The meeting of Shaykh Al-Albani with Abdullah 'Azzam, two years after the Muslim Brotherhood's decision to boycott him, and the Shaykh's question to him about the reason for this boycott?
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The Shaykh : Until Abdullah 'Azzam himself came to the house and did not find me, so he went to Shaykh Ahmad 'Atiyyah's house and asked about me. They said: He might be at his daughter's husband's place. Indeed, I was at my son-in-law Nizam's place, and when the door was knocked on, he came with this Shaykh 'Ali as well.
The questioner : 'Ali al-Halabi?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : 'Ali al-Hum.
The Shaykh : 'Ali al-Shatri, do you know him?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So they entered upon me, and for the first time I met 'Azzam after that estrangement.
The questioner : War.
The Shaykh : Yes, he said: We came to the house and did not find you, and we went to Shaykh Ahmad's house. We waited there for two hours hoping you would meet us, so we could return with you to meet you. Finally, I was told that you might be here, so we came to you. We said to him: Good?
What happened?
He said: By Allah, I have questions.
I said to him, for the first time: Every question has a price, which is a trip, meaning you come to me for it, not that you come once and take all the answers to the questions at once. Every question and its answer is a trip.
The questioner : Allahu Akbar! Heh heh
The Shaykh : He was naturally surprised and said: Why?
I said: So that we understand what led you to issue that unjust decision?!
What did I do?!
He said: You declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.
I declared him a disbeliever?
He said: Yes.
I said: Did you hear that from me?
He said: No.
I said: Then what is your knowledge that I declared him a disbeliever?
He said: By Allah, I went to some of the youth and they said that Shaykh Al-Albani declares Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.
I said to him, meaning: When they conveyed this lie to you, you said: Amen, you believed them. Where are you and what do you claim of returning to the Book and the Sunnah? The Book says what is not hidden from anyone in the ummah (the Muslim community):[Al-Hujurat 49:6] What prevented you from verifying, while I am close to you? I am not now in Damascus, I am among you. So why did you not verify, but rather immediately believed the false news and built upon it the separation between Muslims?!
Although the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) also confirms the meaning of the verse in a truly wonderful way, saying:Riyad as-Salihin 1547 How did you hear this, and not only did you speak of it, but you built a decision upon it, considering that he is a member of the council.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : With the hadith, we entered into the fact that I did not declare Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever, but Sayyid Qutb spoke the word of disbelief, but we do not declare a person a disbeliever by the word of disbelief, because first: the argument was not established against him, nor was his attention drawn to what he said, and so on. He said: Where?
I said to him: In Surat al-Hadid and Surat al-Ikhlas.
He said: But in another place he says: That tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and the attributes, and so on, and he denies the unity of existence.
We said: It is possible, and therefore this is one of the reasons that prevent us from saying: He is a disbeliever. But his statement, or the meaning of his words: "That there is no existence of the Truth except the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He", and this is the speech of the Sufis, meaning: "There is no He except He", "Our existence is imaginary and the existence of the Divine is the real existence, and so on".
So the important thing is that we discussed this issue with him, and we answered some of his questions, and the man left.
The questioner : 'Ali al-Halabi?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : 'Ali al-Hum.
The Shaykh : 'Ali al-Shatri, do you know him?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So they entered upon me, and for the first time I met 'Azzam after that estrangement.
The questioner : War.
The Shaykh : Yes, he said: We came to the house and did not find you, and we went to Shaykh Ahmad's house. We waited there for two hours hoping you would meet us, so we could return with you to meet you. Finally, I was told that you might be here, so we came to you. We said to him: Good?
What happened?
He said: By Allah, I have questions.
I said to him, for the first time: Every question has a price, which is a trip, meaning you come to me for it, not that you come once and take all the answers to the questions at once. Every question and its answer is a trip.
The questioner : Allahu Akbar! Heh heh
The Shaykh : He was naturally surprised and said: Why?
I said: So that we understand what led you to issue that unjust decision?!
What did I do?!
He said: You declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.
I declared him a disbeliever?
He said: Yes.
I said: Did you hear that from me?
He said: No.
I said: Then what is your knowledge that I declared him a disbeliever?
He said: By Allah, I went to some of the youth and they said that Shaykh Al-Albani declares Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.
I said to him, meaning: When they conveyed this lie to you, you said: Amen, you believed them. Where are you and what do you claim of returning to the Book and the Sunnah? The Book says what is not hidden from anyone in the ummah (the Muslim community):
O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate
يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن جاءكم فاسق بنبأ فتبيَّنواAlthough the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) also confirms the meaning of the verse in a truly wonderful way, saying:
It is enough for a man to prove himself a liar when he goes on narrating whatever he hears.
كفى المرءَ كذبًا أن يحدث بكل ما سمعThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : With the hadith, we entered into the fact that I did not declare Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever, but Sayyid Qutb spoke the word of disbelief, but we do not declare a person a disbeliever by the word of disbelief, because first: the argument was not established against him, nor was his attention drawn to what he said, and so on. He said: Where?
I said to him: In Surat al-Hadid and Surat al-Ikhlas.
He said: But in another place he says: That tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and the attributes, and so on, and he denies the unity of existence.
We said: It is possible, and therefore this is one of the reasons that prevent us from saying: He is a disbeliever. But his statement, or the meaning of his words: "That there is no existence of the Truth except the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He", and this is the speech of the Sufis, meaning: "There is no He except He", "Our existence is imaginary and the existence of the Divine is the real existence, and so on".
So the important thing is that we discussed this issue with him, and we answered some of his questions, and the man left.