Abul Hasan
15-06-2006, 08:39 AM
:salam:
I found this short biography of the currently living Hanafi faqih, aqeeda specialist and biographer of Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa, our Shaykh: Wahbi ibn Sulayman Ghawji al-Albani (currently in Damascus) by the pen of Dr GF Haddad.
If one was to see this Shaykh on first sight - one may get to see the beauty and light of the Sunna on his face and body - Subhanallah. I have never seen a Shaykh in the arab lands remind me of the way the Salaf may have looked, behaved and adorned themselves with knowledge as I have with Shaykh Wahbi - hafizahullah.
---------------
Shaykh Wahbi ibn Sulayman ibn Khalil Ghawji al-Albani was born in 1932
CE (1343) in Skudera, the former capital city of Albania. He attended
classes and learnt the Qur'an and what is called "the science of states,
`Ilm al-H.al,which includes the books of doctrine and morals for us
H.anafis." His first teacher and certifier in the Islamic Sciences was
his father Shaykh Sulayman, who narrates from the Shuyukh of Albania.
His secondary studies came to an end when King Ah.mad T.ughu made it the
law for students to wear European hats. He said: "My father sent me to
Egypt and I stayed there for ten years. I learnt Arabic and received a
degree from the Faculty of Shari`a and a specialized degree in Islamic
judgeship. I attended the courses of Imam Muh.ammad Zahid al-Kawthari
(in exile from Turkey) whose hand I was honored to kiss and who handed
me his thabat or record of authorities (al-Tah.rir al-Wajiz fi-ma
Yabtaghihi al-Mustajiz). However, I narrate from him only through the
intermediaries of Shaykh Muh.ammad `Ali al-Murad al-H.amawi and Shaykh
`Abd al-Fattah. Abu Ghudda al-H.alabi, Allah have mercy on all of them!"
He described al-Kawthari as "a Sign of Allah in learning, modesty and
abstinence, as if he were a king walking in the street." This is how we
see Shaykh Ghawji also.
In 1948 CE he was appointed as a religious teacher in the governmental
schools in Damascus, a post he retained until 1980 CE, at which time he
left Syria and moved to the H.ijaz. After several years in al-Madinat
al-Munawwara he moved to the United Arab Emirates where he was appointed a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Arabic in Dubai. In
2000 CE he returned to Damascus where has been living since, teaching at
Ma`had al-Fath. al-Islami and striving to support da`wa in Albania.
Among Shaykh Ghawji's teachers beside those already mentioned:
Shaykh `Inayat Allah Nabi al-Shahir al-Askubi who narrates from his
Macedonian and other Shuyukh;
Shaykh `Abd al-Wahhab Dibs wa-Zayt al-H.ims.i,
Shaykh Muh.ammad Mah.mud al-H.amid, and
Shaykh Sa`d al-Din al-Murad al-H.amawi from their Syrian and other
Shuyukh;
Sayyid Muh.ammad al-`Arabi ibn al-Tubbani the author of Bara'at
al-H.anifiyyin (published as Bara'at al-Ash`ariyyin) and
Sayyid Muh.ammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki from their Meccan and other
Shuyukh;
Mufti Muh.ammad Shafi` al-`Uthmani,
his son Mufti Muh.ammad al-Taqi the continuator of Shibbir Ah.mad
`Uthmani's Fath. al-Mulhim `ala Sharh.i Muslim,
Mufti `Ashiq Ilahi al-Murtahini al-Madani, and
Sayyid Abu al-H.asan al-Nadwi from their Indo-Pakistani and other
Shuyukh.
Among the works Shaykh Ghawji authored and published in Damascus and
Beirut:
Abu H.anifata al-Nu`man Imam al-A'immat al-Fuqaha', a four-hundred page
biography with an edition of the Fiqh al-Akbar which received over a
half dozen editions at Dar al-Qalam. It was translated into Persian and
published in Teheran in 2003.
