Questioner: O Shaikh! You said concerning the hadith about giving the adhaan in the ear of a newborn child that its chain of narration is weak?
Al-Albaani: Yes.
Questioner: You said that its chain of narration is weak, is that statement correct, O Shaikh?
Al-Albaani: Yes, yes, correct.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 594.
Also refer to this post.
Questioner: Our Shaikh, the question is: is the hadith about giving the adhaan in the ear of a newborn child established? I heard that it’s da’eef, should we act on it?
Al-Albaani: No.
Questioner: What do you advise us to do?
Al-Albaani: My advice: [and] this is a clarification for the people, I used to hold that the adhaan in the ear of a newborn child was legislated, aware of the fact that the hadith which states that it is a Sunnah to do so in the ear of a newborn child was reported in Sunan at-Tirmidhi with a weak chain of narration, but I follow the path of strengthening weak hadiths with supporting narrations.
I had found a supporting narration for this hadith in Ibn al-Qayyim’s book well-known as, ‘Tuhfatul-Mawdood bi-Ahkaam al-Mawlood,’ where he had ascribed this supporting narration to al-Baihaqi’s Shu’ab al-Eemaan, and even though he had stated that its chain of narration was weak, I regarded this statement of his to mean that the chain of narration was not severely weak [but just weak]. Based upon that, I considered it to be a supporting narration for the hadith of at-Tirmidhi which is from the narrations of Abu Raafi’.
In those days Shu’ab al-Eemaan was not available, not in manuscript form or as a printed book, [and] as many of you know despite my presence in the Dhaahiriyyah Library which has thousands of hadith manuscripts, this book, Shu’ab al-Eemaan of al-Haafidh al-Baihaqi, was not present in it, in fact it was not present in most of the world’s libraries.
Nowadays it has been published and added to the Islamic libraries, it is an extremely valuable book which has many hadiths which are not found in the six books [of hadith] or, in fact, others too. From these hadiths is the one which I had relied upon Ibn al-Qayyim about, in terms of it being a supporting narration for Abu Raafi’s hadith in Sunan at-Tirmidhi.
[When I read it] all of a sudden [I found that] Imaam al-Baihaqi reported this [supporting] hadith in his book Shu’ab with a chain of narration which had two narrators accused of being liars—so at that point it became clear to me that Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy om him, was lax/lenient when he stated that the hadith’s chain of narration was only weak—what is correct is that it is very weak.
In this situation it is not allowed for someone who works in the science of hadith to take something which is very weak as a supporting narration for something which is not very weak.
At that point I had no choice but to retract the declaration that the hadith of Abu Raafi’ found in Sunan at-Tirmidhi was strengthened by the hadith in Shu’ab al-Eemaan, due to it being severely weak, so [the end result is that] Abu Raafi’s hadith stayed weak.
And I, according to what Allaah has guided me towards in terms of the impermissibility of acting on a weak hadith, went back to the stance that: so long as the chain of narration of Abu Raafi’s hadith is weak and its supporting narration is even weaker than it, then [the end result is that] the weak hadith stays weak as it is, and I retracted my previous stance of the adhaan in the ear of a newborn child being a Sunnah or something legislated.
This is the answer to the question.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 562.
Also refer to this post.
Those of you subscribed to the blog will have to click the title of the post in the email you receive to be able to listen to the audio:
In the audio below, Shaikh al-Albaani is teaching some brothers how to correctly perform the adhaan, at about 10:38 in to it, he recommends Mahmood Khaleel al-Husari’s recitaiton:
Here is Shaikh Mahmood Khaleel al-Husari’s recitation of Surah Rahmaan:
More of al-Husari’s recitation here.
Questioner: Ustaadh, a man enters the mosque while the mu’adhin is giving the adhaan, does he pray the tahiyyatul-masjid or stand in order to repeat what the mu’adhin says?
Al-Albaani: I think your question is wanting, it is a general question, I think you mean on Fridays?
Questioner: No, in general, O Ustaadh.
Al-Albaani: That’s easier [then], it’s easier if you mean in general.
Questioner: Yes.
Al-Albaani: No, he answers the mu’adhin [i.e., repeats after him], and then afterwards reads the tahiyyatul-masjid.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 234.
