EVERY hundred years Allah sends someone in this Ummah to revive His religion. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed Allah raises up from this ummah at the beginning of every century someone who will revive it for them (i.e. a mujaddid ).” Among several exemplary scholars Islamic history has seen, there have always been some scholars who have strode extra miles to revive Islam. Scholars like Ibn Taimiyyah and Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab are two such examples. In more recent times scholars like Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, Muhammad Bin Al-Uthaymeen and Sheikh Badi-ud-deen Shah As-Sindi have all exerted great efforts for the cause of Islam, and indeed Allah aided them and brought glory and success to Islam through them. However, there is one name that really stands out. His contribution to Islam, especially in the science of Hadith, is second to none in our times. Born and raised in Shkodra, the then capital of Albania, Muhammad Nasriddeen Al-Albani, started his life without knowing that one day he would become one of the leading scholars 20th century has seen. His family was poor. His father, Nuh Najati Al-Albani, was a leading scholar in Hanafi Fiqh. Since his country's government was slowly becoming more and more western, he left with his family and went to Damascus, where Nasiruddeen Al-Albani began his studies. It wasn't long before he finished learning the Qu'ran, the Arabic language and Fiqh. Sheikh Albani also learnt repairing watches and clocks from his father. It wasn't long before he mastered the trade. He began specializing in the field of Hadith and its related sciences by the tender age of 20 and his first assignment was to start transcribing Hafiz Al-Iraqi's great piece “Al-Mughnee ‘an-Hamlil-Asfar fil-Asfar fee Takhrej maa fil-lhyaa min Al-Akhbar”. It was here where his fascination into the science of Hadith intensified and even though his father discouraged him, Al-Albani's love for Hadith just kept growing. The Sheikh would spend much of his time, sometimes more than 12 hours a day, in Damascus's Az-Zahiriyah library. He would be so engrossed in research that he would have no time for food. As weeks and months flew by, the Sheikh was given his own room and a set of keys to the library to pursue his study. Once the Sheikh was up on the ladder to get some books from the top shelf. While looking out, he began to read a book for some information and he ended up standing on the ladder for hours till he finished that book. However, his reading and research did not neglect him from his religious obligations like offering prayer five times a day. After being regularly invited to give lectures in prestigious Islamic universities and having several of his works published, the Sheikh was invited to teach Hadith at the Islamic University of Madina. The Sheikh called people to worship Allah alone and spared no efforts to revive the Prophet's Sunnah. The Sheikh did face several hardships and lived in several countries like Syria, the UAE, Lebanon and Jordan. Great scholars of our time have praised him extensively. The late Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Ibraheem Aal Sheikh said, “And he is the upholder of the Sunnah, a supporter of the truth and in opposition to the people of falsehood.” The late former Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz said, “I have not seen anyone under the surface of the sky with more knowledge of Hadith in our current times than the likes of the great scholar, Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen Al-Albani.” Sheikh Bin Baz, in fact, was of the opinion that Al-Albani was the Mujaddid of our era. All great scholars including Sheikh Uthaymeen have praised him extensively. After a life full of seeking knowledge and propagating Islam, the reviver of Sunnah, Sheikh Al-Albani died in 1420 AH/1999 CE when he was 87. He left his will advising his relatives not to wail over his death and hurry his burial. He donated his entire library that included valuable manuscripts to the library of the Islamic University of Madina because of his “fond memories” of the years he spent teaching there.
