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Sirah dan Tokoh Islam
Topik: encounter with a scholar


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Oleh encounter with a scholar

ummimq

Menyertai: 17.09.2003
Ahli No: 3613
Posting: 3616
Dari: Johor

Johor   avatar


posticon Posting pada: 23-07-05 07:49


On the way home, I apologized to him for being unable to hide my
emotion while making my point. Although he agreed that it was valid point, but he said: "As you know, it is hard for the ego to accept the truth. It is more so to accept it when it is presented in a sharp manner."


SHEIKH NASIR UD-DEEN AL-ALBANEE: MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH A SCHOLAR WHO MAY NOT BE SUBSTITUTED

By Mahmoud Ridha Murad



All praise is due to Allah Who made the scholars the heirs of the Prophets, and all praise is due to Him who made us of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah. Revivalists are rare breeds who come one at a time at the top of every hundred years. Therefore, the whole Ummah feels the loss of one, particularly by the students of knowledge and scholars.

Although the death of scholars like Bin Baz and Nasirud-Deen al-
Albani, may Allah admit them into Jannat al-Firdaws, is grave
calamity, yet it does not mean the end of the Muslim Ummah. Their death however is not like the death of an ordinary man regardless how influential or powerful he may be. The death of a scholar leaves behind a vacuum that is not easy to fill. The time will come when Muslims realize that Shaikh Nasirud-Deen al-Albani was a genuine revivalist, and a specialist in a science which is nowadays shun by many students because it requires endurance, perseverance and an amazing memory to retain texts and chains of narrators in correct and chronological order. Even those who take the chance and study it, many of them are content with the university curriculum, and do not pursue further studies of their own. Rather, they rely on researches that were made by scholars of the past. And when it comes to narrating a hadeeth, some of them do not retain the precise text,
rather, they narrate its meaning or miss or change one word here and another there. When one of them is asked about the source of a hadeeth, he would say after some `ahm, ahm. I think this or that Imam compiles it!

Shaikh Nasir did not attend regular schools or universities; he
acquired his education studying under scholars and through his own research and studies, just like the Pious Predecessors. Yet he dwarfed doctoral Graduates who could not stand the chance of
debating with him.

The arguments of those who differed with the Shaikh on certain Fiqh issues, such as the prohibition of wearing circular gold jewelry by women, and other issues, are too weak to stand the scrutiny of the Shaikh and his scholarly counter arguments.

About 17 years ago, I brought back with me from Kuwait a large
number of cassette tapes of the Shaikh's lectures. I passed the time during the flight listening to them, one after another with full concentration. At times I used to rewind the tape more than once to make sure I did not miss even a word from his lecture.

Besides his warm voice that reaches the listener's heart, the Shaikh had a unique scientific method in subdividing the topic into various issues. He would handle each issue separately without straying from the main topic regardless how long it took him to elaborate on that issue. This is indicative of his vast knowledge, and powerful memory retention. He would entertain a question from one of the listeners during the course of the lecture, and he would answer it in details, and then go back to the very point where he left off before answering the question. There is no doubt that that was a trait of a genuine scholarship.

At times he would be deeply involved in a certain issue in his
research, when suddenly a caller phones in to inquire about one
particular hadeeth or seek a fatwa. The Shaikh would leave his work, and provide a detailed answer and give the caller the name of the reference, the name of the compiler, and even the page number. He would not give up until the caller is satisfied.

On the other hand, dealing with the Manhaj (methodology) issues was not common at that time. Scholars in Saudi and elsewhere restricted themselves to Aqeedah, Fiqh, or Targheeb and Tarheeb (making people hopeful of the mercy and His reward, and making them fearful of Allah and His punishment.) There was not a single scholar who discussed Manhaj issues. In fact it was the first time I heard someone not only making a reference to it, but also discussing it in detail. Having lived in variant Muslim societies, Shaikh Nasir stressed on the importance of combining between the sound Manhaj and the sound Aqeedah. This combination was clearly noticed in his lectures.

There was one particular lecture to which I listened many times. I consider it as a model-lecture to prove the significance of the Manhaj. The Shaikh in that lecture explains the Hadeeth of al-Eenah (Eenah transaction. He said that it is selling a commodity for a certain price to be paid at a certain period, and then buying it for less than the price for ready money.) That hadeeth is compiled by Abu Dawood and narrated by Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "If you deal with Eenah, and hold the cows' tails, and become content (with employing yourselves) with agriculture, and abandon jihad in the cause of Allah, Allah would permit your humiliation, and would not relieve you of it until you return to your Deen."