Arkan al-Iman on the branches of faith at Mu'assasat al-Risala.
Arkan al-Islam on the fiqh of the Five Pillars according to the H.anafi
School, in two volumes at Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya.
Al-H.ayat al-Akhira: Ah.waluha wa-Ahwaluha wa-H.usn `Aqibati
al-Muttaqina fiha bi-Fad.l Allah wa-Rah.matih at Dar al-Basha'ir, on the
states of the hereafter.
Jabir ibn `Abd Allah: S.ah.abiyyun Imamun wa-H.afiz.un Faqih, a
biography at Dar al-Qalam.
Kashfu Shubuhati Man Za`ama H.illa Arbahi al-Qurud. al-Mas.rafiyya in
refutation of those who declared licit bank interests on loans.
Kalimatun `Ilmiyyatun Hadiyatun fil-Bid`ati wa-Ah.kamiha at Dar al-Imam
Muslim, a fine, concise study of the Sunni definition of innovation.
Maqalatun fil-Riba wal-Fa'idat al-Mas.rafiyya at Mu'assasat al-Rayyan
and Dar Ibn H.azm, against the legitimization of usury in all its forms.
Al-Mar'atu al-Muslima: {Wa-Laysa al-Dhakaru kal-Untha} which received
many editions at Mu'assasat al-Risala and Dar al-Qalam, a study on the
rulings pertaining to women in Islam.
Masa'il fi `Ilm al-Tawh.id, published in Dubai which is the redacted
version of his introduction to Id.ah. al-Dalil [see below] and is
epitomized at the fore of our forthcoming translation of Ibn Jahbal
al-Kilabi's refutation of Ibn Taymiyya on the attribution of direction
to Allah Most High.
Min Qad.aya al-Mar'ati al-Muslima: Maqalat fil-Mar'a at Dar Ibn H.azm.
Naz.ratun `Ilmiyyatun fi Nisbati Kitabi al-Ibana Jami`ihi ila al-Imam
al-Ash`ari, wa-Yalihi Fas.lun fi Khilafat Ahl al-Sunna wal-Khilafat
al-Manqula bayna al-Maturidiyya wal-Asha`ira at Dar Ibn H.azm, a study
of probable corruption in the text of al-Ash`ari's Ibana followed by a
review of the diffferences between the Ash`aris and the Maturidis.
Al-S.alatu wa-Ah.kamuha at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the second pillar of
Islam.
Al-Shahadatan wa-Ah.kamuha at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the first pillar
of Islam.
Al-S.iyamu wa-Ah.kamuh at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the fourth pillar of
Islam.
Al-Tah.dhir min al-Kaba'ir at Amman's Dar al-Bashir.
He also wrote important marginalia:
Minah. al-Rawd. al-Azhar on Mulla `Ali al-Qari's (d. 1014) Sharh.
al-Fiqh al-Akbar, a classic textbook of Sunni doctrine, at Dar
al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya.
Al-Ta`liq al-Muyassar on Shaykh Ibrahim al-H.alabi's (d. 956) recension
of H.anafi fiqh, Multaqa al-Abh.ur.
Muqaddima fi `Ilm al-Tawh.id, a long introduction to Id.ah. al-Dalil fi
Qat.`i H.ujaji Ahl al-Ta`t.il by the Shafi`i Egyptian Qad.i Badr al-Din
Ibn Jama`a (694-767), a defense of Sunni doctrine against
over-interpreters and anthropomorphists.
On al-Qasim ibn Sallam's Fad.a'il al-Qur'an at Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya.
On the H.afiz. Murtad.a al-Zabidi's (1140-1205) two-volume `Uqud
al-Jawahir al-Munifa fi Adillat Madhhab al-Imam Abi H.anifa on the
H.anafi proof-texts at Mu'assasat al-Risala, which Abu Ghudda identified
as `Iqd al-Jawahir in his bio-bibliographical introduction to
al-Zabidi's Bulghat al-Arib fi Mus.t.alah.i Athar al-H.abib salla Allahu
`alayhi wa-Sallam.
