Many people ask, in surprise, how Shaykh Al-Albani retracted his grading of some hadiths as weak in *Da'if al-Jami'* and reclassified them as authentic?
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The questioner : Many people say, how did Shaykh Al-Albani retract his grading of some hadiths as weak in *Da'if al-Jami'* and reclassify them as authentic?
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah... Why does so-and-so make a mistake? Why is he lenient?
The questioner : No, no ...
The Shaykh :"Take me with your gentleness" They say in our region of Sham, why is so-and-so strict and why is so-and-so lenient?
My answer was very brief. I said, because he is a human being, and of course he makes mistakes. This answer, as they also say in our region of Sham, "does not satisfy the people", meaning it does not quench their thirst. But the detail, my brother, is that he established a principle, like Ibn Hibban, for example, "that the default status of Muslims is integrity". So I consider this principle and proceed according to it, unless it becomes clear to me that it is otherwise, such as when there are narrations of anomalous reports from famous narrators, as he phrased it, and so on. In that case, I depart from this principle.
Yes, this principle that he adopted can be applied to witnesses, for whom it is not required that they memorize what they received from hadiths or narrations, and so on. This principle upon which he built his derivations is incorrect. So the matter comes back to the fact that he is a human being who makes mistakes. This is not specific to Ibn Hibban or Al-Albani or Alexander or whoever it is; this is the nature of human beings.
But given that this is the nature of human beings, is it better that Al-Albani cover up for himself so that people do not talk about him and say that he is not to be trusted in his speech because his opinion changes overnight?
My brother, this is the truth that every person must acknowledge. First of all, and do we not have a good example in the previous Imams, especially the Imam of the Sunnah, Imam Ahmad? In a single issue, you find many opinions from him himself. What does this mean? He had an opinion, then a second opinion became clear to him, then a third opinion became clear to him. Yes, this is knowledge. Knowledge is not that when I realize my mistake, I persist in it and be stubborn against everyone and say: "A spear, even if it is long". This is not what should be done.
So your saying that people will say such and such, let them say it until they are satisfied, and I am still on this path of truth that our Lord has made clear to me.
And we ask Allah to keep us and you firm upon the firm word in this worldly life and in the Hereafter.
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah... Why does so-and-so make a mistake? Why is he lenient?
The questioner : No, no ...
The Shaykh :"Take me with your gentleness" They say in our region of Sham, why is so-and-so strict and why is so-and-so lenient?
My answer was very brief. I said, because he is a human being, and of course he makes mistakes. This answer, as they also say in our region of Sham, "does not satisfy the people", meaning it does not quench their thirst. But the detail, my brother, is that he established a principle, like Ibn Hibban, for example, "that the default status of Muslims is integrity". So I consider this principle and proceed according to it, unless it becomes clear to me that it is otherwise, such as when there are narrations of anomalous reports from famous narrators, as he phrased it, and so on. In that case, I depart from this principle.
Yes, this principle that he adopted can be applied to witnesses, for whom it is not required that they memorize what they received from hadiths or narrations, and so on. This principle upon which he built his derivations is incorrect. So the matter comes back to the fact that he is a human being who makes mistakes. This is not specific to Ibn Hibban or Al-Albani or Alexander or whoever it is; this is the nature of human beings.
But given that this is the nature of human beings, is it better that Al-Albani cover up for himself so that people do not talk about him and say that he is not to be trusted in his speech because his opinion changes overnight?
My brother, this is the truth that every person must acknowledge. First of all, and do we not have a good example in the previous Imams, especially the Imam of the Sunnah, Imam Ahmad? In a single issue, you find many opinions from him himself. What does this mean? He had an opinion, then a second opinion became clear to him, then a third opinion became clear to him. Yes, this is knowledge. Knowledge is not that when I realize my mistake, I persist in it and be stubborn against everyone and say: "A spear, even if it is long". This is not what should be done.
So your saying that people will say such and such, let them say it until they are satisfied, and I am still on this path of truth that our Lord has made clear to me.
And we ask Allah to keep us and you firm upon the firm word in this worldly life and in the Hereafter.