of knowledge and benefit before brother ʿAbd al-Mannān deigned to publish this book—there is no power nor might except with Allah?’

So I say: There is no doubt that his teacher, Shuʿayb, belongs to his circle of “specialists.” On the very page the esteemed brother cited he openly states that Shuʿayb benefited from him, even commending him for retracting to his pupil’s correct view! Do you not hear him say, “And this is to his credit, for returning to the truth”? After that he expresses the hope that I will retract as his teacher did, saying, “Perhaps the noble Shaykh al-Albānī will do likewise once he sees the proof in this book!”

I reply: Returning to what is right is an obligation, and it has always been my habit, as my readers know. Yet one who has nothing to give cannot give it. How apt the proverb in such a situation: “This is not your nest, so fly elsewhere!” How closely this man’s conceit resembles that of the ignoramus whose entire theology concerning his Lord was to declare Him non-existent, claiming, “He is neither inside the universe nor outside it.” Even so, in one of his prefaces he wrote, in language much like our author’s, “We only seek to serve the people of knowledge and their students!” “Their hearts are alike” (1) [Q 2:118]. Allah’s help is sought.

I ask Allah the Generous, Lord of the Mighty Throne, to purify our hearts from envy and rancor, to grant us beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, and to shield us from the evil of the enviers and the schemes of the plotters. He is All-Hearing, Ever-Responsive.

Amman
Friday evening, 8 Rajab 1413 AH

Written by:
Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī