A dialogue with Shaykh Al-Albani regarding the book *Sahih al-Sirah* by Muhammad Rizq al-Tarhuni.

The questioner : You opened up the conditions he set for authenticating the hadiths, meaning he established conditions that I have not come across, Shaykh? In the commentary of the book.

The Shaykh : What is the name of the book?

The questioner : *Sahih al-Sirah* by the well-known Egyptian Muhammad Rizq al-Tarhuni. The man is well-known. In truth, Shaykh, he is one of your students, my Shaykh. He is a good student of knowledge.

The Shaykh : In Madinah?

The questioner : In Madinah. I visited him, and my brother 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.

The Shaykh : Is this *Sahih al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah*?

The questioner : Yes, on the Prophetic biography. He has set, perhaps, about twenty-four conditions regarding his methodology in verifying his hadiths. He mentioned some things, but by Allah, I have forgotten them; they are not present in my mind right now.

The Shaykh : Okay, is the book large?

The questioner : What we have now is one volume. In truth, the material is not much; the content is not extensive.

The Shaykh : One volume, so the content is little, meaning.

The questioner : The material in this is little, but he has set many conditions. The arrangement of the book is poor. He placed the footnotes in the back half of the book, at the end, so as not to tire the reader.

The Shaykh : This is a problem.

The questioner : And if the reader wants to verify, he goes there.

The Shaykh : It is as if the intention, subhan Allah, is to divert people from benefiting.

The questioner : He writes that he placed the footnotes at the end to make it easier for people, but it is very difficult. It is as if one is done and does not want it.

The Shaykh : How many pages is it? Three hundred or four hundred?

The questioner : Three hundred and more, but the handwriting is large.

The Shaykh : By Allah, this must be seen. If he calls me, we will ask him to look at it.

The questioner : The brother loves you very much.

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, because of the conditions he set, I do not have the ability to judge them, but Allah knows best that there is something in them. His methodology in verifying and tracing the hadiths, I did not rely on it.

The questioner : In truth, my Shaykh, this trade has become a trade, unfortunately, that is encroached upon greatly. This is the word "takhrij" (tracing). Now you hear so-and-so is tracing, and so-and-so is tracing, and so-and-so, what is this?

The Shaykh : The science of hadith, in the Syrian expression, has been trampled.

The questioner : Trampled. I mean, no offense, that day I saw the content of Zuhayr coming out with *Riyad al-Salihin* reviewed by a select group of scholars or a group of scholars.

The Shaykh : A liar, a deceiver.

The questioner : No, my Shaykh, it is not like that. This was being printed and researched in *Riyad al-Salihin*, and this one is verifying *Riyad al-Salihin*, until I said, no offense in the expression, I said this has become *Riyad al-Talihin* (Gardens of the Wicked). What is this verification? By the Great Allah, I hate and abhor anything I do not know. Now this science is known, meaning, in our Arab world, it is known.The Shaykh : Nasser al-Din Al-Albani, that is enough, stop there, it is sufficient with him, no need. And his takhrij is the most abundant takhrij, the best takhrij, and the widest takhrij. When I come to so-and-so, yesterday he was still working in the science of hadith, and he started tracing, and he even started correcting Nasser al-Din Al-Albani. This needs to be beaten with slippers on his face. In truth, my Shaykh, they do not feel ashamed. I say now, students of knowledge, knowledge has become like a public pasture.

The Shaykh: Correct.

The questioner : By Allah, I know that you take the confirmed in this, my Shaykh, because there are things I do not know regarding the authenticity. The issue that Ibrahim (peace be upon him), when he used to come to visit Isma'il, he would come on a mount, which is al-Buraq, I think. Is this issue correct?

The Shaykh : I do not remember if it is correct or not. It is narrated, but it needs review.

The questioner : The tranquility (Sakinah) used to come with him, and it is a wind from the Levant.

The Shaykh : He mentioned these things? Strange.

