The Response to the Claim: You, O Salafis, Deny Taqlid (Blind Following), Yet You Follow Al-Albani When You Say: “Al-Albani Authenticated It, Graded It Good, or Graded It Weak”

The questioner : The questioner asks: How do you respond to those who say, “You, O Salafis, or the Salafis, deny taqlid (blind following), yet you follow Al-Albani when you say, ‘He authenticated it, graded it good, or graded it weak,’ even though he sometimes disagrees with the Imams of Hadith, such as Ibn Hajar, al-Dhahabi, and others?”

The Shaykh : Look, the question—I think you have heard it—is: What should a Muslim do if he finds that scholars have disagreed regarding a hadith, with some authenticating it and others grading it weak? He must, according to the method ofThe questioner : ...not follow blindly, either the one who authenticated it or the one who graded it weak. Then, he has no one before him to help him or clarify which of the two opinions is stronger. However, there was a man who was tested by the people and the people were tested by him; he dedicated his life to this knowledge. Some of the young Muslims became convinced that this man possessed a degree of this knowledge. So they callThe questioner : ...or point to the fact that these young people throughout the Islamic world claim that they are Salafis who do not follow blindly, yet here they are following Al-Albani. So, who are they following? They are following those who have died and left us with this disagreement. They must adopt one of the two opinions, whether it is authentic or weak. If a person is found who brings the point of disagreement closer to them, explains the reason for the weakening and the reason for the authentication, and then performs a process of preferring one opinion over the other; is this not better than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) providing them with a person who revives this knowledge for them, clarifies it for the young Muslims, and motivates them to act upon the science of hadith? I am not saying something new or revealing a secret—as it is said—thirty years ago, there was no scholar, writer, or orator in the Islamic world who would mention a hadith in his sermon, in his book, or in any field of knowledge and say, “Al-Bukhari narrated it and Muslim narrated it,” or “So-and-so narrated it and so-and-so authenticated it,” or if he brought a hadith and said, “Also, its chain is weak.” This was not mentioned at all in the entire Islamic world before a third of a century ago. But today, praise be to Allah, you find activity in caring for hadith and tracing it to its sources, and even some try to authenticate it without having reached the level of authentication and weakening. This means there is a very remarkable scientific movement in the Islamic world. The elderly among us, like myself, know this, but you are now living in a bubble of knowledge, namely the noble science of hadith.
In summary: We return to this question. They say they follow Al-Albani. We said that following is necessary—using his term. However, the scholars of Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) and Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), particularly Imam al-San'ani, the Prince al-San'ani, has a treatise titled “Taysir al-Ijtihad” (Facilitating Independent Legal Reasoning) or “In Taysir al-Ijtihad.” He mentions there that when a man hears a scholar say that a certain hadith is authentic, or that a certain hadith is weak; then one who has no knowledge must follow him. And this following is not taqlid (blind following), but rather itba' (following). He elaborates on this based on the science of hadith. The summary of that is: If a man tells you about a person you do not know, “This is a man of good conduct, there is no harm in associating with him,” and you obey him in this and go to associate with him, this is not called taqlid, but rather itba'. Taqlid is when you surrender the leadership of your mind and thinking to the one you follow without exerting effort, asking, “Is this a knowledgeable man? Is he truthful in what he transmits?” That is taqlid, when you close your eyes, because taqlid—as the scholars say—is derived from what? From the qaladah (necklace), as if you are removing the necklace from your neck and putting it on his neck, and everything is finished. And this is the nature of the followers. And tonight, on the occasion of the previous research into the verse , we heard from one of the scholars that there is no objection to taking out zakah and giving it for the construction of mosques, or the construction of hospitals. He mentioned a well-known athar (report), and I mentioned it in “Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah wa al-Mawdu'ah” (The Chain of Weak and Fabricated Hadiths): “Whoever follows a scholar will meet Allah in a safe state.” So, what did he do? He followed this scholar. He simply said, “That is it, that is enough,” as if he is with the text and submits completely.
It is not the case for one who tries to verify that this man who says this is haram (forbidden), or says this is halal (lawful), or says a hadith is authentic or weak, tries to be certain of him. Is he proficient in this knowledge? Is there, for example, a scope for discussing it, or is there no scope? After he becomes reassured, he follows him. So, he is not called a muqallid (one who follows blindly) as mentioned in the questionThe questioner : ...but if he is not convinced of this because he is not, of course, from the people of knowledge; then I say to him, what do you do? You follow blindly, and these people follow blindly, but these people follow with some insight. As for you, as we see many people today, they say according to this scholar’s opinion without evidence, and tomorrow they say according to that scholar’s opinion without evidence. But evidence leads you to following the truth, wherever it is, whether it is for you or against you.
This is what was facilitated in answering the questions presented. And I ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to grant us and you success in the truth and following it wherever it is and with whomever it is.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

The questioner : In the end, we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to benefit us with what we have heard. And we say that if every call (da'wah) has distinguishing features, then the Salafi call is distinguished by the fact that it is the only one that has written on tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and explaining shirk (associating partners with Allah) and deviation. And it is the only one—also—whose scholars, past and present, have written on authentication and weakening. We have not read for any of the other existing calls a book that is considered authoritative in matters of tawhid and shirk, or in matters of authentication and weakening. And this is from the favor of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) upon us. May Allah reward you with good.