Shaykh al-Albaanee was a Great Muhaddith and Faqeeh

Shaykh al-Albaanee (may Allaah have mercy on him) was a great Muhaddith and jurist. His books, tapes and halaqahs bear witness to that. The imams of fatwas and ijtihaad praise his knowledge and refer to him, and quote his words as evidence. However, the following points stated by Shaykh Munajjid[1] should be noted about him:

1. Shaykh al-Albaanee (may Allaah have mercy on him) was a human being, who got things right and made mistakes. No one should believe that his words are infallible. We have not found anyone who claims this explicitly, but we find many who believe it implicitly. 

2. It is not permissible for any follower of Shaykh al-Albaanee to continue to follow the shaykh’s view if it becomes clear to him that the opinion of another scholar of virtue is stronger; rather he must follow the truth wherever it is and whoever it is with

3. Shaykh al-Albaanee (may Allaah have mercy on him) did not introduce anything new into Islamic rulings and he often stated that he did not say anything that had not been said before. So the one who criticizes the Shaykh by saying that he came up with odd views and fatwas should fear Allaah and those who are fanatically devoted to the Shaykh should also fear Allaah. 

4. It is not in accordance with the methodology of Shaykh al-Albaanee (may Allaah have mercy on him) – or of any of the imams –to look at the verse and hadeeth and then derive from it whatever rulings one wants! Rather the Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on him) often complained about those who did that. He said: We were suffering from blind following (taqleed) and now we are suffering from a free-for-all! And he stated that blind following of the earlier scholars is far better than this free-for-all; rather for the ordinary Muslim, following a scholar is obligatory and this free-for-all is haraam. 

5. The one who follows the Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on him) has to realize that the Shaykh himself criticized blind following and enjoined seeking knowledge; he called on people to learn and said that the Muslim should follow the evidence from the Qur’aan and Sunnah. If the Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on him) told people not to follow Abu Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafi’ee and Ahmad blindly, he was more emphatic in telling them not to follow him blindly.  

6. The ordinary Muslim who agrees to follow Shaykh al-Albaanee (may Allaah have mercy on him), or any other scholar of the past or present, should not issue fatwas or argue with others. If those who follow a Shaykh or scholar adhere to this, the Ummah would be spared many of the bad things that we hear of here and there. 

7. The one in whom Allaah instils love of knowledge and the ability to weigh up the evidence and to know which is more likely to be correct is not permitted to be a blind follower of Shaykh al-Albaanee or anyone else. 

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[1] https://islamqa.info/en/113687

Verify Whatever You Hear or Read

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan stated:

Do not be in a haste with regard to what you hear from the people especially towards the end of time; as there are many who speak, issue religious rulings, raise (themselves) to (the status of having) knowledge and saying (possessing public audience), especially (this time) when the media is modernized; and every one now talks in the name of knowledge and religion so much so that even the people of misguidance and the strayed sects started talking in the name of religion on satellite television channels. The danger is very great!

It is therefore obligatory upon you, O Muslim and specifically the seeker of knowledge to verify. Do not be hasty about whatever you hear; you must verify and know the person that said it and from where he brought such thought. Then what is his basis? Is his evidence from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam)? Then, where did the person of this thought learn? From whom did he acquire knowledge? These are issues that require verification especially in this time. It is not every speaker (that you should accept what he says) even if he is an eloquent and fluent speaker who articulates speech (in a convincing way) to the listening (of the general public).

Do not be deceived by it until you see the extent of what he has of knowledge and understanding. Perhaps, his speech may be little but he is a scholar; and his speech may be much, whereas he is an ignorant person who has nothing in him of understanding. Rather, he has magical speech to deceive people and pretends that he is an understanding scholar and thinker or the like of that just to deceive and make them deviate from the truth.

What matters is not much speech and its eloquence; rather, regard should only be given to what it contains of knowledge and proof. It is possible that a little educative speech would be much more beneficial than much speech of eloquence that you cannot derive except a little benefit from it. And this is the reality of our time; as the speech (usually delivered) is much and little knowledge (derived from it). Reciters are becoming many while scholars are becoming few... So beware of this.

Source: A Gift to the Reader in Annotation of Sharh as-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 87-88 by Dr, Saalih bin Fawzaan bin Abdullah al-Fawzaan; translated by Abdus-Sami Abdus-Salam, published by Dar Makkah International.

The Signs of Taqwa

Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid stated:

If you are free from the diseases of heedlessness, belittling evil speeches and actions, and you feel constricted and hurt with evil deed whenever it occurs; and hasten unto Allaah seeking for salvation after committing a sin, then you have taqwa as these are among the attributes of the pious. This is because whenever a pious person commits a sin, he does not feel comfortable until he turns to Allaah and seeks for pardon and forgiveness for what has befallen him. The proof of that is the statement of Allaah: “Verily, those who are Al-Muttaqûn (the pious), when an evil thought comes to them from Shaitân (Satan), they remember (Allâh), and (indeed) they then see (aright).”[1]

It is impossible for the pious to find peace nor tranquillity nor rest except by going out of such state, and that is through seeking for forgiveness and turning to Allaah in repentance. A pious person always remembers his Lord because the remembrance of Allaah drives away the devil and his whisperings, and it purifies everything that enters into a person of impurity or filth from the doors of lusts or doubts that changes the heart.

