is considered one of the movement's primary figureheads in the 20th century. Albani criticized the four mainstream schools of Islamic law and rejected the traditional Sunni view that Muslims should automatically turn to a madhhab for fiqh (jurisprudence).[16][17] Instead, he spent much of his life critically re-evaluating hadith literature and felt that numerous previously accepted hadiths were unsound.[17] This led him to produce rulings that were at odds with the Islamic majority.[17] Although Salafism has frequently been associated with Wahhabism, Albani distinguished between the two movements, and he criticized the latter while supporting the former. He had a complex relationship to each movement.[10]: 68 [11]: 220 

Albani was amongst some leading Salafi scholars who were preaching for decades against what they considered the warped literalism of extremists. Politically they were quietists who rejected vigilantism and rebellion against the state. They believed that Muslims should focus on purifying their beliefs and practice and that, in time, "God would bring victory over the forces of falsehood and unbelief."[18]

Albani's own views on jurisprudence and dogma have been a matter of debate and discussion. During a 1989 visit to Saudi Arabia, Albani was asked if he adhered to the lesser-known Zahiri school of Islamic law; he responded affirmatively.[19] Albani's opponents among the mainstream have affirmed this as a point of criticism. A number of Albani's students have denied his association with any formal school of jurisprudence.

Albani openly criticized Syed Qutb after the leader was executed. He claimed that Qutb had deviated in creed and held the belief of Oneness of Being. Further, Albani accused Hassan al-Banna, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, of not being a religious scholar and holding "positions contrary to the Sunna".[11]: 86 

Formula for Salah (Prayer)

Albani wrote a book in which he redefined the proper gestures and formula that constitute the Muslim prayer ritual "According to the Prophet's sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallams practice." These were contrary to the prescriptions of all established schools of jurisprudence.[20]

As he argued that several details of the concrete prayer that have been taught from generation to generation were based on dubious hadith, his book caused considerable controversy.[12] Albani's descriptions for the performance of the Tahajjud and Taraweeh prayers deviated considerably from established practice.[12]

Controversies

Albani held a number of controversial views that ran counter to the wider Islamic consensus, and more specifically to Hanbali jurisprudence.[20] These include:

  • his view that mihrabs – the niche found in mosques indicating the direction of Mecca – were bid'ah (innovation).[20]
  • his view that it was permissible to pray in a mosque with one's shoes.[20]
  • his call for Palestinians to leave the occupied territories since, according to him, they were unable to practice their faith there as they should.[11]: 87 [20] This view was also controversial within the Salafi movement.[21]
  • his view that it is prohibited for women to wear gold bracelets.[22]
  • his view that it was not necessary for women to cover their faces.[22] was controversial specifically within the Salafi community. “However, wearing the Niqab is better”. Sheikh Al-Albani said: “Whoever adheres to the obligation, it is good enough; and whoever does the recommendation, it is better.” (Jilbab Ul-Mar’at Il-Muslimah, p. 28, which is a Preface to the 2nd Edition)[23]
  • his view that the Muslim ruler must be from the tribe of Quraysh.[24]

Criticism

Albani's critics amongst the clerical and intellectual classes consisted of various theological and political opponents. These included:

  • In the early 1970s, Syrian hadith scholar Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda (d. 1997) published a tract against al-Albani's revaluation of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.[25]
  • The Egyptian hadith scholar Mahmud Sa'id Mamduh, who studied with 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda and 'Abdallah b. al-Siddiq al-Ghumari. Mamduh has written at least four rebuttals of al-Albani's work on different subjects. In 1987, published a work entitled Alerting the Muslim to al-Albani's Transgression upon Sahih Muslim.[25] He stated that:[26]

Indeed, I have concluded that his methods disagree with those of the jurists and hadith scholars, and that his methods are creating great disarray and evident disruption in the proofs of jurisprudence both generally and specifically. He lacks trust in the Imams of law and hadith, as well as in the rich hadith and law tradition handed down to us, in which the umma has taken great pride.[26]

Works

Emad Hamdeh has described Albani as a "prolific scholar". He was the author of 217 books on various topics; such as hadith, fiqh, and creed.[33]

Albani's works in Fields of hadith and its sciences
Title Volumes Description
At-Targhib wa't-Tarhib Volumes 1–4
At-Tasfiyah wa't-Tarbiyah
At-Tawassulu: Anwa'uhu wa Ahkamuhu Tawassul: Its Types & Its Rulings) (link to english translation)
Irwa al-Ghalil Volumes 1–9
Talkhis Ahkam al-Jana'iz
Sahih wa Da'if Sunan Abu Dawood Volumes 1–4
Sahih wa Da'if Sunan at-Tirmidhi Volumes 1–4
Sahih wa Da'if Sunan Ibn Majah Volumes 1–4
Al-Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah Sharh wa Ta'liq
Sifatu Salati An-Nabiyy (link to English translation)
Silsalat al-Hadith ad-Da'ifah Volumes 1–14
Silsalat al-Hadith as-Sahihah Volumes 1–11
Salat ut-Tarawih Later an abridgment of this book was published by al-Albani – Qiyamu Ramadhan

