The Shaykh Al-Albani’s comment on the phrase “the ring of Sulayman” and that it is not authentic, and the fabricated stories attributed to him.

Al-Halabi : “And the West and the East, and he claimed that he seized the ring of Sulayman or the staff of Musa.”

The Shaykh : Yes, “seized the ring of Sulayman” is an incorrect expression, an incorrect expression that points to a firmly entrenched myth in people’s minds. If he is one of those people, I am very sorry; otherwise, he is expressing what is in their minds. Yes, because most people believe that the kingdom of Sulayman was in his ring.
Al-Halabi : This is very well known among people of all classes.

The Shaykh : And based on that, the known myth is narrated, and this myth is like another problem we are facing, we are in the first one and then another. They interpret the noble verse. What does the verse say?
Al-Halabi : ؟

The Shaykh : No, Do you not remember what the beginning is? The important thing is that the verse relates to the authentic hadith. Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: This is the correct interpretation. They interpreted this verse with a very wicked story, namely that Sulayman (peace be upon him) was hunting fish one day on the seashore, and the ring fell from him, and a fish picked it up. A devil from the jinn took the ring from the fish and put it on his finger, so the kingdom of Sulayman submitted to him, and he became a stranger to his kingdom. The devil sat on Sulayman’s throne and judged among people as he pleased and willed, and he began to enter the women of Sulayman in the form of what? Sulayman. Here begins the wickedness after which there is no wickedness regarding the prophets. It continued for a period of time, and people thought it was Sulayman, even his wives, and that he came to his wives until one of them objected to his conduct when she was asked. We said, “By Allah, we are surprised that he comes to us during menstruation.” So they rose up against him at that time, the council that Sulayman (peace be upon him) was judging them. Yes, I am far from the era, perhaps I have not told this story for twenty years. I mixed it up a bit, no blame. Sulayman went to perform wudu and took off what? The ring. The devil came and stole it, and what? He seized what? As we said, the kingdom. Yes, when the devil was expelled after his state was exposed, the fish picked it up, so he caught it, and when he cut it open, he found the ring inside, and he put it on his finger, and the authority returned to him. Nonsense, and with its nonsense, it has severe absurdity.
Al-Halabi : Clear absurdity.

The Shaykh : Ah, so the point is that they thought they had placed their hand on the ring of Sulayman, because the ring of Sulayman means control over the kingdom. I did not like this expression.
Al-Halabi : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : He should have avoided this expression completely, like many expressions as they say today, “turn the page” or “come out to your cards.” These are related, as we said in some gatherings, to playing shiddeh with cards.
Al-Halabi: May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : These are foreign expressions that entered us.
Al-Halabi : Glory be to Allah!

The Shaykh : And we do not notice or feel it.
Abu Layla : Our Shaykh, this resembles that mythical story of the magic lantern, Shabik Labik.

The Shaykh: Okay
Al-Halabi : Then he says: “And he did not know that the call was invalid, and that the evidence was booby-trapped, and that the triviality of the reality of Muslims descended upon them from themselves, not from their religion; because the sharp, decisive sword has not ceased and will not cease to carry its essence and effectiveness; but the hand that holds it is weak and lame, unable to hold it or to demonstrate the extent of its impact. This is the reality of Muslims with their Islam; so this other party realized Islam.”

The Shaykh : This other party realized it.
Al-Halabi : The other party, yes, may Allah reward you, our Shaykh; “So this other party realized Islam in all the Islamic regions, and they declared it pure Salafiyyah, and they called to it and acted upon it. And when it was said to them, ‘You are Wahhabis,’ and ‘You are followers of Ibn Taymiyyah,’ they said, ‘Yes, the Muhammadan Sunnah and the Islamic message unite us.’”

