Is it true that the newspaper Okaz reported that you visited Iraq before the events, attended the Islamic conference there, and declared your support for the Iraqi president?

Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh says: A question or phone call came from some of our brothers in Saudi Arabia, stating that the newspaper Okaz in Saudi Arabia published a news item claiming that Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani visited Iraq in the recent days before the war, participating in the Islamic conference held there to support Iraq in general and Saddam Hussein in particular. Although we know this statement to be false given our connection to you, our proximity to you, and our awareness of many circumstances surrounding you, we want a kind word and comment so that we may be able to publish it there or send the tape to some of the brothers there to ward off this false accusation that has been unjustly attached to you. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Before answering this question, I would like you to add to your statement and say: Among the things we know is that you have not left us for all these days, nor before them, up to this very hour.
Al-Halabi : May Allah reward you with good. You have spoken on my behalf, O my Shaykh. Unless you are one of those who take a step [toward falsehood]...

The Shaykh : We do not believe in it for others until we believe in it for ourselves. In answer to this question, I say: Praise be to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can mislead, and whom He leaves to mislead, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. It is deeply regrettable that Islamic media imitates the disbelievers, even in their media, for the disbelievers do not tell the truth in the news they publish, especially when that news serves their political interest. I regret this because our guidance, we Muslims, differs from the guidance of our disbelieving enemies. As the Lord of the Worlds said in the Noble Qur'an: The point of this phrase is not to draw the attention of all Islamic states to the fact that they are contrary to this verse in its most important aspect, which is fighting these disbelievers who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. This type of fighting, by which Muslims are distinguished from disbelievers, namely jihad in the path of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has become forgotten among the rulers of the Muslims as a whole. Our Lord says: Among the things we imitate them in is not following up on true news and not verifying the news that reaches us, because we have strayed from our religion in our rulings, which are more important than precision in verifying news. I mentioned earlier that among these is jihad in the path of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. And from our Shari'ah is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed this in some of the authentic hadiths reported from him, among which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ...