Shaykh Nāsir Uddīn Albānī, a great scholar of Hadīth of present times died a couple of months ago. The following email which describes his life and works was received on 5-10-99. (Editor)
Assalāmu Alaykum
The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, And we will not say except what pleases our Lord, Indeed we are grieved by your separation’. (Sahīh Bukhārī)
It is with deep sorrow that we inform of the passing away of a great soul, Shaykh Albānī. May Allah bestow his mercy and forgiveness to him. He died on the 2nd October after ‘Asr time,. He left behind a legacy of decades of cleansing the Hadīth from falsehoods.
Words cannot express the sadness that the heart is filled with. As if the world is a strange planet where we no longer belong. He was one whose knowledge, sincerity and honesty gave us some comfort in this place; someone whom we could depend on for the knowledge of our religion; verily, he has departed from the company of the men of this earth to the company of the men of the Hereafter.
He was one of the few scholars who could truly be called a Muhaddith. Allah had gifted him with a comprehensive understanding of Islam. He strove hard to revive the Sunnah. His life from his youth to his old age was dedicated to the Da‘wah of this religion in order that the Muslims may practice their religion like the Companions of the Prophet (sws) and avoid deviations. He wrote numerous books to this end which are well known among the students of Islam. May Allah reward him for all his efforts and give him the company of the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the pious.
The Shaykh was born in the city of Ashkodera, then the capital of Albania in the year 1914 AD to a poor family. His father Nūh Najjātī Albānī had completed Sharī‘ah studies in Istanbul and returned a scholar to Albania. After Albania was taken over by atheism the family migrated to Damascus. In Damascus, Albānī completed his initial education and was then taught the Qur’ān, Tajwīd, sciences of the Arabic language, Fiqh of the Hanafites and other disciplines by various Shaykhs and friends of his father.
He also learnt from his father the art of clock and watch repair -- and became highly skilled in it. He later became famous for it and earned his living through it. He began to specialize in the field of Hadīth and its related sciences by the age of 20 -- being influenced by articles in Al-Manār magazine. He began to work in this by field by transcribing Irāqī’s monumental Al-Mughnī and adding notes to it. He delved further into the field of Hadīth and its various sciences despite discouragement from his father. Furthermore, the books he needed were not to be found in his father’s library which was composed mainly of various works of the Hanafite Fiqh -- and since he could not afford many of the books he required, he would borrow them from the famous library of Damascus ‘Al-Maktabah al-Zāhiriyyah’ and sometimes even from book sellers.
He became engrossed with the science of Hadīth to the extent that he would sometimes close up his shop and remain in the library for up to twelve hours -- breaking off his work only for prayer - he would not even leave to eat, but would take two light snacks with him. Eventually the library authorities granted him a special room to himself for his study and his own key for access to the library before normal opening time. Often he would remain at work from early morning until after ‘Ishā. During this time he produced many useful works -- many of which are still yet to be printed.
The Shaykh’s study of Hadīth of Allah’s Messenger (sws) had a great effect on him and resulted in his turning away from the blind following of his former school of thought and instead to accept and act upon the Book and the Sunnah -- with the understanding of the pious predecessors. As a result, he was sometimes at variance with some of the local Shaykhs who blindly followed the Hanafites, and likewise with the local Sufi imams and innovators who began to oppose him and incite the common people against him by calling him a, ‘Wahhābī deviant’. He was however, encouraged by some of the noble Shaykhs of Damascus who urged him to continue. The Shaykh therefore faced much opposition in his efforts to promote Tawhīd and the Sunnah but he bore this with patience and perseverance.
After sometime, he started giving two weekly classes attended by enthusiastic students and university teachers - in which he taught various books of ‘Aqīdah, Fiqh, Usūl and Hadīth sciences. He also began to organize monthly journeys for Da‘wah to the various cities of Syria and then Jordan. After a number of his works appeared in print, the Shaykh was chosen to teach Hadīth in the new University in Madīnah, Saudi Arabia, for three years from 1381 to 1383 AH -- where he was also a member of the University board. After this, he returned to his former studies and work in ‘Maktabatah Al-Zāhiriyyah’ leaving his shop in the hands of one of his brothers.
He visited various countries for Da‘wah and lectures - amongst them Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, the Emirates, Spain and England. He was forced to emigrate a number of times moving from Syria to Jordan, then Syria again, then Beirut, then the Emirates, then again to Ammaan, Jordan where he resided upon his death.
His works - mainly in the field of Hadīth and its sciences number over 100. His students are many and include many Shaykhs of the present day.
Regards
Fawaz
fawaz@nettaxi.com