The Shaykh Al-Albani’s remarks regarding Abdullah Azzam.

The questioner : I once said, regarding Sayyid Qutb, do you hear about him?The Shaykh : Do you hear about Abdullah Azzam?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. Abdullah Azzam was here from the Muslim Brotherhood. Recently, seven or eight years ago, the Muslim Brotherhood made a decision to boycott Al-Albani and everyone who belongs to his call. It is known that Abdullah Azzam was the only man among the Muslim Brotherhood who could hardly hear that Al-Albani had a session at such-and-such a house without being among the first to attend. He would bring two pens and a very small notebook to write down the summaries of this truly kind man. When the decision to boycott Al-Albani was issued, he stopped attending Al-Albani’s sessions entirely. I met him at the mosque of Suhayb. We were leaving the prayer, so I greeted him as usual, and he greeted me shyly because he did not want to violate the decision. I said to him, “What is this, O Shaykh? Is this what Islam commands you?” He said, “It is a passing cloud; it will clear up soon.” Days passed and days came. He came to visit me at my house but did not find me, so he left the people behind. The bottom line is, follow the news. It became known that I was with the regime. When his house was down in the town, he knocked on the door and entered. “Welcome,” he said. “I came to your house and did not find you. As you know, I am eager to benefit from your knowledge.” From this speech, I said to him, “I know that, but what does this boycott mean?” He said, “You declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.” I said to him, “Where did I declare him a disbeliever?” He said, “You said that he established the doctrine of the unity of existence in his interpretation of, first, I think, Surat al-Hadid, and second, in ‘Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad.’” I said to him, “Yes, he quoted the words of the Sufis, and it cannot be understood from them except that he affirms the unity of existence. But our rule—and you are one of the most knowledgeable people about this because you attend my sessions—is that we do not declare a person a disbeliever, even if he falls into disbelief, except after establishing the proof. So how are you announcing this boycott while I am among you? If you do not come, you send someone to verify whether it is true that I am declaring Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever. He was with us at that time when he came to our brother Nizam’s house. Our brother Ali al-Sutri was there. I said to him, “Sayyid Qutb says this in such-and-such a surah.” He opened the book to another place where it says, “A man who believes in Allah and His Messenger and in tawhid,” and so on. We said, “No, my brother, we did not deny this truth that he says, but we denied this falsehood that he said.” Despite this session, he later published two or three articles in succession in the magazine al-Mujtama' in Kuwait, stating that Al-Albani declares Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever in a very long story. But the point is, where are we saying this and that? Some take it that Sayyid Qutb was declared a disbeliever by Al-Albani, and some take it thatThe Shaykh : Al-Albani has a session at such-and-such a house, unless he is there from the very beginning of the attendance, and he is carrying two pens and a very small notebook in which he writes summaries. This man is truly kind-hearted. When the decision to boycott Al-Albani was issued, he stopped attending Al-Albani’s sessions entirely. I met him at the mosque of Suhayb; we were coming out of the prayer. I greeted him as a matter of course, and he greeted me shyly, because he did not want to violate the decision. I said to him, “What is this, O Shaykh? Is this how Islam commands you?” He said, “It is a passing cloud; it will soon clear up.” Days passed, and then days came. He came to visit me at my house but did not find me, so he left the people behind. The bottom line is that I followed the news and learned that I am in the system. When his house was below in the town, he knocked on the door and entered. “Welcome,” he said. “I came to your house and did not find you, and as you know, I am eager to benefit from your knowledge.” From this speech, I said to him, “I know you like that, but what does this boycott mean?” He said, “You declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.” I said to him, “Where did I declare him a disbeliever?” He said, “You said that he established the doctrine of the Oneness of Existence in his tafsir, first in Surat al-Hadid, I think, and second in Sayyid al-Hadid, which is Allah is One.” I said to him, “Yes, he quoted the words of the Sufis, and it cannot be understood from them except that he affirms the Oneness of Existence. But our principle—and you are among the most knowledgeable people about this, because you attend my sessions—is that we do not declare a person a disbeliever, even if he falls into disbelief, except after establishing the proof. So how are you announcing this boycott while I am among you? If you do not come, send someone to verify whether it is true that I declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever.” He was with him at that time when he came to our brother 'Ali al-Sutri. I said to him, “Sayyid Qutb says this in such-and-such a surah.” He opened it in another place where it says, “A man who believes in Allah and His Messenger and in tawhid,” and so on. We said, “No, my brother, we did not deny this truth that he says, but we denied this falsehood that he said.” Despite this session, he later published two or three articles in succession in the magazine al-Mujtam' in Kuwait, stating that Al-Albani declares Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever in a very long story.The Shaykh : But the point is, where are we saying this and saying that, to those who take it that Al-Albani declared Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever, and to those who take it thatThe Shaykh : Al-Albani praised Sayyid Qutb in a certain place. These are people of desires, and there is no way for us to stand in their path except to call upon Allah for them only . And therefore, the heat that you have, I think you should leave it in the calling to the Sunnah and the calling to the Sunnah and spreading it among the ranks of the ummah, and not put personal enmity between you and people, especially if they have presented what they have presented of good or bad work?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : O Shaykh, by the way, Abdullah Azzam read a book called al-'Umar (The Giant) by Sayyid Qutb, in which he responds to your booklet. I read it; it was being distributed a month ago.

The Shaykh : I told you, my brother, he responded to me in the magazine al-Mujtama', and unfortunately, he was unjust. I did not want to hide the whole story from you because it had no relation to the occasion. But now you are forcing me, by force, to complete the story for you. Days passed and days came. A man here from the house of, what is his name, Abu al-Filats, their eldest brother. I used to visit them a few years ago. He said to me, “We want you to attend at our place on such-and-such a night. It might be an iftar in Ramadan, or I don’t know, Allah knows, the important thing is dinner, because the guestThe Shaykh : Abdullah Azzam was coming from where, from Afghanistan. I said to him, “I will accept.” I said to him, “I will accept your invitation on condition.” He said, “What is it?” I said, “The man did this and that to me.” He responded to me after we had gathered at my brother-in-law Nizam’s house, and I understood that I did not declare Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever, but I showed that this is the speech of disbelief. He went... Now I condition you that you free me with him in a private session so that I can hold him accountable for what he did. He said, “So be it.” And indeed, I was alone with him. I said to him, “What is this? Did you not understand my opinion that I do not declare Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever? How did you go and write these articles in al-Mujtama' magazine with that huge headline?” He said to me, “By Allah, I went for 'Umrah in Makkah, and there the young people gathered around me and said thatThe Shaykh : Al-Albani declares Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever, and so on. I said, “So you are moving, meaning, by the emotions of the young people? You are supposed to use your mind and your knowledge, and so on.” The point is, I continued with him until I took a pledge from him that he would correct his position in the same magazine, al-Mujtama', and he did not do it, and may Allah have mercy on him. My intention is, do not occupy yourself with people, with individuals... It is a door that does not end.

The questioner : There is a matter in which a great error occurred among the young people, especially those who went to Afghanistan, for example. They say, for example, you tell them, “This is a matter that occurred, a serious matter, and it became clear to them, or thatThe Shaykh : so-and-so spoke about this. They tell you, “He did not go there, and he did not live the reality. He did not go there.” For example, we sayThe Shaykh : Al-Albani said thatThe Shaykh : Al-Albani says such-and-such. So they assume that the person is there, and that the shaykhs, before they come to them from Damascus and from such-and-such, and give them the issue and issue rulings for them. So my advice to these people, O Shaykh, is that this concept has spread among...