The questioner : The Sakinah, and it comes with him, a wind from the Levant, and with him the Sakinah guides him, until when he reaches the middle, above the House, its head stops above the House, and he descends at the House, Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

The Shaykh : Now you are encouraging me to go back.

The questioner : No, no, the House, the established Ka'bah.

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, I used to think you were encouraging me to complete the biography. May Allah forgive you. May Allah bless you, my Shaykh. The biography needs it, it needs it.

The questioner : Yes, by Allah, my Shaykh, because if there is mention of encroachment on the takhrij of hadiths, there is encroachment on the biography. Meaning, he mentioned the conditions he set, twenty-four conditions, which took up a quarter of the book, perhaps. His same methodology in verification, Allah knows best, it needs it, it needs verification.

The Shaykh : By Allah, we will see it, if Allah wills.

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, I wish you would read it. It does not require great effort.

The Shaykh : By Allah, Professor... I do not know what the story is. We cannot take a breath now.

The questioner : Never mind, my Shaykh, leave it for us. Meaning, the books now that are printed, no need to reprint them now.

The Shaykh : Now we are overwhelmed. We wanted to rest, we are tired and more. I wanted to finish the association with al-Shawish and others by relinquishing my books. I have now become so careful that no book is published except with my direct verification. I have become one who serves the printing presses that print these books.

The questioner : Forbidden, forbidden. This is a waste of effort.

The Shaykh : What can we do?!

The questioner : Later, at times, we heard one of the young men... callingThe Shaykh : about verificationsThe Shaykh : in the book of al-Bukhari, until the day I said to the Shaykh that this man is not learning much, no, he has an author he is stealing from, and he calls me with questions that are not the questions of an inquirer. It seems he is transferring fromThe Shaykh : ... knowledge, and beforeThe Shaykh : his book comes out, and he has been working on it for fifty years, that one, may Allah be pleased with him, beforeThe Shaykh : meaning, as Hassan said, by Allah, before we hear the words ofThe Shaykh : that is, I mean, my opinion is like the opinion ofThe Shaykh .

The Shaykh : There is no power or strength except by Allah. Innovators at the head of every hundred years. And in a magazine, what is its name?

The questioner : *Al-Judhur* (The Roots).

The Shaykh : Do you know anything about it?

The questioner : Where is it published.

The questioner : By Allah, I do not know.

The Shaykh : A writer wrote an article in a newspaper, which is not a scientific newspaper nor a religious one, showing a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus and so on, I do not know, which a Christian drew or took from Christians. The important thing is that he published a long article in it weakening this hadith.

The questioner: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The Shaykh : Subhan Allah. A man is certainly one who follows his desires. We ask Allah to guide him.

The questioner : This is a calamity. We advised him for the sake of Allah.

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, do not blame us. He now finds someone who says, what isThe Shaykh : Nasser, you mean, when he startedThe Shaykh : Nasser, I am stronger than him

The questioner : No, their tongue of their hearts is like this. We are men and they are men.

The questioner : Sulayman al-'Uwaydah, his connection with you.

The Shaykh : Yes, he called. Sulayman al-'Uwaydah, did you meet him?

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, I did not meet him, but there is, meaning, he conveyed greetings to me and to him. Some brothers convey his greetings to me and say so-and-so. But as for a meeting, there is none.

The Shaykh : And travel?

The questioner : Travel, I saw him once, and we agreed that we would sit on the second day, then I returned from my travel the first time when I traveled to Jeddah.

The Shaykh : You did not meet?

The questioner : I saw him in the mosque after his lesson. He was delivering a lesson in a mosque called there the Mosque of Prince Mut'ib. After the lesson, I and some brothers, 'Asim was with us, we greeted him, and the man seemed to be listening to this, and he greeted like a person.

The Shaykh : Meaning you were not present at his lesson?

The questioner : No, I attended his lesson. His lesson was good. He was reading from *Al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah*.

The Shaykh : That is it. You liked it, meaning?