This means that all of the ailments to which the Prophet, may Allah exalt his mention, referred in the above hadeeth are the
consequences of one root problem; the departure from methodology of applying Islam, and the only remedy is the return to it.

Returning to Islam necessitates returning to its pure sources, the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, may Allah exalt his mention, and understanding them as the Pious Predecessors understood them.

Due to the fact that the majority of the Muslims are ignorant of the Manhaj of the deviant sects, many of them are easily deceived by them believing they are good Muslims. Had they learnt the proper Manhaj, they would have realized that the only Muslim sect that will be delivered on the Day of Resurrection is Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah.

It did not take me long before I listened to every tape of the
Shaikh. I listened to some more than three or four times. Needless to say that afterwards, I bought or borrowed many other tapes of the Shaikh. Beside the science of hadeeth, the Shaikh dealt with the issues of Aqeedah, fundamentals of jurisprudence, Fiqh, Qur'anic commentary, Sirah, Arabic grammar, comparative studies of the madthahib, sectarian and many other issues of variant sciences.

The Shaikh encouraged students of knowledge to research and study on their own, and not to be content with school or university curricula. He also warned against following blindly one particular madth-hab, rather, one should follow the daleel (textual proof). He summed up his methodology in this regard in a beautiful manner in his book Sifat Salat an-Nabi. He said:

Since the main objective of this book is to show the format of the Prophet's prayer, then it is obvious that I do not restrict myself to one particular madth'hab. Rather, I quote only the authentic proofs, in conformity with the methodology of the traditionists in the past and present. Hence, this book will in sha Allah, assemble pieces of relevant information that I have collected from various reference book of Hadeeth and Fiqh regardless of their schools of Fiqh. He who follows this book (Sifat Salat an-Nabi, or the Format of the Prophet's Salah) will in sha Allah is among those whom Allah has guided `to the truth over which they dispute, with His leave, and Allah guides whoever He pleases to the straight path.'

Having restricted myself to this methodology, i.e., adhering to the authentic Sunnah which I have pursued in this as well as in other books of mine which will be circulated by the Muslims, in sha Allah, I knew that it will not meet the satisfaction of all sects and madthahib. Rather, some or most of them will censure me verbally as well as in writing. But there is no harm in that; because I know that pleasing all people is an unattainable aim. But I also know that "he who pleases people through displeasing Allah, Allah would commit his affairs to people." (At-Tirmidthi)

It is enough for me to know that this is the right path that Allah has commanded the believers to pursue. Our Prophet, Muhammad, the
best of all Messengers defined it. It is the same path that was
pursued by the pious Predecessors of the Companions, the Tabi'een
and those who followed them including the Four Imams to whose
madthahib the assembly of believers adhere. All of the Four Imams
are agreed that it is imperative to adhere to the Sunnah and to hold
it as a term of reference, and reject everything, which opposes it
regardless of how great, is the one who issues it. Because the
Messenger of Allah is greater, and his methodology is the best. That
is why I have pursued their guidance, followed their footsteps, and
observed their command of adhering to the authentic hadeeth even if
it contradicts their statements. Such commands have influenced me
greatly in choosing this straight path, and turning away from blind
taqleed (imitation.) May Allah reward them greatly on my behalf.

I was anxious to talk to this scholar, let alone seeing him. This
finally took place when I made another trip to Kuwait, and visited
the Society of Ihya' at-Turath al-Islami. I was very happy when one
of its officials gave me the Shaikh's telephone number. At the time
I had begun abridging and translating Ibn Katheer's exegeses, which
required scrutinizing the Prophet's ahadeeth in it and pointing out
their categories. I had to consult an authority on both, exegetical
as well as hadeeth sciences.

Although it was costly to make overseas calls from Canada, yet it
was greatly rewarding when I consulted the Grand mufti of Saudi
Arabia, at the time, Shaikh Bin Baz, may Allah grant him mercy, and
Shaikh Nasirud-Deen, may Allah grant him mercy, on the science of
Hadeeth. From then on I communicated with Shaikh Nasir on regular
bases.

During those calls, the Shaikh used to ask me about the dah'wah
activities in dan. America of which I briefed him, and of course I
used to ask him questions and used to tape his answers and comments.
Once I read to him the constitution of the Qur'an & Sunnah Society
when I was its chairman, just to make sure that there were no
violations in the Society's Manhaj. He listened patiently and
commented on certain points without showing any sign of boredom.

