Translator’s Introduction, and the Date of Birth of Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him).
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Al-Huwayni: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for what follows:
These five tapes are a brief biography of our Shaykh al-Albani. A few years ago, I had resolved to write a biography of our aforementioned Shaykh. The most important aspect of it was mentioning the issues on which our Shaykh differed with the scholars of his time, and then stating the stronger position among them according to the principles, without bias toward any one party. I mentioned this in detail regarding our Shaykh, and it was well received, praise be to Allah the Exalted. However, a biography must include information about the subject, such as his birth, his progression in seeking knowledge, and the like. This prompted me to state this to our Shaykh; he initially refused, claiming that our brother al-Shaybani, who is from Kuwait, had written a biography of him in a large book that I was told is close to five hundred pages. I said to him in jest: “Descending is ill-omened, and I want to ascend, for I dislike narrating from you through an intermediary.” He agreed. I bear witness to Allah the Exalted that no one has ever been described to me except that I found the description greater than the person described, except for our Shaykh al-Albani; for I found him greater than the description. He treated me very well and brought me close to him, until he said to me: “You have been granted what has not been granted to others.” This is recorded on the eighth tape of the issues. And naturally, these tapes did not encompass his life,The Shaykh : but are only some glimpses of his life, may Allah the Exalted preserve him, and may He delight the Muslims with his long life.
Said with his own tongue, Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni al-Asyari. May Allah the Exalted treat him with His hidden kindness.
...
Can we take advantage of this time when we are alone, apart from the rest of the [group], for this biography, for example?
The Shaykh : In any case, as I told you, while you are preparing for us to break our fast.
Please proceed.
Al-Huwayni: Regarding the date of birth, my Shaykh? I mean, what year?
The Shaykh : Naturally, we have nothing to rely on for this dating except what is called the memory aid, or the identity card, or the passport. The recorded date, including 1914 by the Christian calendar, is this.
These five tapes are a brief biography of our Shaykh al-Albani. A few years ago, I had resolved to write a biography of our aforementioned Shaykh. The most important aspect of it was mentioning the issues on which our Shaykh differed with the scholars of his time, and then stating the stronger position among them according to the principles, without bias toward any one party. I mentioned this in detail regarding our Shaykh, and it was well received, praise be to Allah the Exalted. However, a biography must include information about the subject, such as his birth, his progression in seeking knowledge, and the like. This prompted me to state this to our Shaykh; he initially refused, claiming that our brother al-Shaybani, who is from Kuwait, had written a biography of him in a large book that I was told is close to five hundred pages. I said to him in jest: “Descending is ill-omened, and I want to ascend, for I dislike narrating from you through an intermediary.” He agreed. I bear witness to Allah the Exalted that no one has ever been described to me except that I found the description greater than the person described, except for our Shaykh al-Albani; for I found him greater than the description. He treated me very well and brought me close to him, until he said to me: “You have been granted what has not been granted to others.” This is recorded on the eighth tape of the issues. And naturally, these tapes did not encompass his life,The Shaykh : but are only some glimpses of his life, may Allah the Exalted preserve him, and may He delight the Muslims with his long life.
Said with his own tongue, Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni al-Asyari. May Allah the Exalted treat him with His hidden kindness.
...
Can we take advantage of this time when we are alone, apart from the rest of the [group], for this biography, for example?
The Shaykh : In any case, as I told you, while you are preparing for us to break our fast.
Please proceed.
Al-Huwayni: Regarding the date of birth, my Shaykh? I mean, what year?
The Shaykh : Naturally, we have nothing to rely on for this dating except what is called the memory aid, or the identity card, or the passport. The recorded date, including 1914 by the Christian calendar, is this.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.