The Shaykh Al-Albani’s mention of the story of his discussion with a Lebanese Maronite priest.

The Shaykh : Perhaps it is fitting to mention on this occasion a story that occurred between me and a Lebanese Maronite priest.
The student: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. Once, a journey from Damascus to Mada’a with some young men brought me together with him on a train. When the train left the Hijaz Station, it stopped shortly after at al-Baramekah. Do you know al-Baramekah, Doctor? Or do you not know Damascus well?

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : This area is not far from the train’s starting point, which is the Hijaz Station, only a short distance to pick up passengers. When the train stopped, some people got on. One of the young men who were with me came to me, whispered in my ear, and said, “A Maronite priest just got on.” I understood what he meant; his demeanor was saying, “Deal with him.” I asked where he had entered, and they told me he was in another room. I was actually sitting in this corner. When I went in, I found him sitting there. I did not think it wise to sit facing him for fear of provoking him, so I sat far away from him. Then I sat thinking about how to start a discussion with him. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent the opportunity: one of the young men from that area, whom we had known before, got on. I knew he had married his wife very recently, but the young men with me did not know this. I seized the opportunity and said to him, “I congratulate you with what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to congratulate his Companions with. So I say to you: . And I do not congratulate you with the congratulations of the first age of ignorance or the age of ignorance of the twentieth century. I do not say to you, ‘May you have prosperity and sons,’ as is the custom in the newspapers with a big headline.”

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Then I went on to explain some of the merits of Islam. I was observing the priest’s facial expressions until I felt he was full and about to overflow, so I fell silent. He started to speak, but, glory to Allah, he was not on the right track. The story is long, very long, because it continued from that station to Mada’a, meaning half an hour by train and more. But the point is what follows. He said, “If Islam is like this, why do the Muslims declare Ataturk a disbeliever? Huh? Because he imposed the fez? Huh? On the Turks?” I said, “No, rather he brought a great calamity, which is that he changed the Shari’ah and the rulings. Among them, he made the female equal to the male. And our Lord says: . So he found nothing to take or stand upon to refute Islam except the issue of imitation, because I had spoken with him at length about the topic of imitation. When I said that the Muslims declared Ataturk a disbeliever not because he imposed this fez on the Turkish people, but because he changed Islam, then I went back and said, “Nevertheless, if he wanted the worldly good of the Muslim Turkish people and saw that this fez was more beneficial than any other head covering, he could have, if he wanted to hold fast to his Islam, put a badge on the fez for the Muslim. Let it be green, let it be white, so that the Muslim is distinguished from the disbeliever.” I spoke and he spoke with me in this area. He insisted that this matter is universal; there is no need for strictness in it. I returned to him and said, “So do I understand from your words that there is no objection for you to remove this black cap and put on your head the red fez, and on it the white turban?” He said, “No, no, no, we are men of religion.” So I grabbed him by the collar, figuratively of course. I said to him, “This is the difference between us, the Muslims, and you, the Christians. You are two classes: a class of men of religion, and a class of men of no religion. Two classes: men of no religion, and men [of religion], and they are the majority, men of no religion. As for us, the Muslims, there is no difference between us, from the biggest one to the smallest one. What is forbidden to the biggest is forbidden to the smallest; what is lawful to the biggest is lawful to the smallest, and so on. So he was silenced with a silencing and restrained with a restraining. Among the hadiths I mentioned these.”
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because it has a connection to Ataturk.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : He said, “And you are strict in translating the Qur’an and you say it is not permissible.” I mentioned to him the difference between literal translation and meaning-based translation. I said, “We forbid literal translation and make meaning-based translation obligatory. And this is how the scholars of the Muslims have proceeded, because Islam, praise be to Allah, spread to the lands of the non-Arabs who do not know the Arabic language and do not understand the Noble Qur’an if it is not recited to them. And this is how the practice of the Muslims has proceeded.”

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : As for literal translation, we forbid it because opening the door to it leads to changing the meanings of the Noble Qur’an. And I mentioned to him the reason for these words, which are words of contradiction.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Among them, for example: . So “qur” was interpreted as menstruation, and it was also interpreted as purity.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So what do you do? And I brought him the strange, unusual word for the foreign listener’s ear. I said to him, “How do you interpret His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): ? Welcome, we are pleased. How is the situation?”
The student : Okay.

The Shaykh : Huh, okay, if Allah wills, it will be better. There is no god but Allah. How are you? Your voice sounds tired.
The student : By Allah, he returned to me again, praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : In any case, the believer is tested. So what you have to do is be like a saw, going up and down, and you will take the reward, if Allah wills.
The student : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : In your health and your illness. And as you remember his saying (peace be upon him): .
The student: Yes, by Allah.

The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah, and praise be to Allah. We ask Allah to make us satisfied with His decree and patient with His trial. So I mentioned to him this verse. I said to him, “How do you interpret it? The Maronites are good at the French language. How do you interpret in French ? So he was baffled. He said, “What does ‘a’sa’ mean?” I said, “Here is the point. ‘A’sa’ in the Arabic language has two opposite meanings: it approached, it receded. So he thought a little. He said, ‘I am thinking. He is cunning, meaning he has some knowledge. Look at the context and the preceding text, and I will choose one of the meanings of this word that gives two contradictory meanings. I will take the meaning that is closest and most appropriate to the context and the situation.’ I said, ‘This is a problem. Another translator may come and choose the opposite of what you chose. And this is a place of independent legal reasoning, so we will have two Qur’ans with two words of limited, contradictory meaning.’”

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So he had no choice but to submit to this objection or this transfer. He said, “Then I will combine the two meanings, and I will say, ‘And the night when it a’sa,’ when it approached or receded.” We said, “Stay in your place, rotate. The problem is back.” Or he said: approached and receded. I said, “Also, another person will come and contradict you in this. Therefore, a literal translation of the Qur’an is impossible. And if the door to it is opened, distortion will seep into the Qur’an, and the Qur’an will suffer what the Torah and the Gospel suffered. My purpose with this example is that the Prophetic hadith is not the most noble and highest of the Noble Qur’an. So if it is permissible to interpret the Noble Qur’an with a meaning-based interpretation, then it is even more permissible to interpret the hadith by meaning.”

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Whether this meaning is then in Arabic for the general people.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Or for the students of knowledge, or for those who are higher than that, or if it is in the non-Arabic language.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So if you know this condition, the problem is thrown away and removed, if Allah wills.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : And perhaps it is clear.

The questioner : Is that clear?

The Shaykh : “Anyone else? What do you have?”