Questioner: Regarding the du’aa for the adhaan, is it also legislated for the iqaamah?
Al-Albaani: That is what is apparent from his statement ﷺ, “When you hear the mu’adhin, then say the same as him …” and in a hadith whose authenticity is well-known he made the iqaamah an adhaan, “Between every two adhaans there is a prayer for whoever wants to [pray it],” so the iqaamah is an adhaan, the rulings of the adhaan apply to it from which is answering the mu’adhin [i.e., saying the same as him] and asking for the Waseelah for the Prophet ﷺ and sending salaah upon him ﷺ.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 79.
Questioner: Salaatul-Haajah [The prayer for a need], is there anything reported about it, O Shaikh?
Al-Albaani: No, nothing authentic, there are reports but they are not authentic.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 528.
Questioner: Regarding newspapers which we eat on, is it allowed to eat on newspapers?
Al-Albaani: It’s not allowed to use them like that, because they have Allaah’s Name in them, or Muhammad ibn Abdullaah’s ﷺ name, maybe an aayah or a hadith and so on.
Questioner: Is it allowed to pray on a newspaper?
Al-Albaani: Standing on it?
Questioner: No, ya’ni, prostrating on it.
Al-Albaani: It’s not allowed to use them in such a manner.
Questioner: Absolutely not?
Al-Albaani: Absolutely.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 52.
Questioner: In some of your tapes we heard that moving the [index] finger in the tashahhud is not done by raising and lowering it, i.e., [but should be done by moving it] from the right to the left, so we implement this, walhamdulillaah, but the people ask us what the proof for that is?
Al-Albaani: How do you implement it?
Questioner: Ya’ni, I move my finger from the right to the left.
Al-Albaani: Who told you that?
Questioner: One of your tapes, O Shaikh.
Al-Abaani: No, you’re mistaken.
Questioner: What is the correct way?
Al-Albaani: The correct way is that you move it in its place, not to the right and left, in other words, you raise it and lower it but in a manner that can hardly be seen, understand?
Questioner: Understood, O Shaikh, understood.
Al-Albaani: As for moving it the right and left then this has crept in among you from your old madhhab, or from the madhhab of some of you in Algeria and Morocco and those countries on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, i.e., the Maaliki madhhab, they are the ones who do what you mentioned …
Questioner: In [your book] Sifatus-Salaatin-Nabee, you mentioned that when Imaam Ahmad was asked whether he pointed with his finger in the prayer he said, ‘Yes, intensely.’ Intensely, what does intensely mean here? The speed or what?
Al-Albaani: That is it, ya’ni, a lot.
Questioner: A lot?
Al-Albaani: Yes.
Questioner: Alhamdulillaah.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 564.
Also read this post.
Al-Albaani: I say that many of the callers to prayer turn their chests away from the Qiblah, they turn away from the Qiblah with their chests when they give the call to prayer and announce the Iqaamah—and this is in opposition to the Sunnah.
Turning away during the adhaan and iqaamah is only done with the mouth, the face naturally, and not with the chest and shoulders, just as it should be when one leaves the prayer, i.e., when he gives salaam.
Yet despite this we see many of the people who pray fall into this mistake, when they pray they say, “As-Salaamu alaikum …” [here the Shaikh is physically demonstrating to those in front of him the incorrect way people give salaam at the end of the prayer by turning their chests and shoulders away from the Qiblah], this is incorrect.
The salaam is completed as he was, facing the Qiblah, the Prophet ﷺ used to only turn towards the right with his head such that the whiteness of his cheek could be seen by those behind him, and likewise to the left—so when giving salaam these two shoulders don’t move, the same goes for the adhaan.
So when he turns then it is like this and this, as occurs in Sahih al-Bukhari from the hadith of Abu Juhaifah as-Sawaa’i [may Allaah be pleased with him], that he saw Bilaal [may Allaah be pleased with him] giving the call to prayer and he saw him turning to the right and left with his mouth [i.e., his face]—thus we don’t move at all … [in the call to prayer you say], ‘Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar …’ we get to, ‘Come to prayer! Come to prayer!’—stay exactly as you are, don’t turn away from the Qiblah with your chest, because facing the Qiblah during the adhaan is part of the perfection of the Sunnah of the adhaan.
