Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani (Arabic: ﻦﻳﺪﻟﺍ ﺮﺻﺎﻧ ﺪﻤﺤﻣ ﻲﻧﺎﺒﻟﻷﺍ) (1914 – October 2, 1999) was an Albanian Islamic scholar of the 20th century; he specialised in the fields of hadith and fiqh. He was also a prolific writer and speaker, in addition to an artisan. Biography Early life Albani was born into a poor family in the city of Shkodër in northwestern Albania. During the reign of the secularist Albanian leader Ahmet Zogu, al-Albanis family migrated to Damascus, Syria, due to their displeasure with the Western- influenced views of the Albanian government. In Damascus, Albani completed his early education - initially taught by his father - in the Quran, Tajwid, Arabic linguistic sciences, Hanafi Fiqh and further branches of the Islamic faith with the help of native Syrian scholars.[1] [2] In the meantime, he earned a modest living as a carpenter before joining his father as a watchmaker, a trade he was to master.[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-Iraqis monumental Al-Mughnee an- hamlil-Asfar fil-Asfar fee takhrej maa fil-lhyaa min al-Akhbar.[2] Scholastic career Becoming famous for his knowledge of Hadith studies, Albani began delivering informal weekly lessons starting in 1954. By 1960, his popularity began to worry the government of Syria despite Albanis apolitical nature, and he was placed under surveillance.[3] After a number of his works appeared in print, he was invited to teach Hadith at the Islamic University of Madinah by the Universitys then-vice president, Ibn Baz. Shortly upon his arrival, Albanis anti-traditionalist stances in Muslim jurisprudence angered the Wahhabi elite in Saudi Arabia, who were alarmed at Albanis intellectual challenges to the ruling Hanbali school of law but unable to challenge him openly due to his popularity.[4] When Albani authored a book in support of his view that the Niqab, or full face-veil, was not a binding obligation upon Muslim women, he caused a minor uproar in the country and gave his opponents justification for allowing his contract with the university to lapse without renewal.[4] In 1963, he left Saudi Arabia and returned to his studies and work in the Az-Zahiriyah library, leaving his watch shop in the hands of one of his brothers.[2] In 1967, Albani was seized by Syrian government authorities in a sweep of Sunni clerics and spent a month in prison before they were all released. After Bin Bazs intervention with Saudi educational management, Albani was invited to Saudi Arabia a second time in order to serve as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca.[5] This did not last due to controversy among the Saudi establishment regarding Albanis views; he returned to Syria where he was again jailed briefly in 1979, at which point he moved to Jordan. 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 Albani was a well-known proponent of Salafism, and is considered one of the movements primary figureheads in the 20th century. He was critical of what he viewed as the stagnation of Muslim civilization, blaming blind fanaticism to old traditions and the stifling of free thought and inquiry. This led Albani to criticism of the four mainstream schools of Islamic law, in addition to the spread of Sufism and the Tariqa system. Despite Salafisms frequent association with Wahhabism, Albani was a critic of the latter while a proponent of the former, and held a complex relationship with both movements.[6][7][8] Albanis own views on jurisprudence and dogma are a matter of some discussion. During a 1989 visit to Saudi Arabia, Albani was asked if he adhered to the lesser-known Zahiri school of Islamic law, to which he replied in the affirmative.[9] Albanis opponents among the mainstream have affirmed this as a point of criticism, though a number of Albanis students have denied his association with any formal school of jurisprudence
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 10:23:01 +0000
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