Introduction (cont.)

Many readers will, I am sure, be surprised to discover, after reading a commentary on one of the hadith, how meager their knowledge of the hadith was before they read the commentary and how wrong they were in assuming that their meager knowledge was all that was to be gotten from the hadith. Due to the comprehensiveness of the author's commentary, the reader will not be studying explanations of the hadith in a narrow sense; the reader will, in fact, be introduced to many branches of the Islamic sciences: the different sciences of hadith, the science of textual interpretation, the science of jurisprudence, law, and even Arabic language. It is sometimes better to study these sciences in contexts like these than to study them in isolation in textbooks. Such contextual study makes it easier for the learner to remember the rules, to apply them and also to recall them whenever he reads the texts in whose context he studied them. The author (and for that matter, the publisher, Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations) has promised to continue henceforth to provide English speaking students of Islam with such in-depth studies. We are certainly eagerly awaiting to enjoy more of his works. May Allah increase him in Introduction by Shaikh Jafar Idris knowledge and sincerity and help him to continue to serve the cause of truth in this scholarly manner. Dr. Jaafar Sheikh Idris American Open University Falls Church, VA November 15, 1997 Commentary on the 40 Hadith of al-Nawawi Author's Introduction Author's Introduction All praises are due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His Help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead. Whoever Allah leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. 0 believers, have taqwa [fear] of Allah according to His right and die not save as Muslims. 0 mankind, have taqwa of your Lord, the One who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and from them spread many men and women. And fear Allah from whom you demand your mutual rights and [do not cut] familial ties. Surely, Allah is ever an All-Watcher over you. 0 believers, have taqwa of Allah and always speak the truth. He will direct you to do righteous deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great achievement. To proceed: The Quran and the sunnah are the sources of guidance for every Muslim. The sunnah consists of the Prophet Muhammad's own statements, own deeds and others' acts that he approved of tacitly. Perhaps, the most important of those three aspects are his statements. These statements are captured in the authentic hadith literature. Therefore, the authentic hadith, along with the Quran, constitute the basic source of guidance for every Muslim until the Day of Judgment. It is, therefore, very important that the hadith literature be made available in English. In this way, those Muslims who do not have access to Arabic may guide their lives by the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). However, translation of hadith texts in itself may not be sufficient. This is true for many reasons. First, one is translating, obviously, from a foreign language with different linguistic rules. Also, one is translating the words of someone who lived in a different culture and time from the English speakers of today. Hence, in order to do justice while translating, one sentence may actually need to be translated into an entire paragraph for it to be understood properly. Second, the Prophet's speech was something special. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi With just a few words, he could convey many truths. His words have deep meanings to them that the layman may be unable or unqualified to derive. Therefore, he must turn to what the scholars have stated in explaining such important words of the Prophet (peace be upon him). In this work, the author has turned to those scholars to understand these words properly. Third, many of the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) can only be correctly understood when studied in the light of verses of the Quran and other hadith. Throughout the ages, Muslim scholars have written commentaries on hadith that have highlighted other relevant texts in order for the reader to get a complete picture of what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said. In Arabic, as well as some other languages, such as Urdu, numerous commentaries on hadith are available. These commentaries fill an important gap and take the reader from a basic understanding of the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to a deep and comprehensive understanding. Until now, most of the English literature related to hadith has been restricted to translation. There are some exceptions.