The Albaani Site

Examples of his Patience

I caused myself to go hungry at the end of 1379 [1959 ce] for forty consecutive days–I did not eat any food during those days whatsoever, nothing but water entered my stomach.  That was in the desire to be cured from certain ailments, and [at the end of it] I was [indeed] cured from some but not others.  Before doing this I had sought a cure with some doctors for close to ten years without any apparent benefit.  I took away two tangible benefits from this forced hunger:

The first: the ability of a person to endure hunger for such a long period of time in opposition to what many people think.

The other: that going hungry can help in curing obesity related ailments as Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, mentioned, just as it can help with other illnesses as many people have [tried and] experienced.  Yet it does not help with all illnesses and with all body types, in contrast to what the author of the book, ‘Seeking Cures through Fasting,’ a European author, claimed.  And over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing.

His Father asking him about a Hadith

So I saw fit that I should speak about it, clarifying its defects–especially when the closest of people to me had asked me about it, and that was none other than my father, may Allaah have mercy upon him, and reward him on my behalf with the best of rewards.

Shaikh Mustafaa az-Zarqaa asking him about Hadiths

And this hadith was one of those that the noble teacher Mustafaa az-Zarqaa presented to me, desiring that I verify and check it, and this was on the 15th of the Islamic month of Jumaada ath-Thaani, 1371 which corresponds to the 12th of March, 1952.

His Journeys in Search of Knowledge

Egypt
During the short time that I spent in Cairo and Alexandria it was only possible for me to meet but a few of the people of knowledge and excellence, for example, the author of Islamic works Muhibbud-Deen al-Khateeb, Ustaadh Muhammad al-Ghazaali [who the Shaikh went on to refute later, translators note], Shaikh Abdur-Razzaaq Afeefi and Shaikh Abdul-Aziz ar-Raashid.

While I was in Cairo I would go–every time the opportunity presented itself–to Daar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah to study the manuscripts of the books of hadith there.  I did the same when I left it and went to Alexandria, going to its library known as Al-Maktabah al-Baladiyyah, and I received copious and important benefits from both of these libraries.  From this second library, I copied out with my own hand a treatise of al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaani in which he checked and verified the hadiths which al-Haafidh al-Qizweeni brought in the book Masaabih as-Sunnah and he judged therein that they were fabricated.

Aleppo
For many years one of my habits had been that I would travel to Aleppo for a week every month, spending it, or the great majority of it, in its only library there which is full of manuscripts, called Maltabah al-Awqaaf al-Islaamiyyah.  So I would spend hours there every day studying its manuscripts, copying what was of importance from it for my knowledge-based projects.  In addition to that I would also study the Sunnah and its sciences with some of those who desired knowledge, giving them a number of lessons every week [that I was there].

His Journey to Baital-Maqdis [Jerusalem]

And I travelled to Jerusalem for the first time on the 23rd of the Islamic month of Jumaada al-Awwal, 1385 [September 1965 ce], when the governments of Jordan and Syria agreed to allow their residents to travel freely between both countries without a passport.  So I seized the opportunity and travelled and prayed in the Al-Aqsaa mosque.  I visited the Rock, just to see it, since it has no [specific] excellence [mentioned] in the light of the Sharee’ah, in contrast to what the majority of the people think and what the government advocates.

Spain
In the month of Rajab, 1392 which corresponds to August, 1972 [he travelled to] Andalus when he was called to attend a conference for the unity of Muslim students held in Granada.

Morocco
My first journey to Morocco was at the end of the fourth month [Rabee ath-Thaani] in the year 1396 [1976 ce].

Qatr
In the blessed month of Ramadaan in 1392 [1972 ce, I travelled to Qatr] and in early Rabee al-Awwal in the year 1402 [1982].

His Second Journey to the Emirates
I returned to it on the 29th of March 1985 with official permission, numbered 1094/i, then I left on the 5th of April 1985 as is recorded in my passport with number 284024 sr/77.

Hayaatul-Allaamah al-Albaani, rahimahullaah, bi qalamihi, pp. 22-26.