I used to visit Saudi frequently. So I asked the Shaikh if he was
going for Umrah so that I could adjust my itinerary to meet each
other in Makkah. But he suggested that I visit him first. I was not
able that year to stop in Amman. In fact it was only two or three
years after when I managed to do so. He asked me to give him the
date and time of my arrival. I did so and expected that he would
send someone to the airport to receive me. This was honoring enough
for me. I felt excited about the idea. I also gave the same
information to his eminence, Sh. Muhammad Shaqrah.

I had never seen any picture of the Shaikh, so I could only imagine
him as a dignified gray haired old man. Had I remembered that he was
an Albanian, I would have probably envisaged a picture of his closer
to reality.

I felt as if the flight took longer time than usual, and I wished
the pilot would double the speed of the plane. When finally it
landed, I felt like dashing through the passport point in the
airport into the meeting hall. Alas! I had to wait for long before I
reached that hall. There was Sh. Muhammad Shaqrah, whom I met for
the first time, Ali Abdulhameed al-Halabi and another brother.

I thanked them for taking the trouble of coming to receive me, and I
asked them about the Shaikh. Ali al-Halabi said: "The Shaikh is
waiting for us." The first thing came to my mind was that the Shaikh
was waiting for us in his residence. All I said was, `Alhamdu
lillah.' Having expected my reaction, Shaikh Ali looked at me and
said: "The Shaikh is waiting for us outside in his car, for he could
not bear standing for a long period of time." I looked at Ali back
to make sure I heard him right. He looked at me as though he knew
the effect of the surprise on me and said smiling. `Yes, he is
outside.' I was about to break in tears, but managed to control
myself, and did not know what to say.

Soon as the Shaikh saw us coming out of the hall, he opened his car
door to come towards us. But I rushed to him to save him the trouble
of walking. I looked at his shiny face and green eyes, his white
straight haired beard and mustaches, and opened my arms to hug him.
My arms could not encircle him for he was large. He then asked the
brothers with an air of command to put my luggage in his car, and
they did so obediently.

The excitement of being driven by a scholar made it difficult for me
to carry on a long conversation with him. I remembered he was asking
me questions about my family, my activities in the Society, and
other questions of that nature. When we finally reached his house,
which was on top of a hill, I was amazed of how he maneuvered the
car through the narrow driveway and then into the car park. I took
out my luggage, and went up the stairs while he took a simple
electric lift that he later on told me that he designed and built
because it was difficult for him to mount the stairs.

His study door was opened, and I went inside to see that there were
other students of the Shaikh waiting for us. Someone made the
introductions. I was asked about the dah'wah in dan. America, and
activities of the Salafis, and the other sects. I gave them a brief
account because I was anxious to hear the comments of the Shaikh,
and his answers to their questions. That was my main concern.

I spent about a week in the Shaikh's resident, which I consider as a
condensed course in the science of hadeeth and fiqh. In deed it was
a rare opportunity, at least for a person like me who at the time
was living about 15,000. miles away from this renowned scholar.

Due to the fact that there was no mosque nearby, I would call the
adthan for Fajr prayer, and he would lead the Salah then we would
move into the library where the Shaikh began his work. Two hours
later, the breakfast would be ready which we shared with two of the
Shaikh's aides. He used to talk while eating or listen to what they
had to say.

Then the Shaikh would return to the library to resume his work until
around 10 o'clock when he retired to his family's apartment. He
would remain there until Dthuhr prayer followed by lunch and siesta.

After Asr prayer, the Shaikh stayed in the library and remained
there until around midnight. That was the best part of the day. Some
of his close students would come in and join us for the rest of the
evening. Due to certain reasons that were beyond his will, the
Shaikh's house was open only to his relatives and close students,
not to visitors, let alone to public. They did not waste his time by
idle talk or anything of that nature.. They would bring their
questions concerning biographies of hadeeth narrators, their
classifications and the hadeeth standards, and other issues on
aqeedah or jurisprudence. He would answer them as if he was reading
from a book.

There was another interesting period of that part of the day when
the Shaikh began taking telephone calls and answering the questions
of callers from all over the world. The phone never stopped ringing.
As soon as one call was over, another would be waiting on line. We
used to listen to the questions through a speakerphone. The topics
varied widely.

He would give his answers according to the level of understanding of
the caller. But he would not answer the question before he
completely understood it, nor would he move from one point to
another before he was sure that the caller understood the previous
one. At times, he would repeat the point more than once without
showing signs of frustration. He always used to ask the caller after
answering his question whether he understood the answer.

