Introduction

Riyadh us-Saliheen — Gardens of the Righteous — is a thematic collection of hadith compiled by Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf Al-Nawawi (631–676 AH / 1233–1277 CE), one of the most influential scholars of the Shafi'i school. Despite dying at only 44 years of age, Al-Nawawi left a body of work that has shaped Islamic scholarship for over seven centuries. His major contributions include the forty-hadith collection known as al-Arba'een an-Nawawiyyah, the encyclopedic Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab in Shafi'i fiqh, and his commentary on Sahih Muslim. Riyadh us-Saliheen is his most widely read work and arguably the most accessible entry point to the hadith literature for ordinary Muslims.

The book was compiled with a clear purpose: to gather hadith that address the moral, spiritual, and practical dimensions of a Muslim's daily life, and to arrange them in a way that is easy to navigate and apply. Al-Nawawi selected only from the most reliable collections — primarily Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, supplemented by the Sunan works of Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, an-Nasai, and Ibn Majah. He prefaced each chapter with relevant Qur'anic verses, creating a layered structure where scripture frames the Sunnah and the Sunnah elaborates scripture. This methodology reflects the classical understanding that the two sources of revelation are inseparable in guiding the believer.

The organizational scheme is thematic rather than by subject of law. Topics include sincerity of intention, repentance, patience, gratitude, truthfulness, trust in Allah, hope and fear, the importance of knowledge, the rights of neighbors, treatment of orphans and the weak, the manners of eating and greeting, and dozens of other themes that arise in the course of everyday Muslim life. Each chapter gathers the relevant hadith together, allowing the reader to see a topic from multiple angles and to appreciate the consistency and depth of the Prophetic guidance on it. Al-Nawawi's brief chapter headings are themselves often miniature essays in Islamic ethics.

The work has been studied continuously since its composition, and countless scholars have written commentaries on it. Among the most widely used in English is the explanation by Ibn Uthaymeen, which expands on Al-Nawawi's selections with legal analysis and practical application. Reading Riyadh us-Saliheen with a reliable commentary deepens the experience considerably, as many hadith carry implications that are not immediately apparent from the text alone. Even without a commentary, however, the collection is designed to be read directly and applied — it does not assume prior training in the Islamic sciences.

Al-Nawawi's own introduction to the book sets out his method and his hope: that the collection will serve as a means of drawing the reader closer to Allah through consistent reflection on the Prophet's example ﷺ. He was attentive to both the outward actions of worship and the inward states of the heart, and this dual focus is present throughout the chapters. Alongside hadith on prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage, readers will find extended sections on intention, humility, remembrance of death, and the dangers of arrogance — a reminder that Islamic practice is concerned with character as much as with ritual form.

This edition presents the hadith in their chapter groupings with English translation. Readers are encouraged to move slowly through the text, treating it as a source of daily reflection rather than a book to be finished. Many Muslims have maintained a practice of reading one chapter per day or per week, returning to the same passages across months and years. The gardens Al-Nawawi planted were meant to be walked through repeatedly — each visit yielding something the last did not.