al-Tanbihat ala Risalat al-Albani fi al-Salat
- Author died
- 1413 AH
- Editions
- Maṭābi‘ al-Qaṣīm
al-Tanbihat ala Risalat al-Albani fi al-Salat (Reminders on al-Albani's Treatise on Prayer) is a legal and theological critique written by the Saudi scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (1334–1413 AH / 1916–1992 CE) to examine specific points in Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani's treatise on the description of prayer .
Composition and Publication
Al-Tuwayjiri composed the work as a critical commentary on the second edition of al-Albani's booklet Sifat Salat al-Nabi (The Prophet's Manner of Prayer), published in Damascus in 1375 AH (1955–1956 CE) . Al-Tuwayjiri drafted the initial text during 1376 AH (1956–1957 CE) and completed the final manuscript copy on Friday, 16 Rabi' al-Awwal 1382 AH (17 August 1962 CE) . The work was published in its first edition in 1387 AH (1967–1968 CE) at Matabi' al-Qasim in Riyadh .
Contents and Methodology
Al-Tuwayjiri opens the treatise by commending al-Albani for his dedication to the subject of prayer, his rejection of innovated practices regarding the intention (niyyah), his defense of invoking blessings upon the Prophet's family, and his opposition to innovated forms of supplication (tawassul) . He then structures his critique into distinct numbered reminders (tanbihat), addressing specific statements from al-Albani's text and footnotes:
- Pillars of Islam: In the first reminder, al-Tuwayjiri addresses al-Albani's unqualified description of prayer as the greatest pillar of Islam, arguing that prayer is the greatest pillar only after the two testimonies of faith (al-shahadatayn) .
- Hand Placement in Prayer: In the second reminder, he contests al-Albani's assertion that combining the placing (wad') and grasping (qabd) of the hands in prayer is an innovation (bid'ah), maintaining that grasping inherently involves placing the right hand over the left .
- Theological Commentary: In the third reminder, he examines al-Albani's commentary on the prophetic supplication والشر ليس إليك ("and evil is not unto You"), arguing that God is the Creator of both good and evil, and critiquing expressions that might be misunderstood as excluding evil from divine creation .
- Hanbali Jurisprudence and Transmissions: In later reminders, he discusses legal transmissions from Ahmad ibn Hanbal, such as the positions regarding raising the hands (raf' al-yadayn) at various points in prayer . He also defends the attribution of the treatise on the person who prayed improperly (Risala fi al-Musi' Salatahu) to Ahmad ibn Hanbal against doubts raised over its authenticity .
Reception and Response
Al-Albani authored a written response to the treatise titled al-Radd ala Risalat al-Shaykh al-Tuwayjiri fi Buhuth min Sifat al-Salat (Refutation of Shaykh al-Tuwayjiri's Treatise on Issues Concerning the Description of Prayer), though bibliographical listings record this reply as lost . Contemporary Hanbali scholars, such as Bakr Abu Zayd, cited al-Tuwayjiri's book in support of authenticating early Hanbali texts on prayer .
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