One day the phone rang when the Shaikh was sitting in his library
with some of his students. It was a female student of knowledge from
Algeria, who used to call the Shaikh frequently. She said to him:
Shaikh, I saw a dream last night. The Shaikh did not usually care
much about interpreting dreams. But since he knew who she was, he
allowed her to report to him her dream. She said: `I saw the Prophet
(saws) walking while there was an old man with white beard sitting
on the side of the road. I asked the Prophet, may Allah exalt his
mention, who that man was, and he said: This is Shaikh Nasirud-Deen
al-Albani." At that point, the Shaikh broke in tears, and so did his
students. In the meantime, the caller kept asking: `Shaikh are you
there? Are you there?' The Shaikh hung up, and gave his student a
short speech about that fact that no one should take things for
granted, for no one knows where will he end up. Or words to that
effect.

Once the telephone period was over, he would listen to the comments
or inquiries of his students on one of his answers, or would ask him
questions relevant to some issues that were raised by callers. All
of the questions and answers along with the comments of his students
were taped. But unfortunately, the Shaikh did not keep the original
tapes, and that was why he could not retrieve them from the fellow
who was taping his sessions.

Knowing the Shaikh's love of the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), it
was not surprising to know that he listened to his students' funny
incidents that occurred to them during the day. He himself would
share with them an incident of his own. His Damascene dialect made
his narrative more interesting.

Besides being a specialist in the science of hadeeth, the Shaikh,
may Allah grant him mercy, also designed quite a few things in his
home. One of them was the solar water-heater, which he showed me the
next day of my arrival. He also designed an elevator for himself
because it was difficult for him to climb up the stairs. He also
devised a sundial that he placed on the roof of his house to show
the exact prayer times, and other things.

There were other occasions that I really enjoyed. We used to receive
invitations from his students for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast.
He never refused any of them unless it was break fast, or when he
was tied up with some important occupation. I enjoyed those
occasions because they were attended by a large number of guests,
which meant more questions and discussions.

One day we were invited for lunch by sh. Hassan al-Awaysheh. Among
the guests was a young man who brought a message from Hikmatyar to
Shaikh Naseruddeen al-Albani concerning the assassination of Shaikh
Jamilur-Rahman, may Allah grant him mercy. The discussion was about
the war in Afghanistan, and the assassination of Jamil Arrahman
which was the topic of the hour. After the Shaikh opened the
discussion and made his point, I asked his permission to share my
views on the issue. The Shaikh looked at me in the face and noticed
that I was irritated by Hikmatyar's representative, and said: `In
sha Allah.' I waited long hoping that he would give me the chance to
speak.

The time for Asr prayer was due, so we went to the masjid to perform
Salah, and then we returned to our host's house. When every one took
his seat, the Shaikh looked at me and said, `I think you have
something to say.' I was just waiting for that moment, and did not
hesitate to say: `Certainly.'

Having said what I had in my mind, I felt relieved. Later on, I
realized that the Shaikh had a valid reason for not giving me the
chance to speak when first I asked his permission. He knew that the
statements of the guest irritated me, and he wanted me to calm down
before I uttered any word.

On the way home, I apologized to him for being unable to hide my
emotion while making my point. Although he agreed that it was valid point, but he said: "As you know, it is hard for the ego to accept the truth. It is more so to accept it when it is presented in a sharp manner." I looked at him while he was driving, and gave him a smile tinted with a sense of guilt. I was unable to utter a word in response. I said to myself if these were the only words of wisdom I learnt from this great scholar during my stay with him, they would have been more than sufficient for me to take home.

One evening Shaikh Muhammad Shaqrah, may Allah preserve him, invited
us for dinner. That night I felt sorry for having forgotten to bring
along my tape recorder. The Shaikh at that night was in a good mood.
There were only few of his devoted students with us, when he talked
about his suffering in his life, and how he had to leave his
father's residence with little amount of money and be on his own.
His recollection moved him to tears, and we cried along with him. I
hope some day I will be able to write about that part of the
Shaikh's life which is not recorded in books.

Needless to say the duration of my visit flashed by when all of a
sudden I realized that I had to pack for the return trip. The Shaikh
insisted to take me to the airport, and I insisted that he should
stay home. But he ignored my objection. Although I enjoyed his
uninterrupted company for more than forty minutes, yet I felt guilty
for taking him away from his work.




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