Al-Albani - More Wahhabi than the Wahhabis?

A big kufi-tip to MR for posting the text of Al-Albani’s Revolutionary Approach to Hadith (and I purposefully specified "text" since I sure didn't need that picture). This article serves as just another piece of documentation showing that the late Nasr al-Deen al-Albani felt that the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars since the time of the Salaf—indeed very close to all of them—had gotten Islam all wrong. Due to this, he abandoned not only the traditional methodologies—lock, stock and barrel, but the jama'ah and consensus of the scholars as well...and then he naysayed anyone who disagreed with him. His claim to be "more faithful to the spirit of Wahhabism than ‘Abd al-Wahhab himself" should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his outlook, since he seemingly believed that almost every Muslim in the Ummah was mixed up and that it was his duty...since he was the one person in 1,300+ years to finally understand Islam correctly...to fix them all.

Needless to say, not only is this approach extraordinarily arrogant (which is just another sign that he didn't study under traditional shuyukh), but incredibly dangerous as well. For those who don't understand why, please start off by reading The Superiority of Fiqh Over Hadith, by Shaykh Gibril F. Haddad, which explains why simply having a knowledge of hadith just doesn't cut it—never has, never will. After that, you should read Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad's Understanding The Four Madhhabs: The Problem with Anti-Madhhabism, since it exposes the flawed thinking of those who are against following a proper school of thought (i.e. madhhab). Finally, those wanting more information about al-Albani, should take a look at Al-Albani - Concise Guide to the Chief Innovator of Our Time, since it contains considerable details. For those wanting to know even more, consider purchasing a copy of Albani and His Friends: A Concise Guide to the Salafi Movement, also by Shaykh Gibril F. Haddad.

Deen on...