And this is a reminder, and reminders benefit the believers.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 532.
Al-Albaani: I want to remind my brothers who are here that I noticed when some of them are praying and they move their finger in tashahhud, they move it too much in a way that is not legislated.
There is no doubt that moving the finger in tashahhud is the Sunnah, but many times our brothers from Ahlus-Sunnah mix this movement [of the finger] up with another thing which is not from the Sunnah, and that is lowering and raising it.
I noticed in this mosque that the brother, the Imaam, may Allaah reward with him good, is active in spreading the Sunnah, for I saw some of the people in the mosque moving their fingers in tashahhud, and this is proof that the Imaam, walhamdulillaah, is carrying out the duty of calling to the Sunnah.
So I saw some of these people and [also] some of our brothers with us on this trip, [I noticed] that they add something to this movement which can be described as lowering and raising, i.e., this is lowering and raising—this has no basis in the Sunnah, all that has been mentioned in the Sunnah is that it is moved, i.e., there is a Sunnah that should be observed when moving [the finger], i.e., that the finger should be pointing towards the Qiblah, so when you point it towards the Qiblah and move it, don’t lower it, because if you do then you have made it point towards the ground, and the ground is not your Qiblah, the Qiblah is in front of you.
So here is your knee, and your palm is on your knee, so as soon as you sit you curl your fingers up and make a circle with your thumb and your middle finger, then you raise your index finger and move it—don’t raise and lower it—this has no basis in the Sunnah, rather you move it in its place.
This is what I wanted to remind you of and reminders benefit the believers.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 494.
Also refer to this post for further clarification.
The Imaam said, “… as will not be hidden from students of knowledge like us …”
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 341.
Questioner: What is the most correct opinion regarding the prostrations of forgetfulness? [Should they be done] before or after [the salaam]?
Al-Albaani: Both are allowed.
Questioner: And the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “For each forgetfulness there are two prostrations after giving the salutation?” [Saheeh Abu Dawud, no. 954, Hasan]
Al-Albaani: There are other hadiths which permit the prostration before the salaam, and that is why I said both are allowed.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 338.
Questioner: The distance which a person walking in front of someone praying must leave, someone who hasn’t taken a sutrah?
Al-Albaani: After the [place of] prostration of the person praying.
Questioner: After the [place of] prostration, about three cubits [arm’s-lengths]?
Al-Albaani: Yes.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 322.
Questioner: The person who prays without a Sutrah, what is the ruling on his prayer?
Al-Albaani: The prayer is valid but he is sinful.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 184.
Questioner: If someone finishes the tashhahud and then remembers that he only prostrated once, what should he do?
Al-Albaani: He carries out the second prostration and then reads the tashahhud again and after that does the prostrations of forgetfulness [sujood as-sahw].
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 96.
Questioner: In prayer, do we say the Basmalah [i.e., Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem] and the isti’aadhah [i.e., A’uthu billaahi minash-Shaitaanir-Rajeem] between al-Faatihah and the Surah after it?
Al-Albaani: When someone who is praying finishes reciting al-Faatihah and starts a surah from its beginning then he reads the basmalah before it, because it is a surah, except for Surah Baraa’ah, as is known. As for when he starts his recitation from the middle of the surah or its end, then there is no basmalah.
Al-isti’aadhah is [said] at the beginning of the recitation only.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 814.
Al-Albaani: So, my brother, if some brothers from the people of hadith or those who follow the Salaf oppose someone like me, or, for example, Ibn Baaz—then this is not the criterion/gauge [by which we measure], the criterion is knowledge, whoever knowledge has reached has had the proof established against him.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 799.
Al-Albaani: “Purify your intentions, so that you perform acts of worship as your Lord ordered you to.”
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 716.
Al-Albaani: “Allaah’s Forgiveness, my brothers, out of all of the goals of a Muslim’s life, is the ultimate.”
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 696.
Questioner: Some [people’s] bodies, ya’nee, like mine, when I, especially when the Imaam straightens our rows in the mosque on the line, we put, ya’nee, our toes on the line, and a big person like me when he sits for tashahhud he is distinct in front of those praying [i.e., he sticks out].