The Shaykh : Beautiful!
Al-Halabi : “And thus Salafiyyah was found in Damascus among the ranks of the university and in the circles of scholars. Salafiyyah was found in Damascus, among the ranks of the university and in the circles of scholars, carried by educated, enlightened youth who study medicine, law, and literature. A young man from them said to me: ‘Will you not attend our lesson today?’ I said, ‘It would be an honor for me,’ and I went with the young man to find the honorableThe Shaykh : Nasir al-Din al-Albani, the great hadith scholar of Damascus, and around him were more than forty students from the educated youth of Damascus. And the lesson was in progress on the chapter of protecting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the dignity of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and blocking the ways of shirk (associating partners with Allah), from the book of Tawhid and its commentary, Fath al-Mujid, by the reformer Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and his grandson (may Allah have mercy on them). And I was most amazed at this strange coincidence, and I listened to hear the lessonThe Shaykh : And I heard the investigation, precision, and elaboration in the science of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the strength of deterrence in it. And I heard the calm, composed discussion of the students and their deep questions, until the lesson of tawhid ended and they began the lesson of hadith in al-Rawdah al-Nadiyyah. Here I heard great knowledge, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and principles, and investigation, and so on until the lesson ended. And I remained throughout my stay in Damascus maintaining the lessonThe Shaykh : And they had finished in the science of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) the book Fath al-Mujid and began the book Iqtida’ Sirat al-Mustaqim by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. And at every time, their number increases and their desire renews.”

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah –sneeze-

The questioner : May Allah have mercy on you.
Al-Halabi : “They seek and publish, and whoever follows the magazine al-Tamaddun al-Islami will find what thisThe Shaykh : and his students have in activity and efforts. And I personally felt a great influence of his on many influential circles in public opinion, which promises a great, serious future for this blessed call. And what I would like to point out is that this group has a center where they take refuge and receive their lessons. It was established and a library was set up in it. This young man who guided me to this group – of course he spoke after that – guided me to this group. He was an active member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, indeed one of its prominent figures. And I asked him to give me

The Shaykh : Just.
Al-Halabi : I mean, I have now deleted the name in the reading: “And I asked him to give me an idea about this Salafi group, when it was established, and how it progressed, and so on. He dictated to me the following. He said: ‘I do not know exactly the time whenThe Shaykh : his meetings began. My first contact with him was in 1945 CE, and he was reading with about thirty brothers the book Zad al-Ma’ad. And he emerged from this study with his valuable book, al-Ta’liqat al-Jiyad ‘ala Kitab Zad al-Ma’ad, which is a manuscript. And he asked meThe Shaykh : Hamid al-Faqi in 1952 to request it fromThe Shaykh : and that he was ready to print it under all the conditions thatThe Shaykh : sets. And I do not know the reason that preventedThe Shaykh : from sending the book to Shaykh Hamid. Then I was cut off fromThe Shaykh : until 1949 CE, whenThe Shaykh : with his brothers revived the Sunnah of the ‘Id prayer outside the city, and he read with some of his brothers in 1949 CE the book Nukhbat al-Fikr. Then he began with his brothers also to read the book al-Rawdah al-Nadiyyah, in the house of Professor ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Bani. And this circle expanded” – here, our Shaykh, the circle –

The Shaykh : The circle.
Al-Halabi : “Until those who attended it numbered between forty and sixty, most of them being people of opinion and knowledge. And in a second session, they read the book Fath al-Mujid based on the suggestion of Professor ‘Abd al-Halim Muhammad Ahmad, who is an Egyptian teacher who taught in the Levant or taught in the Levant, and then in Amman. He introduced it by reading the thesis ‘Tathir al-I’tiqad min Adran al-Illad.’ And a similar number to the first session attends this session. And there is a semi-private session in which they study the book al-Ba’ith al-Hathith fi Ikhtisar ‘Ulum al-Hadith, and the book Tabaqat Fuhal al-Shu’ara. And after the brothers finished reading the book Usul al-Fiqh by al-Khalaf, this session was held in the house of Professor ‘Ali al-Tabtabai.”