On al-Kawthari's (1296-1391) Mah.q al-Taqawwul fi Mas'alat al-Tawassul
and H.afiz. Muh.ammad `Abid al-Sindi's (d. 1257) H.awla al-Tawassul
wal-Istighatha at Dar al-Basha'ir, both of them written to clarify the
Sunni ruling on using intermediaries and intercessors as opposed to the
neo-Mu`tazilis who deny or downgrade this ruling.
He also wrote prefatory material for the following works:
`Abd al-Karim Tattan and Muh.ammad Adib al-Kilani's Sharh. Jawharat
al-Tawh.id in two volumes at Dar al-Basha'ir, together with Shaykh `Abd
al-Karim al-Rifa`i.
Khaldun Makhlut.a's 600-page Ah.wal al-Abrar `inda al-Ih.tid.ar at Dar
al-Basha'ir, on the states of the pious at the threshold of death, which
vastly expands on al-Raba`i's (d. 379) slim Was.aya al-`Ulama' `inda
H.ud.ur al-Mawt.
The Amman edition of Imam al-Lacknawi's (d. 1304) Naqd Awham S.iddiq
H.asan Khan at Jordan's Dar al-Fath., whose original title is Ibraz
al-Ghayy al-Waqi` fi Shifa' al-`Ayy.
The writer of these lines was honored to read with Shaykh Ghawji the
Fiqh al-Akbar, the Wasiyya, the Tahawiyya, and the Nasafiyya. May Allah
preserve him and continue to benefit the Umma with him, and to Allah the
Lord of the worlds belongs all praise and thanks.
GF Haddad
----------------------
NB - Shaykh Wahbi's work on the problems with al-Ibana has been posted here as a pdf file myself:
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=52632&postcount=84
Wassalam
Abul Hasan
I found this short biography of the currently living Hanafi faqih, aqeeda specialist and biographer of Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa, our Shaykh: Wahbi ibn Sulayman Ghawji al-Albani (currently in Damascus) by the pen of Dr GF Haddad.
If one was to see this Shaykh on first sight - one may get to see the beauty and light of the Sunna on his face and body - Subhanallah. I have never seen a Shaykh in the arab lands remind me of the way the Salaf may have looked, behaved and adorned themselves with knowledge as I have with Shaykh Wahbi - hafizahullah.
---------------
Shaykh Wahbi ibn Sulayman ibn Khalil Ghawji al-Albani was born in 1932
CE (1343) in Skudera, the former capital city of Albania. He attended
classes and learnt the Qur'an and what is called "the science of states,
`Ilm al-H.al,which includes the books of doctrine and morals for us
H.anafis." His first teacher and certifier in the Islamic Sciences was
his father Shaykh Sulayman, who narrates from the Shuyukh of Albania.
His secondary studies came to an end when King Ah.mad T.ughu made it the
law for students to wear European hats. He said: "My father sent me to
Egypt and I stayed there for ten years. I learnt Arabic and received a
degree from the Faculty of Shari`a and a specialized degree in Islamic
judgeship. I attended the courses of Imam Muh.ammad Zahid al-Kawthari
(in exile from Turkey) whose hand I was honored to kiss and who handed
me his thabat or record of authorities (al-Tah.rir al-Wajiz fi-ma
Yabtaghihi al-Mustajiz). However, I narrate from him only through the
intermediaries of Shaykh Muh.ammad `Ali al-Murad al-H.amawi and Shaykh
`Abd al-Fattah. Abu Ghudda al-H.alabi, Allah have mercy on all of them!"
He described al-Kawthari as "a Sign of Allah in learning, modesty and
abstinence, as if he were a king walking in the street." This is how we
see Shaykh Ghawji also.
