The Shaykh’s remarks on *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* and on those who claim that it contains weak hadiths.

The Shaykh : Therefore, I say to our brothers who publish our books: this book is before me. I was speaking with this brother of ours, who is named Ahmad,Abu Layla : one of our brothers in Zarqa. Right now, the first volume of *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* is before me, which I am preparing for the new edition.
Abu Layla : Shaykh, we want to go back to the first volume.

The Shaykh : Yes, I was just speaking about the book, the first volume of *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah*.
Abu Ma'al: For example, was this, Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Yes, this book. I was speaking with my companion. I wrote it about thirty years ago. I told him: Knowledge is increasing, and knowledge does not accept stagnation. It is impossible for this book, which I wrote in my youth, to remain as it is. I am now seventy-four years old by the Christian calendar and seventy-six by the Islamic calendar. Ah, well, this was written at the beginning of my youth. It cannot be free from error, so it must be reviewed. Therefore, we say in our books that we are re-publishing now, after reviewing them, that it is a revised and expanded edition. And I am amazed at many scholars who may have written their books at an earlier age than this book, yet they re-publish them exactly as they were. Some people do not appreciate this matter. I have this treatise; read it.

The questioner : The Weak Hadiths in *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* and What Was OverlookedThe Shaykh : Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani. One of the people sent this.

The Shaykh : One of the people: Ramadan Mahmud 'Isa from Sudan. I want to say something, not in boasting, but in the context of: I naturally live in this era and know the scientific deficiencies and the starting points that contradict the Islamic Shari'ah to a great extent. And I know that there are sunnahs that were abandoned, some of which are known but not practiced... Among these sunnahs, which this man opened with his statement after the basmalah: "Indeed, praise is to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, and we seek His forgiveness," and so on. I say: Before the spread of my books, you would not see or hear a preacher opening his book or his sermon with this opening. This is the sermon of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and I have a special treatise on that: "The Sermon of Need, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught it to his Companions." I say: This author should have directed his criticism to this book, mentioning that he and those like him were nothing worth mentioning before the existence of this book and those like it. And one of the indications of that is this introduction, this opening of the sermon of the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him). Our Lord says in the Noble Qur'an: And He said in the other verse: This entered the subject and attacked with a non-Islamic German-style attack.
He says: "Some noble brothers advised me to review the book *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* by Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, because it contains weak hadiths, and people take them with full confidence as if they are verified and authentic. And this is a grave error. So I turned the pages of *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* and found in it weak hadiths, so I resolved to collect them. And I felt that it is a great matter to judge a weak hadith as authentic and an authentic hadith as weak." Yes, it is certainly a great matter, but by this measure, it is a very great matter for a scholar from among the scholars of the Companions, the Successors, and the mujtahid imams to say this is permissible and this is not permissible. Is this a problem? I say this man is ignorant; he does not know of knowledge except criticism, and with deep-seated hatred. Why?
First: Regarding the science of hadith, as we mentioned to you just now, this one authenticates and this one weakens, each having his own ijtihad. Well, if this should be restricted, it is a dangerous matter if it is issued without research, knowledge, and ijtihad. Otherwise, this criticism directed at al-Albani would be directed at all the imams of hadith and the imams of fiqh, all of them together; because this disagreement is a natural matter, as the Exalted said: .
But despite his research in the science of hadith, look now: "And it is a sad and depressing matter that some people swear by the religions of the imams of their madhhabs and the sheikhs of their tariqas, and even submit their scientific investigations to that." As if this is a response to a mushrik or a sheikh of a tariqa.
"And it is sad and depressing that some people swear by religions that are not good to speak of, but writing is better, the imams of their madhhabs and the sheikhs of their tariqas." First: We do not have an imam of a madhhab or a sheikh of a tariqa. What brought this phrase here?
"And even submit their scientific investigations to that. So let them know that there is no religion except the religion of the Book and the Sunnah, and that blind taqlid without evidence is disbelief in the Great Allah. And the time has come for us to shatter the halos of sanctification and the crowns of lordship that were placed on the heads of the imams of the madhhabs and the sheikhs of the tariqas." Of course, he is responding to an author in hadith? Absolutely not.
"And nothing remains but evidence and proof above the heads, and who is more truthful than Allah in speech." And he answers with verses: " " and so on, "... after the hadith, he mentioned the hadith: It is in al-Hakim's *Mustadrak*, but its chain in al-Hakim's *Mustadrak* is weak. And if I had not found for it what supports and strengthens it, it would have remained weak. So where are these people from that? Are they protected from error, or are they obligated with legislation, or are they clearer and more perfect than Allah and His Messenger? No."
Listen to the continuation: "If Allah speaks and rules in a case, let humans be silent." What brought this statement? And after that: "As for my methodology in tracing these weak hadiths, he says at the end: 'And what I mentioned of biographies in my commentary is relied upon by me, it is relied upon by me.'" Look, look, does his previous statement not cover this? He felt that it is a great matter to judge a weak hadith as authentic, as I did in his claim, and an authentic hadith as weak. I wonder, is he protected from error? He criticizes the people who deal with us. Look, if he were protected from error, he would not judge a hadith as weak; this is enough regarding his statement, because he wants to shatter these idols that people trust. This is an example of what I mentioned to you at the beginning of the speech, that we are now afflicted by people who do not appreciate knowledge. They think that as soon as they open a book of biographies of men, so-and-so said in it weak, and so-and-so said in it a denounced hadith, so-and-so, and so on; it is possible that he says it is acceptable at the end. So he does not know how to reconcile these contradictory texts, and he takes from these texts what suits his research.

The questioner : In Sudan, there is an active movement of communism, and the task of the communists is to insult the luminaries of Islam.

The Shaykh : This is correct.

The questioner : They have a large activity these days, so perhaps he is one of them. And the issue of authenticating and weakening is not settled; the scholars differ on it. And where is he in his knowledge of tracing hadiths from your eminence and virtue?

The Shaykh: Excuse me.

The questioner : So this is not looked at, nor is it responded to, nor...

The Shaykh : The point is that the introduction shows that he has no knowledge. What brought this huge introduction in response to the imams of the madhhabs and the sheikhs of the tariqas in a scientific research in which I may have erred and I may have hit the mark? And I admit, as I said just now, it is revised and expanded. A book written twenty-eight years ago, at least, cannot remain as it is in our hands, because it is not a revelation from an All-Knowing, Wise One.

The questioner : Whoever writes is targeted, they say.

The Shaykh : They say it this way.

The questioner : This is not worthy to write or respond or authenticate or weaken.

The Shaykh : I said, by Allah, it reminded me, I do not know if it is in this book or another. I said that I write and clarify to people: if I hit the mark, support me, and if I erred, correct me, as the first Caliph said. Yes, so the truth is that it is a known matter among the people of knowledge.

The questioner : It does not harm the sea if a boy throws a stone into it.
Al-Albani: This is correct.

The questioner : So this is not taken seriously.

Another questioner : If a book has something close to validity in it, we can respond to it. And if it does not, it is not responded to at all.

The Shaykh : This is correct.