Continuation of the story of the Shaykh’s meeting with Ahmad Shakir and Hamid al-Fiqi.

The Shaykh : The first person I asked about was Hamid al-Fiqi (may Allah have mercy on him). He appeared to be sharp-tongued. He was staying at a hotel; I forget, by Allah, what its name was? It is an old, famous name in many countries. In any case, I and the leader of the group, Fahd, went up to him. He was sitting on his bed, and it was summer, so he had taken his ease; he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and white clothes. I liked this state of affairs; there was no pretension.
Abu Ishaq (may Allah preserve him) laughs.

The Shaykh : There were two beds facing each other, and I sat in front of him. He said, "So-and-so, Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani." He said, "Ah," and said, "Welcome," then stood up and embraced me, and perhaps kissed me. I did not know the ruling on kissing at that time, whether it was permissible or not.
— laughsThe Shaykh : and the students.

The Shaykh : And welcome, how are you, how are you, and so on. The matter reached the point where I mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood. He said to me, "The brothers, the brothers." I was shocked by this wording. I said, "What is this, O Shaykh?" He said, "These people are such-and-such." He started talking about the Muslim Brotherhood, whom he knew there. I said, "O Shaykh, but the Muslim Brotherhood cannot be measured by one another in all countries. You can speak, and you know more than I do. As for the Muslim Brotherhood there in Egypt, I do not know them, and I cannot deny what you say about them. But in Syria, I do not think it is permissible for you, as a Muslim, to speak about them when you do not know them. In any case, we sat with him and got to know him. The second meeting, which is the one you asked about, was with Ahmad Shakir (may Allah have mercy on him). I asked about him, and they said he was staying at a hotel. I do not know if there is a hotel in Makkah named Shubra; it exists in Egypt, that thing. In any case, I went to him, and he was sitting at the entrance of the hotel. I greeted him and introduced myself, saying, "I asked about you, and my intention is to benefit from your knowledge, because I have read some of your letters and books, especially your commentary on al-Musnad." He immediately apologized and said to me, and I do not forget this word, which is Egyptian, "Madamati marida," meaning "As long as you are ill." So, he was saying he was apologizing. I accepted his apology, sat for a while, and then left. Then it happened that I traveled from Makkah to Jeddah, and from Jeddah to Madinah by plane. There I learned thatThe Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir was also staying at a hotel, and I said, "This is, by Allah, an opportunity." So I went to him. I had in my mind to discuss with him his reliance on Ibn Hibban’s authentication. I raised the topic, and to my regret, he was a flame of fire. He did not accept discussion or debate, and it was a very, very strange thing. I was shocked. He said, "How do we want to waste the efforts of an imam like this?" I said, "O Shaykh, I did not say we would waste his efforts, but I wanted to remind al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar of what he dealt with, of course, from what al-Hafiz said in the introduction to Lisan al-Mizan. He had no inclination whatsoever for discussion, absolutely not. So I returned, to my regret, with empty hands. Then he came to Damascus, and when I heard of it, I visited him in the house where he was staying. But I did not benefit from him at all, because he had no inclination
Abu Ishaq: to discuss.

The Shaykh : at all. This is all that I can mention about him (may Allah have mercy on him).
Abu Ishaq: I mean, he had sharpness.

The Shaykh : Yes, a very sharp temper, by Allah, in the name of Allah.
Abu Ishaq: But it is said among us in Egypt that when he used to hold... Do you know, O our Shaykh?The Shaykh : Abd al-Ma'iz Abd al-Satar.

The Shaykh : Abd?
Abu Ishaq: Abd al-Ma'iz.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is my brother, yes.
Abu Ishaq: He was in Qatar.

The Shaykh : He was in Qatar, yes.
Abu Ishaq: He is married to the daughter of Dr. Ahmad Ahmad al-Sharif, andThe Shaykh : Shakir... in the introduction to al-Musnad, and he was a contemporary ofThe Shaykh : Shakir, and he used to say that his chest was very broad in discussions at the beginning of his life, or something like that.

The Shaykh : This reminds me of a story, and the purpose of which I present it in advance; because there is no similarity except in one aspect. He appears broad-minded in that if a questioner asked him, he would answer. But ifThe questioner : he has some knowledge, he wants to give and take with him, that is another matter, and I do not think he has insight into the science of hadith, so if he transmits something like this, his transmission is not precise. In any case, I mentioned what happened to me, and this is not a standard. It can be said, for example, that this was at the end of his life, so this report is added to the other reports. But what I saw is what I mentioned to you. I want to say that I used to visit the Muslim Brotherhood center in Damascus. When one of them, whose name was Hasan 'Ubayd, who had a strong connection with us and adopted the Salafi call, but he was involved in the Muslim Brotherhood, mentioned to me one day a Qadiani young man named 'Ala al-Din. He mentioned him to me, meaning, what should I say, praising him, that he was very broad-minded. Here is the point: what is your opinion? He knows from me that I debated the Qadianis and we held successive sessions there. So, naturally, I am a man who "does not find jokes." So I accepted his invitation, he called the man, and he agreed, and we met in a private room at the Muslim Brotherhood center. And there, our friend Hasan saw from him the opposite of what he had told me, and the discussion lengthened, became hard, and his voice rose, and so on. When we came out, he said to me, "By Allah, it is strange. I do not know him like this. I know 'Ala to be long-tempered." I said, "My brother, you need to note something. First, this is a Qadiani preacher. These people are long-tempered with the general public because there is no one to ask them a question, so they get a lecture, why would they get angry? But when you put him to the test, giving and taking, here the heat rises. He said, "By Allah, that is true." So the only point of similarity is that you give him room to speak, he speaks. But giving and taking, especially in what you disagree with him on in his opinion, he does exactly that, or else the rare ones among men are truly rare.
Abu Ishaq: Okay, the status ofThe Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir among the scholars of hadith... No problem, O our Shaykh, this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
Abu Ishaq: So we will not forgive you... the status ofThe Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir (may Allah have mercy on him) among the contemporary scholars.

The Shaykh : I have not met anyone like him.
Abu Ishaq:The Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir.

The Shaykh : Yes, I have not met anyone like him, and I mean I am not saying it because the absence of finding does not indicate the absence of existence. It is possible that, as they say, there are hidden things in the corners, but I have not discovered these corners to know what hidden things are in them. But within the limits of what I know and have seen, I have not seen anyone likeThe Shaykh : Ahmad. Of course, this is from his effects, from his effects. But from the meeting, frankly, nothing happened between me and him except this short discussion.