In 1948 CE he was appointed as a religious teacher in the governmental
schools in Damascus, a post he retained until 1980 CE, at which time he
left Syria and moved to the H.ijaz. After several years in al-Madinat
al-Munawwara he moved to the United Arab Emirates where he was appointed a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Arabic in Dubai. In
2000 CE he returned to Damascus where has been living since, teaching at
Ma`had al-Fath. al-Islami and striving to support da`wa in Albania.
Among Shaykh Ghawji's teachers beside those already mentioned:
Shaykh `Inayat Allah Nabi al-Shahir al-Askubi who narrates from his
Macedonian and other Shuyukh;
Shaykh `Abd al-Wahhab Dibs wa-Zayt al-H.ims.i,
Shaykh Muh.ammad Mah.mud al-H.amid, and
Shaykh Sa`d al-Din al-Murad al-H.amawi from their Syrian and other
Shuyukh;
Sayyid Muh.ammad al-`Arabi ibn al-Tubbani the author of Bara'at
al-H.anifiyyin (published as Bara'at al-Ash`ariyyin) and
Sayyid Muh.ammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki from their Meccan and other
Shuyukh;
Mufti Muh.ammad Shafi` al-`Uthmani,
his son Mufti Muh.ammad al-Taqi the continuator of Shibbir Ah.mad
`Uthmani's Fath. al-Mulhim `ala Sharh.i Muslim,
Mufti `Ashiq Ilahi al-Murtahini al-Madani, and
Sayyid Abu al-H.asan al-Nadwi from their Indo-Pakistani and other
Shuyukh.
Among the works Shaykh Ghawji authored and published in Damascus and
Beirut:
Abu H.anifata al-Nu`man Imam al-A'immat al-Fuqaha', a four-hundred page
biography with an edition of the Fiqh al-Akbar which received over a
half dozen editions at Dar al-Qalam. It was translated into Persian and
published in Teheran in 2003.
Arkan al-Iman on the branches of faith at Mu'assasat al-Risala.
Arkan al-Islam on the fiqh of the Five Pillars according to the H.anafi
School, in two volumes at Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya.
Al-H.ayat al-Akhira: Ah.waluha wa-Ahwaluha wa-H.usn `Aqibati
al-Muttaqina fiha bi-Fad.l Allah wa-Rah.matih at Dar al-Basha'ir, on the
states of the hereafter.
Jabir ibn `Abd Allah: S.ah.abiyyun Imamun wa-H.afiz.un Faqih, a
biography at Dar al-Qalam.
Kashfu Shubuhati Man Za`ama H.illa Arbahi al-Qurud. al-Mas.rafiyya in
refutation of those who declared licit bank interests on loans.
Kalimatun `Ilmiyyatun Hadiyatun fil-Bid`ati wa-Ah.kamiha at Dar al-Imam
Muslim, a fine, concise study of the Sunni definition of innovation.
Maqalatun fil-Riba wal-Fa'idat al-Mas.rafiyya at Mu'assasat al-Rayyan
and Dar Ibn H.azm, against the legitimization of usury in all its forms.
Al-Mar'atu al-Muslima: {Wa-Laysa al-Dhakaru kal-Untha} which received
many editions at Mu'assasat al-Risala and Dar al-Qalam, a study on the
rulings pertaining to women in Islam.
Masa'il fi `Ilm al-Tawh.id, published in Dubai which is the redacted
version of his introduction to Id.ah. al-Dalil [see below] and is
epitomized at the fore of our forthcoming translation of Ibn Jahbal
al-Kilabi's refutation of Ibn Taymiyya on the attribution of direction
to Allah Most High.
Min Qad.aya al-Mar'ati al-Muslima: Maqalat fil-Mar'a at Dar Ibn H.azm.
