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Muhammad Nasir al-Din (Arabic: مُحَمَّد نَاصِر ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْأَلْبَانِي; Albanian: Muhamed Nasr ed-Din el-Albani; 1914 – 2 October 1999) also known as Al-Albani, was an Albanian Shaykh known for being a leading hadith scholar in the 20th-century. A major figure in Islamic history, he began his journey in Syria, where his family had moved prior and where he was educated as a child.
Al-Albani | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | Ebu Abdurrahman Muhamed bin el-Haxh Nuh bin Nexhati bin Adem Shkodrrani Arnauti 1914 |
| Died | 2 October 1999 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Parent | Nuh Najati |
| Era | Modern |
| Main interest(s) | |
| Occupation |
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| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Jurisprudence | Ahl al-Hadith |
| Creed | Athari |
| Movement | Salafi |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by
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Influenced
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Al-Albani had emphasised that in some cases, Islam allows obedience to the government of the country that a Muslim resides in. His profession was as a watchmaker. In his free time, he sought Islamic knowledge. Gradually and just by seeking Islamic knowledge, he became an expert in Hadith and its sciences. He then lectured widely in the Middle East, Spain and the United Kingdom on the Salafi movement consequently.
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Muhammad Nasir al-Din was born in 1914 in Shkodër, Albania.[1] His father, Nuh Najati, was a learned scholar of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam who had studied jurisprudence in Istanbul.[2] Fearing the rise of secularism during the rule of Zog I of Albania, Ahmed Muhtar Zogu, Najati separated his son from school in Albania.[3] At the age of nine in 1923, al-Albani and his family moved to Damascus, then found himself under French-occupied Syria.
In Damascus, he was taught the Qur'an, fiqh, and other topics by his father and several local shaykhs.[2] He learned the Arabic language from al-Is'af, a non-profit civil school where he was to be known as Al-Albani ("the Albanian") just after he dropped out of school and began to write.[4] Afterwards, he studied the renowned Hanafi book, Maraqi al-Falah of al-Shurunbulali (d. 1659) with his teacher, Sa'id al-Burhani.[5]
He studied the book Mukhtasar al-Quduri, which his native Syrian teachers helped to accomplish .[6]: 63 In the meantime, he earned a modest living as a carpenter before joining his father as a watchmaker.[citation needed][7]
Study
Despite his father's discouragement against hadith studies, al-Albani became interested in the Hadith, learning it at about twenty years of age, influenced by Muhammad Rashid Rida. Al-Albani's other teachers were Muhammad Bahjat al-Baytar, 'Izz al din al tanoukhi,Shaykh Sa'id al-Burhani,Ibn al Baghi etc.[6]: 63 [8]: 119 [9] who collectively led him to comment 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. Following this, he wrote a series of lectures and books, and published as well articles in the al-Manar magazine.[7] This work was the beginning of his career as a scholar, and for this book, he became known among the scholarly circles of Damascus. After a while, he began teaching two lessons per week about doctrine, Fiqh and Hadith, which were attended by students and university professors. Additionally, he 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, subsequently returning to Damascus.
Later life and death
In 1963, al-Albani left Saudi Arabia due to the hostility he felt 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.
Al-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.[citation needed] After Bin Baz's intervention with Saudi educational management, al-Albani was invited to Saudi Arabia a second time in order to serve as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca.[6]: 67
Al-Albani returned to Syria, and sometime later moved to Jordan, living there for the remainder of his time. He died in 1999 at the age of 85.[7] Al-Albani's wife was Umm al-Fadl.[10]
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Al-Albani was a proponent of Salafism, and is considered one of the movement's primary figureheads in the 20th century. Al-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).[11][12] Instead, he spent much of his life critically re-evaluating hadith literature and felt that numerous previously accepted hadiths were unsound.[12] This led him to produce rulings that were at odds with the Islamic majority.[12] Although Salafism has frequently been associated with Wahhabism, al-Albani distinguished between the two movements, and he criticized the latter while supporting the former. He had a complex relationship with each movement.[6]: 68 [8]: 220
Al-Albani was amongst some leading Salafi scholars who were preaching for decades against what they considered the warped literalism of extremists. 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."[13]
Al-Albani openly criticized Sayyid Qutb after the leader was executed. He claimed that Qutb had deviated in creed and held the belief of Oneness of Being. Further, al-Albani accused Hassan al-Banna, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, of not being a religious scholar and holding "positions contrary to the Sunna".[8]: 86
Formula for Salah (Prayer)
Al-Albani wrote a book in which he redefined the proper gestures and formula that constitute the Muslim prayer ritual abiding by the prophet Muhammad's teachings. These were contrary to the prescriptions of all established schools of jurisprudence.[14]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.[9]
Controversies
Al-Albani held a number of controversial views that ran counter to the wider Islamic consensus, and more specifically to Hanbali jurisprudence.[14] These include:
- his view that mihrabs – the niche found in mosques indicating the direction of Mecca – were bid'ah (innovation).[14]
- his view that it was permissible to pray in a mosque with one's shoes.[14]
- his call for Palestinians to leave the occupied territories since, according to him, they were unable to practice their faith there as they should.[8]: 87 [14] This view was also controversial within the Salafi movement.[15]
- his view that it is prohibited for women to wear gold bracelets.[16]
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Emad Hamdeh has described al-Albani as a "prolific scholar". He was the author of 217 books on various topics; such as hadith, fiqh, and creed.[17]
| 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-Sahiha | Volumes 1–11 | |
| Salat ut-Tarawih | Later an abridgment of this book was published by al-Albani – Qiyamu Ramadhan |
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