The Shaykh Al-Albani’s account of his meeting with Shaykh Taki al-Din al-Nabhani and Shaykh Taki al-Din’s refusal to meet with him!
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The Shaykh : One day, while I was in the shop, the phone rang. A man from our old Salafi brothers came on the line. You must have heard his name, but I don’t know if you know him personally? It was Mahmoud al-Istanbuli. Do you know him personally?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : He was speaking in a somewhat scattered way, you might say he was just making noise. He said: "Peace be upon you." I replied: "And upon you peace." He said: "Get ready, I hope you are well, if Allah wills." He said: "You have a meeting with Shaykh Taki al-Din al-Nabhani." I asked him: "How? I know the story of al-Nabhani. How?" He said: "We have a friend there in the Kurdish quarter who is the imam of a mosque from his group. I went to him and said: 'My brother, we have a group of young Muslims who want to meet with Shaykh Taki al-Din. Get us an appointment with him.' He said to me: 'Of course.' I did not mention your name; I kept it hidden, but just said it was young Muslims. The man called the Shaykh and got an appointment. I remember clearly it was a Monday after the 'Asr prayer, at the mosque there. We went and prayed 'Asr. Some of the enthusiastic ones, perhaps Mahmoud himself, had called Muzhir al-'Uzma, Muhammad Kamal al-Khatib, and Salah al-Din al-Shash, along with an excellent selection of young Muslims to the social center. They all attended there at the mosque. We prayed 'Asr and sat down talking, waiting for the Shaykh. Suddenly, some of us turned and saw the Shaykh coming toward the door. They started getting up one after another. I was the last one to stand. Glory be to Allah, he had reached the threshold of the mosque and was about to lift his leg to enter when he suddenly saw me. It is absolutely unbelievable. So I was the last one to shake his hand. They greeted him and welcomed him. He said: 'I swear to Allah, I am coming to apologize. Professor, we are on an appointment and coming from various places.' He said: 'I swear to Allah, my circumstances prevent me. I apologize, and peace be upon you.' I replied: 'And upon you peace.' And it was never possible for me to have any meeting with that man at all. Then the discussions between us and their people would return here and there.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : He was speaking in a somewhat scattered way, you might say he was just making noise. He said: "Peace be upon you." I replied: "And upon you peace." He said: "Get ready, I hope you are well, if Allah wills." He said: "You have a meeting with Shaykh Taki al-Din al-Nabhani." I asked him: "How? I know the story of al-Nabhani. How?" He said: "We have a friend there in the Kurdish quarter who is the imam of a mosque from his group. I went to him and said: 'My brother, we have a group of young Muslims who want to meet with Shaykh Taki al-Din. Get us an appointment with him.' He said to me: 'Of course.' I did not mention your name; I kept it hidden, but just said it was young Muslims. The man called the Shaykh and got an appointment. I remember clearly it was a Monday after the 'Asr prayer, at the mosque there. We went and prayed 'Asr. Some of the enthusiastic ones, perhaps Mahmoud himself, had called Muzhir al-'Uzma, Muhammad Kamal al-Khatib, and Salah al-Din al-Shash, along with an excellent selection of young Muslims to the social center. They all attended there at the mosque. We prayed 'Asr and sat down talking, waiting for the Shaykh. Suddenly, some of us turned and saw the Shaykh coming toward the door. They started getting up one after another. I was the last one to stand. Glory be to Allah, he had reached the threshold of the mosque and was about to lift his leg to enter when he suddenly saw me. It is absolutely unbelievable. So I was the last one to shake his hand. They greeted him and welcomed him. He said: 'I swear to Allah, I am coming to apologize. Professor, we are on an appointment and coming from various places.' He said: 'I swear to Allah, my circumstances prevent me. I apologize, and peace be upon you.' I replied: 'And upon you peace.' And it was never possible for me to have any meeting with that man at all. Then the discussions between us and their people would return here and there.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.