Al-Albani:

“…As for Shaykh Muhammad Nasir ad-Din al-Albani (may Allah have Mercy on him), this man is a cornerstone – rather, a fortress of the fortresses of the modern awakening in knowledge, especially in regards to the sciences of Hadith, and likewise in the movement of Fiqh and manhaj. People have written books specifically about him, and have mentioned him in the midst of others, and when the Shaykh died, I gave two lectures in which I clarified the characteristics of the Shaykh - what was in his favor and what was to be held against him. I am not of those who turn away from him, and I am not of those who blindly follow him, and I say regarding him what adh-Dhahabi said regarding Ibn Hazm: “And I have an affinity to Abu Muhammad due to his love of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and I do not declare him to be a disbeliever or a deviant.”

And Shaykh al-Albani is a comprehensive personality. He had characteristics that every student of knowledge should possess, such as his patience in obtaining knowledge, his efforts in reading, his dedication to what he was involved in, his distance from being employed by governments, his bravery in calling to what he believed in – each of these characteristics requires pages to comment on, and he is a self-made man who built his reputation with his own effort and sweat, and he placed himself in the ranks of the scholars – rather, at their forefront – without the help of a government, party, or organization. The observer cannot help but to reflect over his books and see the effort put forth by the man to reach this level. If you read his biography, you will see his strength and patience in the Da’wah and bringing it to the people and the youth.

All of this made the Shaykh a leader in this respect, meaning the sciences of Hadith and calling to abandoning the rigid adherence to the madhahib. The Islamic world as a whole is indebted to the Shaykh in this regard whether or not the people agree with him in these two issues, as they are merely revolving around and hanging on to him…”

And he then went on to mention criticisms of al-Albani regarding his positions on some issues of Iman, as well as some of his controversial Fiqh opinions.

Ibn Baz:

“…The truth is that Shaykh ‘Abd al-’Aziz bin Baz has a position of respect in my heart due to his effect and efforts in giving victory to Islam and the Muslims, and I always repeat that if it were said that the Shaykh has had a positive effect on every student of knowledge, I would not think this to be far from the truth.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-’Aziz is an imam in Fiqh without a doubt, and I don’t think that anyone was at his level during his lifetime, especially in matters of rituals of worship. He is a man who lived for and whose main concern was to extend a helping hand to every da’i without prejudice, to every Jihad, and to every Islamic group. Unfortunately, some groups would take advantage of him, and he knew this and this reached him regarding such people. However, he would not hesitate. From the good deeds of the Shaykh that were known is that he founded the Islamic University in Madinah that has today been ruined, unfortunately. However, it was the reason for the Islamic call spreading in every country.

However, the Shaykh’s great blunder was his obedience to Al Sa’ud and his being deceived regarding their positions, and his lack of insight into the methods utilized by the criminals is from what caused the Shaykh to fall into mistakes that concerned the entire Ummah.

The debt owed to the Shaykh by the Da’wah in terms of his teaching and aiding, by Islamic authorship, and by Jihad in many places is something that cannot be denied except by an ignorant or envious person. However, his obedience to the tyrannical rulers of Al Sa’ud ruined many of these good deeds, and the man is today between the Hands of a Generous One, and he has good deeds like the mountains to defend him, and he is not in need of us to defend him…”

Tantawi:

“…This is a man who is a failure in every sense – in terms of his character, his faith, and his knowledge. In fact, he is also a failure in terms of his manhood. He is a lowly man, and I cannot find it within myself to say except what Allah has Said regarding his likes: {“Indeed, those who turned back after the Guidance was made clear to them have been deceived by Satan…”}…and here, I put on the record the obligation of faith for the scholars of al-Azhar to declare their disavowal from this lowly, despised Sayyid Tantawi, and to establish for themselves a spirit that is far from him and his authority…

I mention this judgement upon this man because I know that the Muslim who follows his verdicts and actions will not be surprised at what I’m saying, as the proofs for passing this judgement upon him cannot be contained in a single volume. Rather, this requires many volumes of books. However, in case there is a reader who has not followed his history, he might request of me some examples displayed by this man known as Shaykh al-Azhar…”

And he then went on to mention his many, many blunders and mistakes.