A reading from the book by Ramadan Mahmoud 'Ayyis, (The Weak Hadiths in al-Silsilah al-Sahihah) and a critique of al-Albani.

Abu Layla : Our teacher, let us return to the first volume.

The Shaykh : ... I was just speaking about the book, the first volume of al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, ... I was talking to my companion about this book, which I wrote about thirty years ago. I said to 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, so if this was written at the beginning of my youth, it cannot be free from error, so it must be reviewed. Therefore, in our books that we are reprinting now after reviewing them, we publish a revised and expanded edition, revised and expanded. And I am amazed at many scholars who may have written their books at an earlier age than this book, yet they reprint them as they are... Some people do not appreciate this matter. I have this treatise, read...

The questioner : The Weak Hadiths in *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah* and What Was OverlookedThe Shaykh : Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani.

The Shaykh : Yes, one of the people is named Ramadan Mahmoud 'Ayyis from Sudan. I want to say something, not in boasting, but in the context of . Of course, I live in this era and I 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 know them but do not practice them, and many are ignorant of them. Among these sunnahs is the one this man began with, after the basmalah, saying, "Indeed, praise is to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help and seek His forgiveness... etc." I say, before the spread of my books, you would not see or hear a preacher begin 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, if he intended to critique this book, should have mentioned that he and his like were nothing worth mentioning before the existence of this book and its like. And one of the proofs of that is this introduction, this opening of the sermon of the Messenger, peace 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, saying, "But one of the noble brothers advised me to review al-Silsilah 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 al-Silsilah 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 and does not know of knowledge except critique, and with deep hatred. Why? First, regarding the science of hadith, as we mentioned to you just now, that this one authenticates and this one weakens, each has his own ijtihad. Well, if this should be restricted, it is a dangerous matter if it comes out without research and knowledge and without ijtihad. Otherwise, this critique 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 with the fact that his research, I mean 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 madhahib 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 the sad and depressing thing is that some people swear by the religions" by religions, it is not well said, it is not well written, "of the imams of their madhahib and the sheikhs of their tariqas." First, we have no imam of a madhhab and no 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 sanctity and the crowns of lordship that were placed on the heads of the imams of the madhahib and the sheikhs of the tariqas." This is a response to the author of the hadith.

The questioner : This has no relation to knowledge.

The Shaykh : Absolutely not, and only the evidence and proof remain above the heads and he answers with verses , and so on. If Allah speaks... , not after the hadith, he mentioned the hadith in al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim only, its chain in al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim 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 to cause confusion? Or are they more complete and clearer than Allah and His Messenger? No. If Allah speaks, listen to the continuation: "If Allah speaks and rules in a case, let humans be silent." What brought this speech without a beginning? And after that, as for my methodology in tracing these weak hadiths, he says at the end, "And what I mentioned of the biographies in my commentary is relied upon by me." It is relied upon by me, do you see...? Do you see that his previous speech covers it? 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 rebukes the people who... us; do you see, if he were protected from error, why would he judge a hadith as weak? That is the meaning of his speech, because he wants to shatter these idols that people trust. This is an example of what I mentioned to you just now 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 another chain is said to him; so he is not good at reconciling these contradictory texts, so he takes from these texts what suits his research.

The questioner : In Sudan, there is an active movement of communists, and the task of the communists is to insult the luminaries of Islam, and their activity these days is great, so perhaps he is one of them.

The Shaykh : Allah is the Helper.

The questioner : Because the issue of authenticating and weakening is not settled, I mean the scholars differ in it. And where is he in tracing hadiths and knowing that from your eminence and your excellence? So such a thing is not looked at and not responded to.

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

The questioner : Whoever writes is targeted.

The Shaykh : They say this is correct.

The questioner : But this is not suitable to write or respond to or authenticate or weaken.

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

The questioner : The sea does not turn away from you with a roar if a boy throws a stone into it.

The Shaykh : This is correct.

The questioner : Yes, so this is not worth bothering with.

Another questioner : If there is something of truth in his book, it is possible to respond to it, and if not, it is not responded to at all.

The Shaykh : This is correct; and Allah is the Helper.

The questioner : I thank you, O Shaykh, and may Allah thank you. We benefited greatly from you, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : You are welcome, you are welcome.

The questioner : And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, I will go out with you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : No, O Shaykh, stay, O Shaykh. Because of the cold.

The Shaykh : No, I want to bid you farewell, I must bid you farewell and go out with you.

The questioner : No, O Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on you.