Al-Albani

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (born Muhamed Nasirudin Nexhati; 16 August 1914 – 2 October 1999), commonly known as al-Albani, was an Albanian Islamic scholar who specialized in the study and authentication of hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). He became one of the most influential figures in modern Salafism, famous for re-evaluating hadith and for challenging the traditional dominance of the four main Sunni schools of law.

Al-Albani was born in Shkodër, Albania, into a family that followed the Hanafi school. His father, Nuh Nexhati, was a Hanafi jurist. Fearing secularism after the rise of Zog I, his family moved to Damascus, Syria, in 1923 when al-Albani was nine. In Damascus, he began religious studies with his father and other teachers, learning the Qur’an and Arabic, while earning a modest living as a carpenter and later a watchmaker.

Around the age of twenty, al-Albani became deeply interested in hadith, studying under several scholars and drawing inspiration from reformist thinkers like Muhammad Rashid Rida. He began writing and teaching on aqidah (creed), fiqh (jurisprudence), and hadith, and gained recognition in Damascus’s religious circles. In 1961, he was invited to teach at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia, but he left in 1963 amid disagreements over his views. He later worked at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus and, after further invitations, returned to Saudi Arabia for a period before settling in Jordan.

Al-Albani rejected blind adherence to the four traditional schools and spent much of his career re-examining hadith literature, arguing that many widely accepted narrations were weak. He wrote over 200 works, with notable titles including Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha (The Series of Authentic Hadith) and Silsalat al-Hadith al-Daifa wa al-Mawduwa. He also produced works on how the Prophet’s prayer should be performed, based strictly on hadith.

His methods and conclusions were controversial. While admired by many within the Salafi movement—who called him the “al-Bukhari of the contemporary age”—he faced strong opposition from other scholars who criticized his rejection of madhhab-based jurisprudence and his critiques of established scholars. Critics argued that his methods undermined traditional scholarship. He also sparked debate with controversial positions on issues such as prayer practices and the Palestinian territories.

Al-Albani spent his later years in Jordan, continuing to lecture and publish. He died in Amman on 2 October 1999 at the age of 85. His legacy remains influential and debated among Muslims around the world. His wife was Umm al-Fadl.