The Shaykh : Sometimes, not always.
Al-Halabi : “And after his travel to Pakistan, it was held in the house of Dr. Ahmad Hamdi al-Khayyat.”

The Shaykh : That is it.
Al-Halabi : "And there is a lesson with some of the scholars of Sham in tafsir, and this lesson has continued until today, with attendance ranging from ten to twenty. It has been going on for several years, and they study the book al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, with attendance ranging from fifteen to twenty-five." Shaykh, regarding the tafsir lesson, did you have a connection with it or not?

The Shaykh : I have no memory of this lesson.
Al-Halabi : Meaning you did not attend it, let alone teach anything from it?

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Al-Halabi : Yes; it says, "Among the brothers who attend all or some of the lessons of Professor Ahmad Ratab al-Nafakh, a lecturer at the Syrian University, and Professor 'Abd al-Rahman al-Bani, an inspector of religious lessons in the Ministry of Education, and 'Abd al-Rahman Nahlawi, a philosophy teacher in the high schools of Damascus, and Rashad Rafiq Salim, who is pursuing a doctorate at the Egyptian University on Ibn Taymiyyah." I think he is Muhammad Rashad Salim, who is famous now?

The Shaykh : He passed away to the mercy of Allah.
Al-Halabi : May Allah have mercy on him. "And a member of the Egyptian Muslim Youth Committee, and Professor Isam al-Attar, a lecturer at the Arab Institute and a member of the legislative body of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, and Muhammad al-Muraydan, a lawyer and employee at the Court of Accounts, and Khalid Sa'ima, a lawyer, and Dr. Nabil al-Ghabra, a doctor, and Professor Muhammad al-Sabbagh, a teacher of Arabic literature in the high schools of Daraa, and so on. Thus, these lessons gather people like those we mentioned, from among the people of knowledge, virtue, and literature, and it is hoped from them in the near future, if Allah wills, that they will spread the Salafi methodology in all parts of Syria and elsewhere, if we know that among them are Syrians, Jordanians, Egyptians, and Moroccans." Then he mentions some other things, and then, Shaykh, on another page or in another place in the book, he speaks about the Zahiriyyah Library and says, "And among the frequenters of this library whom I find whenever I enter it is the famous scholar of hadithThe Shaykh : The Shaykh :The Shaykh : Nasir al-Din al-Albani, and a diligent Egyptian youth who came to this library specifically to write a thesis on Ibn Taymiyyah." And of course, it is likely that he is the same Rashid Salim...

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Al-Halabi : This is what 'Abdullah ibn Khumays mentions...

The Shaykh : These are pleasant memories. May Allah reward you with good.
Al-Halabi : May Allah bless you, Shaykh. We wanted it to be... because the brother who sent me the message...

Another questioner : Is al-Attar the same one, or is there another one in...?

The Shaykh: It is the same.

The questioner : May Allah reward him with good. By Allah, he is a man we consider to be upon good.
Al-Halabi : The brother who sent me this picture had visited us here and mentioned that to me, so I told him to photograph it and send it to me. When he sent it, the writer said it would be good if this were read toThe Shaykh ... .

The Shaykh : Where is this brother from?
Al-Halabi : From Riyadh.

The Shaykh : Riyadh.
Al-Halabi : It was not possible for you to meet him, Shaykh, this was before 35 years.

Another questioner : Our brother is famous.

The Shaykh : Welcome.

Another questioner : We introduce you to thisThe student : A graduate of the College of Sharia in 87 or 79.

The Shaykh : Welcome, and what does he do now?

Another questioner : He works as a teacher, and is also a student in the Department of Hadith at the university.

The Shaykh : At the university here. May Allah guide you.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Do we have to translate? Do we have questions for us? Let's see?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. The questions are general, not specialized, and if Allah wills, the goal is that there is a magazine published at the university called "Voice of the Students," which circulates among the hands of the students, officials, and doctors.