—may Allah safeguard us—from apostasy, disbelief, abandoning Islam, and idolatry should he fail to hasten to repentance, turn back, seek forgiveness, and accept guidance, or should Allah—exalted is He—not envelop him in His pardon and care.

Finally, this question is among the great issues of sacred knowledge over which the scholars, early and late, have differed. It must therefore be examined with a gracious spirit, an enlightened mind, and sound judgment, far removed from partisanship and from blind imitation; only in this way can one reach the truth, stand upon it, and call others to it.

The present treatise by our venerable shaykh, the distinguished ḥadith scholar and meticulous researcher Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī—may Allah preserve him—is a fine illustration of that method. We offer it to our brothers, the readers, in order to spread knowledge, to seek reward, and in obedience to Allah’s command that, whenever disagreement arises, we refer the matter back to Him and to His Messenger ﷺ:

“If you disagree about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best and fairest in outcome.” (Qur’an 4:59)