Muhammad Nasir al-Din (16 August 1914 – 3 October 1999), commonly known as al-Albani, was an Albanian Islamic hadith scholar (muhaddith), regarded as a one of the prominent figures of modern Salafism. He was known for his rigorous re-evaluation of hadith literature and for rejecting adherence to traditional schools of jurisprudence.

He was twice imprisoned in Syria for his teachings and later lectured at the Islamic University of Madinah at the invitation of Ibn Baz. He authored over 200 works, including Silsalat al-Hadith al-Sahiha and Sifat Salat al-Nabi. His reassessment of canonical hadiths drew both acclaim and criticism, earning him among Salafis the title 'al-Bukhari of the contemporary age'

al-Albani was born on 16 August 1914 in Shkodër, Albania, to a family adhering to the Hanafi school of Jurisprudence of Sunni Islam. His father, Nuh Najati, was a jurist of the Hanafi jurisprudence, trained in Istanbul. Fearing the rise of secularism during the rule of Zog I, Najati withdrew his son from school in Albania. In 1923, when al-Albani was nine years old, he and his family moved to Damascus, then under French occupation.

In Damascus, al-Albani began his religious studies under his father and several local scholars, where he was taught the Qur'an and other Islamic sciences. He learned Arabic at al-Is'af, a non-profit civil school, where he came to be known as al-Albani ('the Albanian') after leaving formal schooling to focus on writing. He studied the renowned Hanafi text Maraqi al-Falah by al-Shurunbulali (d. 1659) under Sa'id al-Burhani and also studied the book Mukhtasar al-Quduri with his native Syrian teachers. During this time, he earned a modest living as a carpenter before joining his father as a watchmaker.^{[citation needed]}

Despite his father's discouragement from pursuing hadith studies, al-Albani became interested in the field around the age of twenty, influenced by the Lebanese-born reformist scholar Muhammad Rashid Rida (d. 1935). Al-Albani studied under number of scholars, including Muhammad Bahjat al-Baytar, 'Izz al din al tanoukhi, Sa'id al-Burhani, Ibn al Baghi, who collectively encouraged his growing focus on hadith. His early scholarly work included a commentary on Mughni 'an haml al-asfar fi al-asfar fi takhrij ma fi al-ahya' min al-akhbar by Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi, which marked the beginning of al-Albani's scholarly career and brought him recognition within Damascus's religious circles.

Al-Albani began writing a series of lectures, books and articles, some of which were published in al-Manar magazine. Over time, he began teaching two weekly lessons on Islamic creed (aqidah), jurisprudence (fiqh) and Hadith, attracting students and university professors alike. He also organized preaching and advocacy trips to various cities of Syria and Jordan.

In 1961, he was among many scholars invited by Saudi Arabia to teach at the newly established Islamic University of Madinah. In 1963, al-Albani left Saudi Arabia due to the hostility stemming partly from his views, including his suggestion that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was not entirely Salafi due to his adherence to Hanbali school and criticized him for exaggeration and harshness. Following this, he resumed his studies and work at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, leaving his watch shop to one of his brothers.

Al-Albani visited various countries, including Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Spain, and the United Kingdom to deliver lectures and engage in preaching. After the intervention of Grand Mufti Ibn Baz, al-Albani was invited again to Saudi Arabia to serve as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca. He later returned to Syria, and eventually settled in Jordan, where he lived for the remainder of his life.