Naz.ratun `Ilmiyyatun fi Nisbati Kitabi al-Ibana Jami`ihi ila al-Imam
al-Ash`ari, wa-Yalihi Fas.lun fi Khilafat Ahl al-Sunna wal-Khilafat
al-Manqula bayna al-Maturidiyya wal-Asha`ira at Dar Ibn H.azm, a study
of probable corruption in the text of al-Ash`ari's Ibana followed by a
review of the diffferences between the Ash`aris and the Maturidis.
Al-S.alatu wa-Ah.kamuha at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the second pillar of
Islam.
Al-Shahadatan wa-Ah.kamuha at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the first pillar
of Islam.
Al-S.iyamu wa-Ah.kamuh at Mu'assasat al-Risala, on the fourth pillar of
Islam.
Al-Tah.dhir min al-Kaba'ir at Amman's Dar al-Bashir.
He also wrote important marginalia:
Minah. al-Rawd. al-Azhar on Mulla `Ali al-Qari's (d. 1014) Sharh.
al-Fiqh al-Akbar, a classic textbook of Sunni doctrine, at Dar
al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya.
Al-Ta`liq al-Muyassar on Shaykh Ibrahim al-H.alabi's (d. 956) recension
of H.anafi fiqh, Multaqa al-Abh.ur.
Muqaddima fi `Ilm al-Tawh.id, a long introduction to Id.ah. al-Dalil fi
Qat.`i H.ujaji Ahl al-Ta`t.il by the Shafi`i Egyptian Qad.i Badr al-Din
Ibn Jama`a (694-767), a defense of Sunni doctrine against
over-interpreters and anthropomorphists.
On al-Qasim ibn Sallam's Fad.a'il al-Qur'an at Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya.
On the H.afiz. Murtad.a al-Zabidi's (1140-1205) two-volume `Uqud
al-Jawahir al-Munifa fi Adillat Madhhab al-Imam Abi H.anifa on the
H.anafi proof-texts at Mu'assasat al-Risala, which Abu Ghudda identified
as `Iqd al-Jawahir in his bio-bibliographical introduction to
al-Zabidi's Bulghat al-Arib fi Mus.t.alah.i Athar al-H.abib salla Allahu
`alayhi wa-Sallam.
On al-Kawthari's (1296-1391) Mah.q al-Taqawwul fi Mas'alat al-Tawassul
and H.afiz. Muh.ammad `Abid al-Sindi's (d. 1257) H.awla al-Tawassul
wal-Istighatha at Dar al-Basha'ir, both of them written to clarify the
Sunni ruling on using intermediaries and intercessors as opposed to the
neo-Mu`tazilis who deny or downgrade this ruling.
He also wrote prefatory material for the following works:
`Abd al-Karim Tattan and Muh.ammad Adib al-Kilani's Sharh. Jawharat
al-Tawh.id in two volumes at Dar al-Basha'ir, together with Shaykh `Abd
al-Karim al-Rifa`i.
Khaldun Makhlut.a's 600-page Ah.wal al-Abrar `inda al-Ih.tid.ar at Dar
al-Basha'ir, on the states of the pious at the threshold of death, which
vastly expands on al-Raba`i's (d. 379) slim Was.aya al-`Ulama' `inda
H.ud.ur al-Mawt.
The Amman edition of Imam al-Lacknawi's (d. 1304) Naqd Awham S.iddiq
H.asan Khan at Jordan's Dar al-Fath., whose original title is Ibraz
al-Ghayy al-Waqi` fi Shifa' al-`Ayy.
The writer of these lines was honored to read with Shaykh Ghawji the
Fiqh al-Akbar, the Wasiyya, the Tahawiyya, and the Nasafiyya. May Allah
preserve him and continue to benefit the Umma with him, and to Allah the
Lord of the worlds belongs all praise and thanks.
GF Haddad
----------------------
NB - Shaykh Wahbi's work on the problems with al-Ibana has been posted here as a pdf file myself:
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=52632&postcount=84
Wassalam
Abul Hasan