The Descent of Jesus عليه السلام

“It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “How will you be when the Son of Mary descends among you and you are led by one from among you?” I said to Ibn Abî Dhi’b, ‘Al-Awzaa’i narrated to us from Az-Zuhri, from Naafi, from Abu Hurairah, “And your Imaam is one of you.” Ibn Abi Dhi’b said. “Do you know what, ‘You are led by one from among you,’ means?” I [i.e., al-Walid ibn Muslim, one of the narrators] said, “Tell me.” He said, “He will lead you according to the Book of your Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and the Sunnah of your Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.”” [Muslim]

Shaikh al-Albaani said, “This is forthright concerning the fact that Jesus عليه السلام will rule according to our legislation, and will judge according to the Book and the Sunnah, not with something other than these two [sources, whether that be from] the Injeel or Hanafi Fiqh or things like it!”

Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim, p. 543.

“We are not Controllers over the People.”

 

The Imaam said, “From our Salafi aqidah is that we do not hold [that we have a] a legislative authority over the people [Ed. Note: i.e., to force them to take our opinion], for indeed Allaah said to His Messenger, “You are not a dictator over them,” [Ghaashiyah 88:22] so we are not controllers over the people.  But we say that statement mentioned by some callers, ‘Say your piece and go.’

You do not have authority with a sword, making the people follow your opinion, but rather with the true principle [that], ‘The truth is clear and falsehood defective.’ So we make clear our statement.

And of a surety, as is the case with the most true statement on the face of the earth, i.e., ‘Laa ilaaha illallaah,’–have all the people adopted it?  No.  So it is even more the case that the people will not adopt a [certain] opinion of this scholar or that.”

Aaraa’ul-Imaam al-Albaani at-Tarbawiyyah, p. 118.

Al-Albaani’s Goal in Life

 

The Imaam said, “And in reality, my entire goal in this life–after carrying out the obligatory duties and rights that Allaah has made incumbent upon me–is but to acquaint the Muslims with the accurate biography [seerah] of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم from every aspect as far as I am able, by teaching [them], lecturing and writing, and to urge them to take him as the definitive example for themselves, as Allaah the Most High has asked them to, as occurs in His Saying:

“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allaah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allaah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allaah much.” [Al-Ahzaab 33:21]

And in that lies their happiness in this world and the Hereafter.”

Bidaayatus-Sool fi Tafdeelir-Rasool, p. 7.

Hizbiyyah That Resembles Taking Rabbis and Monks as Lords Besides Allaah

 

The Imaam said, “And it has reached the extent that one of those factions [hizbs] made it obligatory on all its members to adopt any opinion the hizb adopts, whatever that opinion maybe–even if it has no value from an Islamic point of view–and if that individual is not convinced with a particular opinion of the hizb, he is excommunicated and is not regarded as being part of the hizb, [a hizb] which calls itself a [so called], ‘Islamic’ one.

And what that means is that they are going back to what resembles the Jews and the Christians when they follow whatever their rabbis and monks make halaal or haram, for indeed Allaah, the Most High, has said, “They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allaah and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God–there is no deity [who has the right to be worshipped] except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.”” [Tawbah 9:31]

Silsilatul-Hudaa wan-Noor, 1/320.

A Lovely Letter From Ibn Baaz to Al-Albaani

In the Name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful

From Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullaah ibn Baaz to the honourable, revered brother, the eminent Shaikh, Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah grant him success.

Salaamun alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.

As for what follows:

Your amicable letter reached me through Shaikh Muhammad ibn Naasir al-Aboodi, may Allaah bestow His Guidance upon you and it pleased me greatly due to its informing me of your good health and the fact that you are continuing to write and teach and call to Allaah, all praise is due to Allaah for that, and I ask Him, the Most High, to give you even more success and that He grants you continued vigour to do everything that benefits the Muslims, indeed He is Most Gracious, Most Generous.

Just as I was also pleased at your completion of the summarisation of the Saheeh of Imaam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj and your resolve to summarise the Saheeh of Imaam al-Bukhaari whilst paying attention to the [core] meanings and without their being any detriment to it, I ask Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, to give you the good that you hope for, and that He helps you in everything in which there is good for the Muslims and in which lies their deliverance in this world and the next.

There is no doubt that the people of knowledge are in need of a summary of the Saheeh of Imaam al-Bukhaari whilst paying attention to [preserving] the [core] meanings, but that requires a huge effort and a long time, so if that [task] does not disrupt you from doing what is more important like directing [the people], teaching, da’wah and writing against innovations and superstitions/myths, and making authentic hadiths clear from the weak–then there is no harm in that.

In any case, my advice to your eminence is to fear Allaah in all matters and to seek His Guidance [istikhaarah], subhaanah, concerning this lofty project and to seek the counsel of those whose knowledge and advice you trust, and then if you are pleased with that then seek Allaah’s Aid and act–and [we] ask Allaah to grant you what is correct, and [to grant you] support and facilitation, and that He makes us and you and all of our brothers callers to guidance, helpers of the truth, indeed He is All-Hearing, the One who is Near, and we will spare no effort, inshaa Allaah, in seeking the help of some of those who love good to undertake the printing of your summary of Saheeh Muslim, and I will inform you of what comes of that, inshaa Allaah.

