Though the students were full of grief by the sudden death of the renowned Islamic scholar, they were yet fulfilled that their teacher and mentor had achieved what every Muslim hopes to in his lifetime: Martyrdom.
The students of the Daarul Hadeeth believe that Sheikh Albaniy was a true martyr. The nature of his death was compared to how some prophets of Allah, some household members of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and some of his companions lost their lives.
Sheikh Albani had throughout Saturday, February 1, engaged in conducting different lessons at his school in Gaskiya layout, Zaria. He gave the evening lectures of the day at Markazu-Salafiyya, Maje Road in Tudun Wada, Zaria, 8:15-9:30pm from the Book of Sahihul Bukhari, in the chapter of Hajj.
After the lesson, as usual, he drove his car on his way home with one of his wives, some of his children and students.
Sheikh Albani was opposed to driving in a convoy or having students as vigilantes for their teachers. This is why he drives himself and moves everywhere alone or in company of few friends or family members.
The killers of Sheikh Albani apparently saw that as an opportunity. They appreared to have trailed him after his lecture at Tudun Wada. The Sheikh had a stopover on his way at a junction known as Central Store along the Zaria Gaskiya Road where he did some shopping. As the Sheikh branched off from that road at the Magume junction on the way to his house, the killers overtook him and blocked his car with theirs, according to people in the area. The Sheikh slowed down by a speed-bump, and then the gunmen opened fire.
“The first thing they did was to smash his windscreen. When he saw that, he recited inna lillahi wa’inna ilaihi-raji’unn (from Allah we are and to Him we shall certainly return),” said Dr. Abdulganiy Abdulrafi’u, a spokesperson for Albani’s students.
“The assailants shot the wife on the shoulder and when Malam (Sheikh Albani) saw that he came out to confront them. While his children were asking him to lie down in the car, Malam could not help staying in his car to be killed without making any effort. He came out from the car and made attempt to overpower one of the gunmen.
“But for the fact that the gunmen were many and having realised that Malam can halt their mission, they began shooting from all angles, and that was how Malam fell down reciting Laila ha illallahu (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah).
Malam’s wife and son died on the spot.
“After the shooting, a Good Samaritan whose house was near the spot of the attack rushed Malam to the nearest hospital, which was the Wusasa Hospital (Saint Luke’s). Throughout the about three kilometres journey Malam continuously recited Laila ha illallahu,”
Dr. Abdulrafi’u added that “Malam died on the way to hospital and as such the corpse was returned to his house. Our only sadness is that we have lost a teacher and mentor, but we take solace in the fact that Malam died as martyr. Some prophets of Allah, some Ahlul-Bait (household members of the prophet SAW) and some chosen companions all died in the same manner. Malam’s only sin in the face of his enemies is his crusade for all Muslims to return to the teachings of Islam based on the Qur’an and Sunnah according to the understanding of the Salaf (the three generations that Prophet, pbuh, endorsed as the best of all generations).
“The Holy Prophet (pbuh) had died, and Islam did not end. Companions of the prophet, his household members and other prominent pillars of Islam have died and Islam did not end. “Therefore, the demise of Malam would only strengthen the calling of Islam. This is also telling us that we are on the right path, insha Allah, as what happened to the early Muslims is happening to us. They can continue to kill us, but they can’t kill the calling and vision of Islam. We are praying to Allah to grant Malam Aljannatul Firdaus, his wife and son.”
Albani’s many battles
Sheikh Albani has been having running battles with the authorities and different categories of people. He has also survived many assassination attempts in the past. For example, sometime around 1993 and 1994, an unknown group of people attacked him at his Muchia Sabon Gari, Zaria tailoring shop. He was saved by the prompt intervention of neighbours and passersby.
Also, another group of people attempted to assassinate the sheikh at his Gaskiya residence. The attempt was also foiled by neighbours and students. One of his frontline students, Musa Sahabi, had once escaped an assassination attempt with some head injuries when some people attacked him in the mosque while delivering lectures.
“Don’t forget about 10 years ago, because we observed Juma’at prayer at 9am, they sent soldiers and mobile police to kill us at our Muchia Juma’at mosque. Their intention at that time was to provoke us,” Abdulrafi’u said.
“Recently, they arrested Malam and detained him over allegation of link with Boko Haram. We went to court after his illegal detention and the court cleared Malam of any link with Boko Haram and even awarded the sum of N500,000 to him.
“Also recently they summoned us because of observing Juma’at prayer before noon. The intention was also to provoke us so that they would have the justification of killing us. We refused to be provoked. Now, they went for the last option. They thought if they kill Malam, we would be provoked. No, we would not. We would fight for our right through the laws of the land that they have formulated while we continue to enlighten and educate our youth, which was their major problem with Malam.”
Background
The father of Sheikh Muhammad Awwal Adam Albani, Abu Abdurrahman, hails from Kano but the Sheikh was born and bred in Muchia Sabon Gari, Zaria. He had his primary education in the area before he moved to Barewa College. He obtained his first degree on Information Technology from the Federal University of Technology Yola, Adamawa State.
Before his death, he was an M.Sc student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Ahmad Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
Sheikh Albani is survived by three wives and over 20 children. He was the proprietor of the Albaniy Science Academy in the Gaskiya layout, Zaria. He was also the leader of Daarul Hadeethis-Salafiyyah School and delivered weekly lectures at Markazu-Salafiyya Centre in Tudun Wada, Zaria.
Apart from his teaching in Zaria, Sheikh Albani used to visit other states and countries for preaching.
Yesterday’s burial was attended by many Islamic scholars from across Nigeria. Among them were Sheikh Muhammad Bn Uthman, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, Sheikh Aliyu Abdullahi Telex, Sheikh Salihu Abubakar, Sheikh Tukur Almannar among hundreds.