The questioner : Very much, very much.

The Shaykh : Yes, the important thing is yesterday or the day before yesterday, Sulayman al-'Uwaydah called me by phone and spoke with me for about half an hour.

The questioner : This encouraged him to visit Nasser al-'Umr.

The questioner : The news will come to you.

The Shaykh : Yes, he spoke about his longing and his desire to meet, and we hoped that you would meet this year, but, may Allah be pleased with him, from this speech, he was speaking that he wished to visit us and meet us. Before this, he had sent me a letter, and it is preserved with me. I rarely keep such letters because of his style, which indicates sincere affection and sincere sincerity.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh: Yes, by Allah.

The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, if love does not end for you, for whom does it end, meaning?

The Shaykh : Excuse me, may Allah bless you. But this reminds a person of the affection and sincerity in it. He said that if I cannot visit you now, and he mentioned on what occasion that a month ago he went toThe Shaykh : Ibn Baz, asking him to intercede for him with the authorities to lift the house arrest on him. He says thatThe Shaykh : Ibn Baz, meaning he promised well, and I also mentioned to him that we were also hoping to meet you, but when we heard this, we accepted the reality and asked Allah the Mighty and Majestic not to praise anything but what is disliked. I reminded him of some hadiths that he knows well regarding patience with whatever befalls a Muslim, whether in ease or hardship. I mentioned our meeting with Al-'Umar and that I had sent him my greetings through him. He then said, "By Allah, we met him at..."The Shaykh : Ibn Baz narrated, saying, "May Allah reward you with good, and he is praying for the victory of the Sunnah and the victory of the Hadith. This is beautiful speech."
The witness says that he will write to me and disclose what he has. He mentioned the word "longing," and I understand from it other things, as you know, regarding the unfortunate disagreement between him and his like among our brothers, or between the others. So I thanked him for this concern and hoped for good from him, if Allah wills.
Similarly, recently, I was contacted by Ihsam al-Attar from Germany, also a man...

The questioner : A long break from a long time ago.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Is he old in age, O our Shaykh?

The Shaykh : By Allah, it is possible, and Allah knows best; I no longer remember now.

The questioner : He may have passed sixty; he is of the same generation as Zuheir, I think.

The Shaykh : Yes, but his voice sounded tired when I asked him.

The questioner : He may be sick.

The Shaykh : Sick, yes, and we also felt a sense of comfort with him after such a long time.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah, some people think about the truth; this is a great blessing.

The Shaykh : He said to me, "By Allah, our teacher and your students, we remember you through this and that beautiful speech. By Allah, he is a good man, as if he were here in Damascus, but partisanship blinds the hearts."

The questioner: Partisanship blinds and deafens.

The questioner : Well, O Shaykh, after all this age, O our Shaykh, he does not know what partisanship is or what its harms are.

The Shaykh : O Shaykh, every person has from his time what he is accustomed to; that habit is overpowering.

The questioner : Because when the matter of the devices arose, I ask Allah to take revenge on the tailor and to expose him in a scandal, meaning before the eyes of the public, when we were accused of stealing the devices.

The Shaykh : Yes, belonging to the mosques.

The questioner : Yes, and he said that behind this is Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani. So when I went to the police director and spoke with him about the matter, he said to me, "By Allah, we are also thinking that the prisons... he speaks with..."The Shaykh : I said to him, "I earnestly hope that..."The Shaykh : ...he not be summoned here. If it is absolutely necessary...The Shaykh : I am ready with any one of our brother officers to come and visit...The Shaykh : ButThe Shaykh : ...to come here, so I hope that this will be final. In any case, the group has shown responsiveness to the matter, truly, here. In any case, it remains that "some evil is less than some," meaning when you come to speak with intelligence, you tell them, or with an officer or a responsible manager, and he says to you, "By Allah, why not?" The correct thing is that, praise be to Allah, you do not find this in any other country. We are not prepared to go visit him, may Allah will it.