As for volumes nine, ten and eleven of Fathul-Baari, then we have taken them from Shaikh Muhammad Abdul-Muhsin al-Kutbi, and they will reach you, inshaa Allaah, via some of the students.

And the one who loves you [i.e., Shaikh Ibn Baaz is referring to himself as someone who loves Shaikh al-Albaani] is ready to provide every necessity and [fulfil every] need that he is able to, may Allaah make me and you from those who love each other for His Sake until the time we meet Him, subhaanah, and I hope that my greeting of salaam be conveyed to [my] sons [i.e., the youth] , and the notable Shaikhs and brothers especially Shaikh Zuhair, just as all the sons, Shaikhs and brothers amongst us are fine and in good health.

Was-salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.

PS. We have made a copy of Kitaabus-Sunnah of Ibn Abi Aasim with costs covered by the esteemed sir, Hasan ash-Sharbatli, and we indicated to him that a [fair] amount be printed, and he agreed to that.

We attained a manuscript of the aforementioned book and Shaikh Hammaad al-Ansaari, the one whom all love, informed me that it is written in a good [clear] script, so we borrowed it from its owner, and saw fit that two copies be sent to your eminence to correct, check and annotate after you tell us how much [monetary] compensation you deem to be appropriate for this project so that we can inform ash-Sharbatli about that and get his approval.

We have handed over the two books to Shaikh Ameen Lutfi to pass on to your eminence, and we are waiting for a speedy response from you concerning this issue.

Shaikh Zuhair mentioned to me that he has decided to print the aforementioned book and so I would hope that contact be made with him and that he be informed, so that I can [then] be notified of both of your opinions regarding that, for I fear that he may have a specific opinion concerning the topic since he has resolved to print the book.

And I ask Allaah to grant everyone the success to do what pleases Him.

Wa sallallaahu alaa Nabiyyinaa Muhammad wa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallam.

29/3/1390ah [4/6/1970ce]

Ar-Rasaa’il al-Mutabaadilah Bainash-Shaikh Ibn Baaz wal-Ulemaa,pp. 53-54.

Correspondence Between the Two Imaams, Al-Albaani and Ibn Baaz | A Letter Concerning the Printing of Fathul-Baari

In the Name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful

From Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, to His Eminence, Shaikh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz

Wa alaikum as-salaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.

So I praise Allaah, besides whom none has the right to be worshipped, [mentioning this praise] to you and I ask Him to continue to give us and you His Blessings, both hidden and apparent.

As for what follows:

I received your [most] gracious letter dated 20^th Shawwaal 1378ah [29/4/1959ce] some time ago and through it came to understand your resolve to print a new edition of Fathul-Baari. I thank you for the good opinion you have of your brother in that you nominated me to carry out the checking of the copy being prepared for publishing, and to compare it to other printed copies and manuscripts.

But I feel you should excuse me from that [duty] and charge it to someone else, for no other reason than the fact that I think it is more appropriate if I were to [instead] spend the time that that crucial work would demand by doing what is in dire need of my specialty [like] aiding the Sunnah by distinguishing between its authentic and weak hadiths and deriving rulings and understanding them.

For this reason I propose you look at the following suggestions:

That you ask someone to send the final draft [[fascicle] to me] after it has been corrected and prepared for print so that I can take a quick look at it, perchance I may come across some mistakes and thus correct them, and so that I can make notes in some places which it appears to me are in need of being annotated, something which can be limited according to the following:

1) Pointing out an authentic hadith which the author declared to be weak, or which he kept silent about.

2) [Likewise] pointing out a weak hadith which the author declared to be strong, or which he kept silent about.

3) Declaring the truth which is in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah about those issues which the commentator mentioned in detail but concerning which he did not then go on to choose a particular statement as being the one closest to the truth.

4) Clarifying some areas that need elucidation, especially those that are connected to the Salafi creed and doing that not by way of examination and scrutiny, for that would require free time and a huge effort, but rather according to what is easy for me to do.

In short, I hold that publishing the explanation with these verifications is more beneficial for the people, especially when it has reached me from a reliable source that one of the Moroccan hadith scholars from the Sufis has also made preparations to print this book. And there is no doubt that he will annotate it with comments which will direct the readers to his misguidance and innovations, from which is his taking the hadith, ‘O Allaah, bless us in our Shaam …’ They said, ‘And our Najd, O Messenger of Allaah,’ He replied, ‘Earthquakes and trials/tribulations are there …’ the hadith, which he uses against our monotheistic brothers from Najd and he calls them, rather he labels them [derogatively] as, ‘Qarniyyin.’

And this hadith is in Bukhaari as you know, do you not see the need to comment on it and others like it whose reality the innovators turn away from, and which they exploit to refute the monotheists, and which they use as a support in causing the misguided Muslims to fall into polytheism [shirk]?

