Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani

See Albani for other uses of that name.

Islamic scholar Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albani
Title	Shaykh
Born	1914 Shkodër, Albania
Died	October 4, 1999 (86 age) Amman, Jordan
Ethnicity	Albanian
Region	Middle Eastern Scholar, originally from Europe
Maddhab	Formerly Hanafi[1]
School tradition	Salafi
Main interests	Hadith, Hadith sciences
Influenced	Sheikh Rabee Al-Madkhali Dr. Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar Sheikh Muqbil bin Haadi al-Waadi'ee Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani (Arabic: محمد ناصر الدين الألباني‎) (1914 – October 2, 1999) was an influential Albanian Salafi Islamic scholar of the 20th Century; he specialised in the fields of hadith and fiqh. He was also a prolific writer and speaker.

Biography

Early life

Al- albani was born into a poor family in the city of Shkodër. His father, Haaj Nuh Najati al-Albani, had completed Sharia studies in Istanbul and returned to Albania. During the reign of secularist Ahmet Zogu, al-Albani's family disagreed with the Western-influenced views of the government and migrated to Damascus. In Damascus, he completed his early education, and taught himself the Quran, Tajwid, Arabic linguistic sciences, Hanafi Fiqh and further branches of the religion with the help of native scholars.^[2] In the meantime, he used to earn his living by working as a watchmaker, a trade he learned from his father.^[2]

Beginning of hadith studies

By the age of twenty al-Albani began specializing in the field of hadith and its related sciences, becoming influenced by articles in Al-Manaar magazine. He began work in this field by transcribing Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi's monumental Al-Mughnee 'an-hamlil-Asfar fil-Asfar fee takhrej maa fil-lhyaa min al-Akhbar.^[2]

Scholastic career

After some time he started giving two weekly classes attended by university students, teaching various books of Aqidah, Fiqh, Usul and Hadith. He also began organizing monthly journeys for da'wah to various cities in Syria and Jordan.

After a number of his works appeared in print, Al-Albani started to teach Hadith at the Islamic University of Madinah, for three years (from 1381 to 1383H) where he was also a member of the University board. Later he would return to his studies and work in the Az-Zahiriyah library, leaving his shop in the hands of one of his brothers.^[2]

He visited various countries for preaching and lectures – amongst them Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Spain and the United Kingdom. He was forced to emigrate a number of times moving from Syria to Jordan, then Syria again, then Beirut, then the UAE, then again to Amman, Jordan.^[2]

Views

The scholar Zayd Ibn Fayad said about him:^[3]

Indeed, Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin Al-Albani is from the most prominent and distinguished personalities of this era. He had great concern for the Hadith – its paths of transmission, its reporters and its levels of authenticity or weakness. This is an honorable task from the best things in which hours can be spent and efforts can be made. And he was like any other of the scholars – those who are correct in some matters and err in other matters. However, his devotion to this great science is from that which requires that his prestige be acknowledged and his endeavors in it be appreciated.

Another scholar and teacher, Muhibb-ud-Deen Al-Khatib, said:^[3][4]

And from the callers to the Sunnah who devoted their lives to reviving it was our brother Muhammad Nasiruddin Nooh Najati Al-Albani.

Dr. Muied-uz-Zafar of Indian administrated Kashmir has recently been awarded PhD on the contributions of Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani by the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) India. Zafar's research speaks about many novel aspects of al-Albani. The dissertation deals with the life and contribution of the Shaikh to hadith literature at length. The last chapter of the work is exclusively based on the evaluation of the criticism written against Albani and attempts to deal with the issue in a balanced manner.^[5]

Works

His works, mainly in the field of Hadith and its sciences, number over 100 and include:^[2]

1. At-Targhib wa't-Tarhib (Volumes 1–4)
2. At-Tasfiyyah wa't-Tarbiyya
3. At-Tawassulu: Anwau'hu wa Ahkamuhu (Tawassul: Its Types & Its Rulings) (link to english translation)
4. Irwa al-Ghalil (Volumes 1–9)
5. Talkhis Ahkam al-Janaez
6. Sahih wa Da'if Sunan Abu Dawood (Volumes 1–4)
7. Sahih wa Da'if Sunan at-Tirmidhi (Volumes 1–4)
8. Sahih wa Da'if Sunan ibn Majah (Volumes 1–4)
9. al-Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah Sharh wa Ta'liq
10. Sifatu Salati An-Nabiyy (link to English translation)
11. Silsalat al-Hadith ad-Da'ifa (Volumes 1–14)
12. Silsalat al-Hadith as-Sahiha (Volumes 1–11)
13. Salat ut-Tarawih (later an abridgement of this book was published by al-Albani – Qiyamu Ramadhan)

n\salat u nabawi (in the light of authentic hadiths)

See also

• Ibn Taymiyyah
• Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya
• Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz
• Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen
• Salafism

References

1. ^ al-Albani, Muhammad, al-Thamr al-Mustatab, vol. 1, pg. 103, Kuwait: Ghiras, first edition, 2002.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} A Brief Biography of Ash-Shaikh Al-Muhaddith Abu 'Abdir-Rahmaan Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaani by Dr. 'Aasim 'Abdullaah al-Qaryooti
3. ^ ^{a b} al-Asalaah, Issue #23, Pg. 76–77
4. ^ Biography of Shaikh Muhammad Naasiruddin al-Albaani by Shaykh 'Ali Hasan al-Halabi
5. ^ "Contribution of Shaykh Nasir al Din Albani to Hadith Literature",PhD thesis of Dr. Muied-uz-Zafar, Department of Islamic Studies, AMU, Aligarh, India, Supervisor: Professor Muhammad Mazhar Yasin Siddiqui, 2005)

External links

• Al-Albani Unveiled by Sayf ad-Din Ahmed ibn Muhammad
• Jewels of Guidance (selected words and incidents from the life of Shaykh al-Albani)
• Debate between Muhammad Sa'id al-Buti and al-Albani
• Comprehensive collection of al-Albani articles and books in English
• Al-Albani website (Arabic language)
• The Authoratative Guide to Shaikh al-Albaani, Updated Regularly
• Refutation of the book 'Al-Albani Unveiled'
• An Albanian fervent scholar of Prophetic Tradition
• Immam al-Albani English site

Persondata
Name	Al-Albani, Muhammad Nasiruddin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1914
Place of birth	Shkodër, Albania
Date of death	October 2, 1999
Place of death	Amman, Jordan