Should I move back until I’m [sitting] in line with them, or stay as I am, protruding …
Al-Albaani: No, [since if you did that then] so as not to stand out in front you will stand out from behind [if you moved back].
Questioner: Yes, this is it.
Al-Albaani: Stay as you are—your Lord created you.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 339.
Questioner: When giving salaam at the end of the prayer, is it allowed for me to give salaam behind the Imaam to the right and then to the left or do I have to wait until he’s finished giving salaam on both sides [before I start]?
Al-Albaani: This is a good question. You shouldn’t wait for his second salaam, because one exits the prayer through the first, i.e., the first salaam [to the right] is the one that is the rukn out of the two, the second one [to the left] is a Sunnah, if he does it, you do it, and if he doesn’t you don’t and along with him you are content with that first salaam.
What the people do nowadays in terms of waiting for the Imaam until they hear him finish the second salaam and then they follow him by doing the first and second tasleem, this goes against the most correct opinion in this issue.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 328.
Questioner: [How far is a person who has some units of prayer to make up permitted to walk to get to his Sutrah?]
Al-Albaani: He can take some steps such that if he is seen no one will say, ‘He’s not praying,’ [i.e., no one will assume that by the looks of it he is not praying], because actions that are many nullify the prayer.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 290.
Host: The questioner says, ‘The Imaam of a mosque forgets to recite al-Faatihah in a rak’ah, he only remembers whilst he is [actually] in rukoo’, what should he do?
Al-Albaani: He cancels the rukoo’ and stands up and reads al-Faatihah and then carries on with the prayer, he cancels the rukoo’, cuts it off and stands up straight away and recites al-Faatihah … and if it is the first or second rak’ah he reads a Surah or part of one [after Faatihah] and then bows and continues the prayer.
Someone Else: [What about] the people praying behind him, O Shaikh of ours?
Al-Albaani: They do as he does.
Questioner: They follow him?
Al-Albaani: “The Imaam is [appointed] to be followed …” [Bukhaari and others]
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 190.
Commenting on the hadith, “When the Arabs are humiliated, Islaam will be humiliated,” the Imaam said:
“Fabricated, reported by Abu Nu’aim in, ‘Akhbaar Asbahaan,’ , vol. 2, p. 340.
Islaam’s honour is not correlated with the Arabs alone, in fact Allaah may honour it through other believers as occurred during the time of the Ottoman empire, especially during its early days, for Allaah honoured Islaam through them until it reached the middle of Europe—then when they started to turn away from the Legislation to European laws, ‘… exchanging what was better for what was less …,’ their empire started to shrink from those countries and others until it almost disappeared from their [very] own lands! No outward manifestation indicative of their Islaam remained in those countries except for very little! And because of that all of the Muslims were humiliated after they had been in a state of honour and the non-Muslims entered their countries and, except for a few, subjugated them—and even if these few were safe from being outwardly subjugated, they were colonised in a covert way, under the cover of many schemes, such as through economic pressures and so on!
So it is established that Islaam is honoured and humiliated through the honour and humiliation of its followers, whether they are Arabs or non-Arabs, ‘And no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab except through piety.’
So, O Allaah! Give honour to the Muslims and inspire them to turn back to Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet so that, through them, You will give honour to Islaam.”
Ad-Da’eefah, vol. 1, pp. 301-303.
Questioner: Regarding the amount [of the beard] that is to be cut, it is limited to what is more than a fistful?
Al-Albaani: Yes, when he takes a handful of his beard, then he may cut the hair which is in excess of that.
Questioner: From both sides? [i.e., the left and right?]
Al-Albaani: Yes, he may do so from both sides if it is more than a fistful …
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 267.
Questioner: O Shaikh! [Is it allowed to cut] what is over a fistful [of the beard] in all directions?
Al-Albaani: Yes, yes.
Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 495.
