91. Be brave and start from now! (cont.)

This book was published in Arabic in Sha'ban 1428AH, corresponding to August 2007, and within the span of one year, it had sold 100,000 copies. As mentioned previously, Dr. Muhammad al-'Arifiis indigenously from Saudi Arabia. He is from the famous Arab tribe known as Banu Khalid (Banu Makhzum) − it goes without mentioning that Banu Khalid are the descendants of the famous soldier, Mujahid and Companion of the Prophet, Khalid bin al-Walid – may Allah be pleased with him. Dr. Muhammad bin 'Abd ar-Rahman al-'Arifiwas born in the year 1970.He graduated from Saudi universities where he acquired his PhD. The title of his PhD research thesis was "Ara' Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya fial-Sufiyya – Jam' wa Dirasah" (The Views of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah on Sufism – a Compilation and Study). Currently, he is a founding and dignitary member of various dawah organisations, as well as being a member of their advisory committees. He is also a member of the advisory board for many international organisations. Aside from being a visiting professor in various Saudi and foreign universities, he is also a professor in King Saud University of Riyadh. He has been delivering Friday sermons for over twenty years in different mosques in Saudi Arabia. Currently, he delivers his Friday sermons in al-Bawaardi mosque, which is a major mosque located in the south of Riyadh. Every Friday, so many people attend, that it is impossible to find a parking space anywhere in the vicinity of the mosque. Once I had the opportunity of praying the Friday prayer behind Dr. Al- 'Arifi.We arrived at the mosque very early, but despite that, we had to park very far away. The ground floor of the mosque was fully occupied, so we went up to the first floor where we were able to find a place to sit. Soon afterwards, the first floor also became congested with worshippers. Dr. Muhammad al-'Arifiis an amazing orator. He was fortunate enough to be a student of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz bin Baz for fifteen to sixteen years,and from whom he learnt Tafseer and Fiqh. For eight years, he took lessons from Dr. 'Abdullah al-Jibrin in tawhid. His other teachers include, Shaykh 'Abdullah bin Qu'ud, Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman bin Nasir al-Barrak and various other scholars. His connections with the scholars of Madinah go back very far. During his days as a student and thereafter, he learnt Fiqh from those scholars. He has memorised the Quran and is known for his fine recitation. He takes a special interest in hadith literature and has received licences for the chains of transmission for various hadith texts from a number of scholars. More than twenty of his works in Arabic have been published and distributed in nearly a million copies. His books, which are often published in four colours, are attractive and pleasing to the eye, and available at low-cost. It is because his books deal with issues affecting the lives of everyday people, that they are acclaimed and appreciated by all. Many well-wishers make his books their choice for their donations and free distributions. The following is a list of some of the works of Dr. Muhammad al-'Arifi: - A work on tawhid called Irkab Ma'ana, an excellent work of which 400,000 copies have been published. - A work on dawah to Allah, called Hal Tabhath 'an Wadhifa, of which 150,000 copies have been published. - Innaha Malikah, in 150,000 copies. - Fi Batn al-Hut, in 150,000 copies. - A work on the topic of worship in 100,000 copies. - A work on the topic of Hijaab called Sarkha fiMat'am alJami'a, in 150,000 copies. - Rihla Ila al-Sama' with 150,000 copies published and sold. - A compilation of counselling to doctors and patients called 'Ashiq fiGhurfat al-'Amaliyat in 70,000 copies. - A pamphlet called Adhkar al-Muslim al-Yawmiyyah, of which 20 million copies have been published within only three years. Many of Dr. al-'Arifi's lectures are available on the internet without charge; he also writes columns and essays for various newspapers and magazines and has appeared on a number of Arabic satellite television channels. The administration of Darussalam hopes, in the very near future, to translate into different languages and publish the various works of Dr. Al-'Arifiwhile maintaining a high literary standard, Allah willing. I would like to thank our brothers Saleem Beg and Nasim Chowdhury for translating and editing this work respectively. We pray to Allah that He grants the author, the translator and the editor good health and long life, and that He blesses their knowledge and actions. We would be extremely delighted to receive any feedback or suggestions from our readers, and we hope you remember us in your prayers. Your loving brother 'Abdul-Malik Mujahid Darussalam Publishers Riyadh - Saudi Arabia August 2008 Introduction All praise is due to Allah. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no other prophet.