Some people say: There is a fifth school of thought, namely the Al-Albani school and Al-Albanism?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
First, Shaykh, I ask your permission to offer a preamble. We ask Allah that I be sincere in it. It is that I speak about myself, and I believe this is the case with most of my brothers present here... We love you for the sake of Allah, and we consider you among those who have most supported the Sunnah in this time and spread knowledge. Out of our love for clarifying the truth and defending a Muslim brother as a Muslim defends his brother; out of our love for that, problems are presented to us. Namely, that many or few of the students of knowledge who studied under your hand, whether directly or indirectly through books, tapes, and other means, attribute statements to you and use certain methods, saying, "So-and-so said that..."The Shaykh : So-and-so did that.The Shaykh : So-and-so did that. For example, your eminence—may Allah reward you with good—responds to some of the people of innovation in a manner they deserve, indeed they deserve more than that. Then some who claim to be your students come and say, "Our Shaykh did that..."The Shaykh : So-and-so did that, and they use this manner in places where it does not belong, and they attribute it to you. Far be it from you to treat a Muslim, let alone a scholar or a student of knowledge, in a manner he does not deserve in terms of argument and severity. Out of love for you, by Allah, and our desire to clarify the truth, please direct a word on this matter so that... as we hear now, especially in this town, what is being spread among some students of knowledge: they say there is a fifth school of thought, the Al-Albani school and Al-Albanism, and that there are people who follow a school, the Al-Albanis. This word bothers us. And you, as our father and as one whose favor upon us with knowledge is great, we ask you to give a word on this matter. May Allah reward you with good, and excuse me for my length?
The Shaykh : I think that such an issue does not require such importance. That is because the Qur'anic principle says:[An-Najm 53:36-39]. So if someone other than me errs among those who attribute themselves to me, whether directly or through books; that matter is as he (peace be upon him) said to Abu Rammathah when he saw him with his son, he said: . He said: My son. He said: Sunan Ibn Majah 2671Sahih (Darussalam). So I do not harm others with my bad manner, nor do others harm me with their bad manner. Then those who argue that I am sometimes harsh in my response; this is a refuted argument. Because in most cases I am not harsh, but I follow the path that Allah commanded us to follow, such as His saying: [An-Nahl 16:125].
And wisdom is to place gentleness in its place and severity in its place. So if a person imitates my severity and places it where it does not belong, and then imitates me in that I am a human being, not infallible, nor as they say, "protected"—in the expression of the Syrians—rather I am a human among these humans, I err and I hit the mark. And I hope Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will forgive me for my errors and my intentional acts, all of which are with me.
As for attributing oneself to me, this is a matter we forbid. Because we do not permit attributing oneself to those who are better than us, the Imams and the Caliphs. Rather, we attribute ourselves to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Recently, one of the brothers said to me: They say about us that we are Al-Albanis. So I said to him: Tell them: We are Muhammadiyyun (followers of Muhammad). And Al-Albani is not permissible to be paired with the Messenger (peace be upon him). And if we did this, we would have gone astray in a far-reaching way.
We establish a methodology in following the Book and the Sunnah, and we try to bring that close to people. And it is not upon us after that to say, "Follow Zayd or Bakr or 'Umar," for all of them point to the correct methodology. And therefore, we forbid all Muslims to be partisan for a man other than Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); because he is the one who was described by His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):[An-Najm 53:3-4].
And in reality, I acknowledge that I am a student of knowledge, and that I am a non-Arab, and that much of the understanding of the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) may be missed by me. But at the same time, I strive to understand the truth and follow it. So if I hit the mark, it is from Allah, and if I err, it is from myself. And for this reason—for this reality that I acknowledge, and that we err and hit the mark—we do not permit any of our brothers to attribute themselves to me, or to imitate me blindly. And I would prefer that one of my brothers oppose me, and he is in error in his independent legal reasoning, over him following me blindly and hitting the mark in his imitation. Perhaps this word is understood, if Allah wills.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : Is there anything else, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Perhaps this is sufficient as an answer to that question. So whoever truly attributes himself to me, we disavow him. And it is not permissible to attribute oneself except to Allah and His Messenger as a methodology and as a person, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who is infallible and surrounded by correctness always and forever.
