Clarification that the Shaykh has begun authenticating the Prophetic biography to distinguish what is authentic and what is weak therein, and what are the best books on the Prophetic biography that he recommends?

I mean: it is a veiled apology, and as the professor mentioned: we do not want people to say, "We have committed disbelief and we have repented." It is sufficient that she does not continue in her disbelief.

The Shaykh : Do we have to finish? It is ten o'clock now.

The questioner : What do you think... an important question.

The Shaykh : Listen for a moment, please go ahead.

The questioner : For a long time, the Islamic library has been groaning and complaining about its lack of an authenticated book on the Prophetic biography that would please the students of knowledge and provide the expected benefit for this influential branch of the Shari'ah. I was pleased by the statement of some callers that if Al-Albani does not fulfill this urgent necessity, who will? And what are the closest books you consider suitable for the study of the Prophetic biography?

The Shaykh : Yes, as for Al-Albani, we ask Allah to help him fulfill what is obligatory, including authenticating the correct biography. In fact, my feeling about the necessity of this biography aligns with the feeling of many researchers and Muslim scholars. So it is no wonder that I started this project when the opportunity arose, and I seized it and began authenticating this project. I was far from my new country, which is Oman, because I lived, by the grace and mercy of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, without direction from any human being. I know the value of time, so I do not waste it except in the path of knowledge, either learning or teaching. I cannot, with this innate disposition that I have strengthened over a long period, live without scholarly work. If the earth becomes narrow for him, and he is exiled from his country or imprisoned in a prison in his country—and this has happened more than once—I seize the opportunity to work within the limits of the place where I live. Among those things, I began writing a book titled *Sahih al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah* (The Authentic Prophetic Biography). This was because I was far from my references and sources, and unable to complete some of my works that I had started years ago, which varied from one another. So what did I do? I said, since I found in the house that Allah the Mighty and Majestic facilitated for me at that time, outside of Oman, in some Arab country, within the limits of the books I had, and a university library in that country was also available to me, so I borrowed some books that were not in the library of the house where I was staying. I began writing and reached a quarter of this project, which is still with me. But for a wisdom that Allah Blessed and Exalted is He willed, the restriction that was imposed on me to be away from the country was lifted, and I was allowed to enter. I returned to my books and my works, and I found myself compelled to complete what I had been working on previously, and to postpone this one that I had recently started. The matter remains so. Therefore, I hope that Allah the Mighty and Majestic will bless me in my life and my time, and guide me to carry out many projects in my mind, some of which I have not yet started, some of which I started long ago, and some recently, including *Sahih al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah*. I hope that Allah will guide me to fulfill this obligation and others that I feel, as my brothers present and others feel, are necessary in this Muslim society. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , so we remain with your support until we are able to...

The questioner : Okay, Shaykh, how far did you get in this quarter? I mean, to which year, or which location?

The Shaykh : To before the Battle of Badr al-Kubra (the Great Battle of Badr).

The questioner : Badr al-Kubra.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : By Allah, this is a good part, it contains many good things. Okay, the books you recommend for those who study the biography, meaning if we study the biography, we find it more difficult than any other branch.

The Shaykh : There is no reference, meaning, this is better than that, but as for it being the reference, we do not have a reference. The best thing for me in the biography in terms of style of collection and approximation is *Zad al-Ma'ad* by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, but its defect is that it collected everything that came to it, contrary to what we know about him and his Shaykh in this aspect where he fell short. We find it complete in *al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah* by Ibn Kathir, which has been printed separately from the great history, but it is long, it has digressions and tracing of hadiths, and this is not pleasing to the general people today, even scholars do not have the readiness to hear the tracing of a hadith narrated by so-and-so and so-and-so, through the route of so-and-so and the route of so-and-so, etc. But the authenticating researcher benefits from this book more than from *al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah* by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Also, *Sharh al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah* by al-Zarqani is beneficial in this regard. This commentary is beneficial, meaning, as it benefits the text, in terms of authenticating and weakening, so the book, its text and its commentary, distinguishes itself from other books written in this regard. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.