How Was Al-Albany At Home?

 Umm al-Faḍl — the wife of Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله — was asked:

“Being the wife of this virtuous scholar, have you found that his knowledge, his seeking of knowledge, and his teaching of people reduced his presence with you as the head of your household? And did this have any negative effect on his children?”

she responded: "seeking knowledge never prevented the Shaykh from fulfilling any of his family duties. On the contrary, he—may Allah have mercy on him—was an example of a head of household who cooperated with his family.

Believe me, my son, he would often help me with the household chores to the point that I would feel shy because of it. He even once was mopping the balcony with me, and I said to him: “Shaykh, don’t embarrass us in front of the neighbors, lest they say this man does his wife’s work.” He replied: “This is not an embarrassment. Do you not know that the Prophet ﷺ used to serve his family?”

Whenever I asked him for anything related to the house—such as installing an extra shelf somewhere—he would study the matter and think about it. If he saw the request as reasonable, he would go ahead and do it himself. And if he needed to buy something for it, he would go in his car, purchase it, return, and carry out what I had pointed out to him.

He also had a fondness for outings—may Allah have mercy on him—the way of ahlul shām. The picnic basket (the outing supplies) was always in the car. We would go out together in spring and summer, and even in winter, to look at the snow and the winter scenery. He would humor me by drinking tea and coffee, even though he did not personally enjoy these two beverages.

Yet he would never leave his books behind on any outing we took; the book was his companion wherever he went.

Often, I would wake up and not find him in bed. I would look for him and find him in the library, having turned on the lamp and become immersed in his books. I would be surprised, and he would say: “This is my beloved!!” — may Allah have mercy on him."

may Allah have mercy on them both.

Tr: Umm ʿAbdirraḥmān as-Sūdāniyyah

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