“Ehsan Elahi Zaheer’s Shaikhs: The Shaikh, the ’Allaamah, Abu ’Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim ibn Fadl al-Deen al-Jundalwi … [and] the Shaikh Abul-Barakaat Ahmad ibn Isma’il, [and] the Shaikh Muhammad Shareefullaah, [and] the Haafidh, the Muhaddith, ’Abdul-Wahhaab al-Barhimalwi, [and] His Eminence, the Shaikh, ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn ’Abdullah ibn Baaz, [and] the Shaikh, the ’Allaamah, ’Abdul-Muhsin ibn Hamad al-’Abbaad al-Badr, [and] the Shaikh, the ’Allaamah, the Imaam Muhammad al-Ameen ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtaar ash-Shanqiti, [and] the Shaikh ’Atiyyah ibn Muhammad Saalim, [and] the Shaikh, the ’Allaamah, ’the Muhaddith Hammaad al-Ansaari, [and] the Shaikh, the ’Allaamah, the Muhaddith Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani … Ehsan studied under him at the Islamic University of Madeenah, and Shaikh Ehsan used to love Shaikh al-Albaani and cherish him due to his excellence and because he was his teacher, and he had a debate with al-Albaani with manners and respect in some issues in which there was a difference of opinion and Shaikh al-Albaani used to praise Ehsan and his intelligence and al-Albaani said to ’Aabid, Shaikh Ehsan’s brother, ‘He was one of the intellectuals, and I will not forget the manners and politeness he afforded me …’ and he mentioned to him [i.e., to ’Aabid] that Ehsan travelled with him to London and he would massage Shaikh al-Albaani’s feet out of respect and esteem for him.”
Ash-Shaikh Ehsan Elahi Zaheer wa Juhuduhu fi Taqreer al-’Aqidah war-Radd ’alaa al-Firaq al-Mukhaalafah, vol. 1, pp. 73-74.
Questioner: What is your advice about people who slander Shaikh al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him, and warn against him? And what should our stance towards such an individual be?
Al-’Abbaad: That is the strangest thing, the fact that Shaikh al-Albaani is warned against, that a man who served the Sunnah is warned against, someone who spent his [entire] life examining and researching the hadiths of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ, clarifying the authentic from what is not. What a person should do is supplicate for him, praise him, and benefit from his knowledge.
And the reality is that there are two people who someone working in the [field of] hadith cannot but refer back to, i.e., al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr and Shaikh al-Albaani. The benefit from al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr in those things connected to hadith is colossal, and the benefit from Shaikh al-Albaani in those things connected to hadith is colossal [too].
For this reason it means that the one who warns against Al-Albaani is warning against becoming acquainted with the truth and accessing the Sunnah, because what Al-Albaani did in connection to hadith was a preeminent service and complete diligence in [serving] the Sunnah, facilitating access to it and bringing it closer to comprehension for the students of knowledge.
So he is worthy of being complimented and supplicated for.
Questioner: What is your Eminence’s opinion about relying on what al-Albaani has authenticated?
The Imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah, Ibn Baaz: Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, is from the elite, from the scholars well-known for their integrity, sound ’aqidah, and diligence in authenticating hadiths and clarifying their status. He is a chief support/pillar in this regard, but he is not infallible, he may fall into a mistake in declaring some hadiths authentic or weak, just like any other scholar, every scholar is like that, having some mistakes, from the earliest scholars to those who came later.
The student of knowledge must look at what he has authenticated, or declared hasan or weak, if he is from the people of knowledge, from the people of this field, someone who knows hadiths and can take a look at their paths of narration and their narrators, such that if he finds that what the Shaikh has said is correct, then alhamdulillaah, and if not then he relies on the proofs that are clear to him which the people of knowledge in this field have followed. Because the people of knowledge established principles to authenticate hadiths and declare them weak, as for [… unclear …] the people of knowledge, he [i.e., al-Albaani] is a chief support/pillar in authenticating and declaring hadiths to be weak, because he is from the people of knowledge, he is from those who are [experts] in this field, he has studied for a long time and many years, we ask Allaah to give us and him success and a good ending.
Questioner: Ameen, O Allaah, and may Allaah reward you with good.
See here for a collection of statements that scholars made about Shaikh al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him.
“Shaikh Ibn Baaz interceded for Shaikh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him, to remain in Jordan when they wanted to exile him, whereby he wrote a letter to the King of Jordan which contained advice and a mention of the rank of Shaikh Al-Albaani, so the person in authority there agreed to let the Shaikh stay in Jordan.”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 51.
The Albaani Site 