IMAM AL-NAWAWI ' S INTRODUCTION

IMAM AL-NAWAWI'S INTRODUCTION The shaykh, legist, and knowledgeable Imam, the scrupulous as­ cetic, the precise and skillful, Abu Zakariyya Yahya Muhyi al-Din ibn Sharaf ibn I:Iazam al-I:Iazami al-Nawawi (God Most High have mercy upon him) said: Praise be to God, the Noble Benefactor, Possessor of Infinite Power, Superiority, and Perfection, who guided us to belief and who has made our religion superior to all the rest. He graced us by sending us the one most noble unto H im, the most superior of His creation, His beloved and intimate Friend, His servant and Messenger, Muhammad

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN al of [His] good favor for myself, all my loved ones, and all other Muslims. I testify that there is no deity other than God, One with­ out partner: a testimony which attains forgiveness, saves from the Fire anyone who testifies it, and brings one to reside in Paradise. I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the caller to belief. God bless him and give him peace-and his Folk and Companions-and honor, ennoble, and extol them until the end of time. To commence: God, Sublime and Most High, has graced this nation (God Most H igh increase it and its people in honor) with the religion that He has chosen, the religion of Islam.' He has graced them by sending Muhammad, the best of His creation, may the most eminent of blessings, bounties, and peace be conferred upon him. And He honored them with His Book, the best of all speech. God, Sublime and Most High, gathered in it all that is needed; it in­ cludes stories of the first people and the last, spiritual counsel, si­ militudes, etiquette, and rulings of all types. And it includes clear, sure proofs indicating His absolute unity, and other things that His messengers (God bless them and give them peace) brought: irrefutable arguments against the followers of ignoble heresies. He multiplied the reward for reciting it; ordered us to heed it and give it veneration, to adhere to it through proper conduct, and to spend generously in honoring it. Groups of the exemplary and outstanding [scholars] have writ­ ten about the excellence of reciting the Quran-books known to people of reason and discernment. But the resolve to memorize­ even peruse-these books has waned so no one benefits from them, except for some exceptionally intelligent individuals. Reasons for Writing the Book and Its Structure I have seen the people of our land, Damascus (God Most High protect and presecve it, and all other lands of Islam), concentrat­ ing on reciting the Mighty Quran: studying, instructing, reading, and learning-in groups and individually. They spend enormous IMAM AL-NAWAWI'S INTRODUCTION effort in this-day and night (God increase their desire for it and for all kinds of obedience), desiring thereby tlie pleasure of God, the Possessor of Majesty and Honor. This called me to put together a concise treatise concerning the proper etiquette to be observed by the bearers of the Quran, and the characteristics of its memorizers and students. This is be­ cause God Most H igh has prescribed showing good will towards His Book, which includes illuminating the proper conduct of its bearers and students, instructing them therein, and calling their attention to it. I favor brevity and am wary of prolixity. I limit each chapter to one subject of etiquette; and for each subject, I point to a number of its categories. Most of what I mention pro­ ceeds by omitting chains of transmission-even though I have the chains of transmission readily present and have the authorization to transmit them. But my goal is to call attention to its source. And what I mention alludes to what I omitted. The reason for preferring brevity is my desire that it be memorized and that it be fully useful and disseminated. I singled out unfamiliar vocabulary and diction that occur in the chapters [and provided] a clear sum­ marized explanation and voweling, which I have placed at the end of the book in the order of their occurrence in the chapters. The purpose of this is to complete the book's benefit to its possessor and to remove doubt from its seeker. Included within the chapters themselves are groups of principles and invaluable lessons. [See IMAM AL-NAWAWT's LEXICON at the end of the translation. ] Using Weakly Authenticated Hadiths I clarify the strongly and weakly authenticated hadiths, and as­ cribe each to whichever Imam related it. In some circumstances, they have overlooked hadiths, though this is rare. Know that the scholars of hadith and others permit working with weakly au­ thenticated hadiths concerning the merits of actions. In spite of this, I restrict myself to those that are rigorously authenticated and do not mention the weakly authenticated ones expect in a few circumstances. ETIQUETTE WITH THE QURAN My trust and reliance is upon God Most Noble and to Him is my unbridled resignation and upon Him is my utter dependence. I ask Him that I travel the path of guidance, for protection from the people of heresy and insolence, and that I constantly be upon this and other good things with continual increase. I humbly be­ seech God Most Sublime that He grant me good deeds that I may gain His pleasure; that He make me among those who fear Him and properly observe His rights; that He guide me to perfect in­ tentions; that He facilitate for me all types of good; that He assist me in all excellent qualities; that He keep me steadfast in this until death; and that He does all of this for all of my loved ones and all other M uslims-male and female. He is our sufficiency and the best reliance. And there is no power and strength except by God, the H igh, Most Great.