See also

References
  1. Ayd al-Hilali Abu Usamah, Selim Ibn (2012). Al-Imam al-Albani Shaykh al-Islam wa Imam Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah Fee 'Ayoon A'alaam al-'Ulamaa' wa Fahool al-Adabaa' [Imam Al-Albani, Sheikh al-Islam and Imam of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, in the eyes of notable scholars and virtuous writers]. Dar Al-Imaam Ahmad. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021.
  2. Gauvain, Richard (2015). Salafi Ritual Purity. Routledge. ISBN 9780710313560.
  3. Mustafa, Abdul-Rahman, and Mustafa Abdul Rahman. On Taqlid: Ibn Al Qayyim's Critique of Authority in Islamic Law. Oxford University Press, 2013. p.10
  4. Lauzière, Henri (2015). "Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century". The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century. Columbia University Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780231540179. JSTOR 10.7312/lauz17550 – via De Gruyter.
  5. Hamdeh, Emad (July 2016). "The Formative Years of an Iconoclastic Salafi Scholar". The Muslim World. 106 (3): 411–432. doi:10.1111/muwo.12157. ISSN 0027-4909.
  6. Haykel, Bernard (2009). "Salafī Groups". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001. ISBN 9780195305135.
  7. Adis Duderija (January 2010). "Constructing the religious Self and the Other: neo-traditional Salafi manhaj". Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations. Vol. 21, no. 1. pp. 75–93. Retrieved May 23, 2019. In addition, Salafism is a term that has a broader base in Islamic tradition and is more encompassing than Ahl-Hadith, which has more sectarian implications. Among the most influential exponents of NTS are some contemporary Middle Eastern Muslim scholars such as Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1999), 'Abd al-'Aziz bin Baz (d. 1999), Muhammad Salih al-'Uthaymin (d. 2001), and Yahya al-Hajuri, to name but a few, who held senior positions on religious councils responsible for issuing fatwas (legal opinions) and/or were lecturers in Islamic sciences at traditional Islamic institutions such as the Universities of Medina and Riyadh.
  8. Joas Wagemakers (2016). Salafism in Jordan: Political Islam in a Quietist Community. Cambridge, the UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-10716-366-9.
  9. Sheikh Mohammad Nasir Ad-Din Al-Albani, King Faisal International Prize official website. Accessed November 26, 2014.
  10. Meijer, Roel (October 1, 2009). Global Salafism: Islam's new religious movement. New York, the USA: C. Hurst & Co., Columbia University Press. pp. 63–68. ISBN 9781850659792. In this way he became a self-taught expert on Islam, learning from the books rather than the ulema. One of his biographers even states that al-Albani was distinguished in religious circles by how few ijazats (certificates) he possessed.
  11. Lacroix, Stephane; Holoch, George (August 15, 2011). Awakening Islam. Harvard University Press. pp. 68–220. ISBN 978-0-6740-6107-1.
  12. Bruinessen, Martin van; Allievi, Stefano (June 17, 2013). Producing Islamic Knowledge: Transmission and Dissemination in Western Europe. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-1369-3286-1.
  13. Jacob Olidort (February 2015), The Politics of "Quietist" Salafism, Brookings Institution, p. 14
  14. Abu Rumman, Mohammad; Abu Hanieh, Hassan (2011). Jordanian Salafism: A Strategy for the "Islamization of Society"and an Ambiguous Relationship with the State (PDF). Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-6740-4964-2. Dec 2010
  15. Thomas Hegghammer; Stéphane Lacroix (February 2007). "Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-ʿUtaybi Revisited". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 39 (1): 109. JSTOR 4129114.
  16. Hamdeh, Emad (June 9, 2017). "Qurʾān and Sunna or the Madhhabs?: A Salafi Polemic Against Islamic Legal Tradition". Islamic Law and Society. 24 (3): 211–253. doi:10.1163/15685195-00240A01. ISSN 1568-5195.
  17. Inge, Anabel (January 1, 2016). The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman: Paths to Conversion. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780-1-9061-1675.
  18. A. C. Brown, Jonathan (2014). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications. p. 129. ISBN 978-1780744209.
  19. Al-Albani (1989), Shareet al-Khobar, Khobar, Saudi Arabia{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  20. Stephane Lacroix (Spring 2008), Al-Albani's Revolutionary Approach to Hadith (PDF), Leiden University's ISIM Review, p. 6, archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2017, retrieved February 13, 2013
  21. Batrawi, Samar (October 28, 2015). "What ISIS Talks About When It Talks About Palestine". Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  22. Brown, Jonathan (June 5, 2007). The Canonization of Al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon. Brill. p. 325. ISBN 978-9004158399.
  23. "Niqab Sunnah or Wajib – Face Cover Mandatory or Prescribed – Can I Take My Niqab off – PDF". July 2020.
  24. Kahn, Jonathan; Lloyd, Vincent (March 22, 2016). Race and Secularism in America. Columbia University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-2315-4127-5.
  25. Brown, Jonathan (June 5, 2007). The Canonization of Al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon. Brill. p. 327. ISBN 978-9004158399.
  26. Brown, Jonathan (June 5, 2007). The Canonization of Al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon. Brill. p. 328. ISBN 978-9004158399.
  27. Cook, David (September 1, 2015). Understanding Jihad. University of California Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-5209-6249-1.
  28. Pierret, Thomas (March 25, 2013). Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-1070-2641-4.
  29. Jonathan Brown (2007). The Canonization of Al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon. Brill Publishers. p. 325. ISBN 978-9004158399.
  30. Jocelyne Cesari (2007). Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States, Volume 1. Greenwood Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780313336263.
  31. Lav, Daniel (February 29, 2012). Radical Islam and the Revival of Medieval Theology. Cambridge University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-1070-0964-6.
  32. Brachman, Jarret M. (September 3, 2008). Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice. Routledge. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-1340-5541-8.
  33. Hamdeh, Emad (2021). Salafism and Traditionalism: Scholarly Authority in Modern Islam. Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-108-61836-6. A prolific scholar, he authored 217 books on various topics such as ḥadīth, fiqh, and creed.

Further reading
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