Allaah states: “The believers are only those who, when Allâh is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Qur'ân) are recited unto them, they (i.e. the Verses) increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone). Who perform As-Salât (Iqâmat­ as­-Salât) and spend out of that We have provided them. It is they who are the believers in truth. For them are grades of dignity with their Lord, and Forgiveness and a generous provision (Paradise).”[2]

Source: Silsilah A’maal al-Quloob, p. 302-303 by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and Fear Allah Wherever You Are, p. 55-57 by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid; translated by Abdus-Samee’ Abdus-Salaam.

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[1] Soorah al-A’raaf: 201

[2] Soorah al-Anfaal: 2-4

Levels and Degrees of Sincerity

First: To perform a righteous deed for the sake of Allaah without considering and intending any other thing; this is the uppermost level of sincerity

Second: To perform a deed for the sake of Allaah and then consider and intend something permissible. For example, a man fasted with the intention of fasting for the sake of Allaah, and he also intended to preserve his good health. What is the ruling on this action of his? What about a man who intended pilgrimage and trade? And a man who fought [in the way of Allaah] and intended booty? What of a man who went to mosque and intended physical exercise with the walking?

What about man who attended congregational prayer in order to prove his trustworthiness and so that he will not be accused of anything? Do all these intentions nullify the deeds? They do not nullify the deeds but they may reduce the reward. The best thing is that they should not be present. There should neither be any partner in the deed nor should it find its way into it in the beginning.

Third: To intend and consider something not permissible to consider and intend. For instance, while a person was performing a righteous deed, the intention that is not permissible for him to have entered into it, such as show off, seeking for fame and people’s praise and so on. Does this nullify the action or not? If it occurred at the beginning of the action, it nullifies it. It is like someone who prayed for people’s sake. If the thought of show off occurred to him while performing the action and he repelled it and fought against it, his action is valid and rewarded. [However], if the thought of show off occurred to him while performing the action and he did not repel it; rather, he continued with the show off, such nullifies the action.

Fourth: To perform a righteous deed for the sake of the world alone. He fasted for the sake of dietary not desiring reward; a man went for pilgrimage for the sake of trade alone; an individual gave out zakaah in order for his wealth to increase; a man went for jihaad for the sake of booty and the man who went to the mosque for the sake of physical exercise and good health… the deeds of all these people are null and void.

Allaah the Most High said: “Whoever wishes for the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell, he will burn therein disgraced and rejected, (far away from Allaah's Mercy).” [Soorah Al-Israa’: 18]

Allaah also said: “They are those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do.” [Soorah Hood: 16]

Fifth: To perform a deed solely for show off. Question: Does show off nullify the deed or the person is just sinful? Response: show off nullifies the deed and the person is sinful. This is because there are things that nullify deed without the person being sinful like passing wind during prayer. There are some people who show off with fatwa by issuing a fatwa to the rich and noble people contrary to what they issue to the poor. They would say to the rich: We issued fatwa to the people that it is not permissible but it is permissible to you. They may do that due to their weakness in front of them. 

Consequently, some of the pious predecessors said: ‘If you see a scholar going to the gates of the rulers, know that he is a thief; and if you see him going to the rich people, know that he is insincere. As for the one who goes with the intention of repudiation and goodness, for him is what he intended.

Source: Sisilah A’maal al-Quloob, p. 32-34 by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid or Sincerity, p. 67-71 by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, translated by Abdus-Samee Abdus-Salaam

The Fiqh of Making up Salaah

1.    Should the person who slept through the time of Salaah make it up?

Shaykh al-Albaanee: The one who slept through the time of Salaah should make up the prayers he has missed while he was sleeping. [ath-Thamr al-Mustataab (55)]

2.    Should an insane person make up his prayer regardless of whether the period of his insanity was short or long?

Shaykh al-Albaanee: An insane person is not required to make up his Salaah regardless of whether the period of the insanity was short or long. And this the view of the Shaafi’ees and the preferred view of Shaykh al-Islaam in al-Ikhtiyaraat. [ath-Thamr al-Mustataab (1/55)]

3.    Is the one who was unconscious required to make up his missed prayers?

Shaykh al-Albaanee: He is not required to make up anything. And this the view of Ibn Hazm. [ath-Thamr al-Mustataab (1/55)]

4.    Is a disbeliever required to make up any Salaah when he accepts Islaam?

Shaykh al-Albaanee: He is not required to make up prayers due to the saying of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam): “Islaam destroys whatever came before it.”[1] [ath-Thamr al-Mustataab (1/55)]

5.    Should the one who deliberately abandoned Salaah make it up?

Shaykh al-Albaanee: The prayer that an individual intentionally abandoned till the legislated time passed cannot be expiated for by observing it after its legislated time, because he had no legitimate excuse [for nor observing it at the stipulated time]. And Allaah the exalted said: “Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.”[2] [as-Saheehah, (1/681-682)]

Source: Tawjeeh as-Saaree lil-Ikhtiyaraat al-Fiqhiyyah li Shaykh al-Albaanee, p. 41-42 compiled by Mahmood bin Ahmad Raashid

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[1] Recorded by Ahmad

[2] Soorah an-Nisaa: 103