Another questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
First, Shaykh, I ask your permission to offer a preamble. We ask Allah that I be sincere in it. It is that I speak about myself, and I believe this is the case with most of my brothers present here... We love you for the sake of Allah, and we consider you among those who have most supported the Sunnah in this time and spread knowledge. Out of our love for clarifying the truth and defending a Muslim brother as a Muslim defends his brother; out of our love for that, problems are presented to us. Namely, that many or few of the students of knowledge who studied under your hand, whether directly or indirectly through books, tapes, and other means, attribute statements to you and use certain methods, saying, "So-and-so said that..."The Shaykh : So-and-so did that.The Shaykh : So-and-so did that. For example, your eminence—may Allah reward you with good—responds to some of the people of innovation in a manner they deserve, indeed they deserve more than that. Then some who claim to be your students come and say, "Our Shaykh did that..."The Shaykh : So-and-so did that, and they use this manner in places where it does not belong, and they attribute it to you. Far be it from you to treat a Muslim, let alone a scholar or a student of knowledge, in a manner he does not deserve in terms of argument and severity. Out of love for you, by Allah, and our desire to clarify the truth, please direct a word on this matter so that... as we hear now, especially in this town, what is being spread among some students of knowledge: they say there is a fifth school of thought, the Al-Albani school and Al-Albanism, and that there are people who follow a school, the Al-Albanis. This word bothers us. And you, as our father and as one whose favor upon us with knowledge is great, we ask you to give a word on this matter. May Allah reward you with good, and excuse me for my length?
The Shaykh : I think that such an issue does not require such importance. That is because the Qur'anic principle says:
(36) Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses (37) And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] - (38) That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another (39) And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى * وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى * أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى * وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىWho is this?
من هذا ؟You will not be punished because of his crime and he will not be punished because of yours.
أما إنه لا تجني عليه ولا يجني عليكInvite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction
ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِAnd wisdom is to place gentleness in its place and severity in its place. So if a person imitates my severity and places it where it does not belong, and then imitates me in that I am a human being, not infallible, nor as they say, "protected"—in the expression of the Syrians—rather I am a human among these humans, I err and I hit the mark. And I hope Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will forgive me for my errors and my intentional acts, all of which are with me.
As for attributing oneself to me, this is a matter we forbid. Because we do not permit attributing oneself to those who are better than us, the Imams and the Caliphs. Rather, we attribute ourselves to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Recently, one of the brothers said to me: They say about us that we are Al-Albanis. So I said to him: Tell them: We are Muhammadiyyun (followers of Muhammad). And Al-Albani is not permissible to be paired with the Messenger (peace be upon him). And if we did this, we would have gone astray in a far-reaching way.
We establish a methodology in following the Book and the Sunnah, and we try to bring that close to people. And it is not upon us after that to say, "Follow Zayd or Bakr or 'Umar," for all of them point to the correct methodology. And therefore, we forbid all Muslims to be partisan for a man other than Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); because he is the one who was described by His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):
(3) Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. (4) It is not but a revelation revealed,
وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى * إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىAnd in reality, I acknowledge that I am a student of knowledge, and that I am a non-Arab, and that much of the understanding of the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) may be missed by me. But at the same time, I strive to understand the truth and follow it. So if I hit the mark, it is from Allah, and if I err, it is from myself. And for this reason—for this reality that I acknowledge, and that we err and hit the mark—we do not permit any of our brothers to attribute themselves to me, or to imitate me blindly. And I would prefer that one of my brothers oppose me, and he is in error in his independent legal reasoning, over him following me blindly and hitting the mark in his imitation. Perhaps this word is understood, if Allah wills.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : Is there anything else, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Perhaps this is sufficient as an answer to that question. So whoever truly attributes himself to me, we disavow him. And it is not permissible to attribute oneself except to Allah and His Messenger as a methodology and as a person, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who is infallible and surrounded by correctness always and forever.
Another questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.