Thereafter, I will seize this opportunity to present some suggestions to you which are connected to the printing of the book so that it can be published in an elegant and pleasing fashion:

1) Mentioning the chapter in the middle of the line.

2) Numbering the chapters and sections in an ordinal fashion to narrow down the number of sections in each chapter, for that helps in benefitting from the index of Bukhaari as is done in the book Miftaah Kunooz as-Sunnah.

3) Numbering each hadith sequentially to the end of the book, and with that, the number of hadith of Bukhaari will become clear, placing the numbering at the start of the line.

4) Writing the title of the chapter in the middle of the exegesis.

5) Mentioning the chapter in a header on each page.

6) Clarifying the confusing parts of the explanation through the use of diacritical marks.

7) Publishing each volume in a number of [smaller] volumes as they finally did with Lisaanul-Arab and Tabaqaatul-Kubraa, making it easier for those who want to buy it to do so [i.e., instead of having to buy the whole collection in one go].

8) Covering each volume with an engraved, colour binding in the manner done with Lisaan and Tabaqaat.

This is what I saw fit to mention as suggestions.

And I ask Allaah, the Most High, to grant you the success to print the book in the most correct and perfect manner, and your reward is upon Allaah, the Blessed and Most High.

Was-Salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu and [may this greeting also go] to all of the Shaikhs, teachers and brothers with you.

Your brother,

Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani
Damascus
28/11/1378ah [5/6/1959ce]

Ar-Rasaa’il al-Mutabaadilah Bainash-Shaikh Ibn Baaz wal-Ulemaa,pp. 51-53.

A Forgotten Sunnah: Two Units of Prayer After an Argument

From Abu Hurairah, may Allaah be pleased with him, in marfoo’ form, “The expiation for every argument/dispute is two units of prayer.”

As-Saheehah, vol. 4, p. 397.

Seeking Refuge from The Fire and Asking for Paradise Seven Times a Day

From Abu Hurairah who said, “The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘No servant seeks refuge from the Fire seven times in a day except that the Fire says, ‘O Lord! Indeed your servant, [called] so and so, has sought refuge with You from me, so grant him refuge. And no servant asks Allaah for Paradise seven times in a day except that Paradise says, ‘O Lord! Indeed your servant, [called] so and so, has asked for me, so make him enter Paradise.’’”

Shaikh al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “This hadith is authentic without doubt.

A point of benefit: Some people in Damascus and other places have made it a habit to seek refuge seven times as mentioned in the hadith loudly and in one voice after the morning prayer, and that is something which I know of no basis for in the pure Sunnah, and nor is this hadith suitable for them to draw upon [for saying it loudly and in unison] because it is unrestricted and is not limited to the morning prayer or the jamaa’ah, and it is not allowed to limit what the Wise Legislator has left unrestricted just as it is not allowed to make unlimited what He has restricted, for all of that is legislation which is specific to the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

So let whoever wants to act upon this hadith do so at any time of the night or day, before the prayer or after it–and that is a pure/unadulterated following [of the Sunnah] and pure sincerity, may Allaah the Blessed and Most High grant us it.”

As-Saheehah, vol. 6, pp. 22-23.

Ibn Baaz: ‘We spent our time with the speech of the scholars of fiqh, and al-Albaani spent his time with the hadiths of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم’

Shaikh Mashoor Hasan, may Allaah protect him, said, “A student of the Shaikh, the Allaamah, the Faqih of his time, Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, visited me, being very enthusiastic about meeting our Shaikh al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him.  When I asked him why he was so eager, he said, ‘I heard my Shaikh, Shaikh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, saying:

‘We spent our time with the speech of the scholars of fiqh [the fuqahaa], and al-Albaani spent his time with the hadiths of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.’’”

From this tape, at 22:40.

What is the Ruling Concerning Reading the Du’aa Upon Finishing the Recital of the Quraan Which is Printed at the End of Some Mushafs?

“Indeed the supplication printed at the end of some of the mushafs published in Turkey and other places with the title, ‘The Supplication for Completing [the Recital of] the Quraan,’ which is attributed to the Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, is something for which we do not know of any original source from Ibn Taymiyyah or any other scholar of Islaam.

And I didn’t like that it should be added to the end of the mushaf printed by Al-Maktab al-Islaami in Beirut in 1386ah [1966ce] under the donation of the Shaikh Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abdullaah Aal-Thaani, may Allaah have mercy on him. And even though it was printed with the phrase, ‘Attributed to the Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah,’ that will not [sufficiently] convey to the common folk the fact that its attribution to him is not correct, and we have been ordered to speak to the people in terms they can understand!

And there is no doubt that sticking to a particular supplication at the end of the recital of the Quraan is an innovation which is not permissible, due to the generality of the proofs, like his saying صلى الله عليه وسلم, ‘Every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire,’ and it is an innovation which Imaam ash-Shaatibi calls a, ‘secondary/supplementary innovation.’

And the Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah is one of those furthest away from bringing forth such innovations, and how could he when, in his time and afterwards, the initial merit for reviving Sunnahs and killing innovations was his.

May Allaah reward him with good.”

Ad-Da’eefah, vol. 13, p. 315.