Collector of knowledge and wisdom

Author's name: Imam Ibn Rajab

Investigation by Tariq Awadallah

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Most High. We praise Him, seek His aid, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our deeds. He whom Allah guides, none can misguide, and he whom He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

And then:

Before you, dear reader, is a pearl of the pearls of the Imam, the preserver and jurist Zayn al-Din Abu al-Faraj Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman, known as Ibn Rajab al-Dimashqi al-Hanbali, from what his pen produced and his knowledge overflowed with.

It is his comprehensive book “Jami’ al-Ulum wa al-Hikam fi Sharh Fifty Hadiths from the Compendium of Words” in which he explained the Forty Hadiths of Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Nawawi, with the addition of other hadiths to his own. This commentary is one of the best, most important, and most beneficial commentaries on these Forty Hadiths, due to what it includes in terms of discussion of the causes of the hadiths, interpretation of their strange words, explanation of their meanings, resolution of their difficulties, clarification of the rulings derived from them, and preference between what the scholars differed on in what

It indicates its rulings. Despite the scientific, methodological, fundamentalist, educational and preaching importance of this book, most of its previous editions were neither authenticated nor corrected, except for a few rare ones such as the edition authenticated by Sheikh Ahmed Shaker and the one authenticated by Dr. Al-Ahmadi Abu Al-Nour, but they were not completed. Likewise, the edition of the Risalah Foundation authenticated by Professor Shuaib Al-Arnaout, which is the best of them, despite the errors it contains in authenticating the text and commenting on it.

In preparing this book, we followed the following plan:

1 - Correcting the text of the book based on two handwritten copies, the description of which will follow, God willing.

2- Graduation of the Quranic verses.

3 - The graduation of the hadiths and most of the narrations, with a brief graduation, so that the book does not become too large, nor does it detract from the intended meaning, even though we have expanded in some places out of necessity.

And the severity of the need.

4 - Commenting on some places that lack this, in order to provide further clarification, solve a problem, or correct an error.

5 - Punctuation and punctuation of the book, especially Qur’anic verses, Prophetic hadiths, and some words that require it.

6- Explaining some strange words, and the like.

7- Write a brief translation of the author.

8- Making scientific indexes for topics.

This, and what distinguishes this edition of ours, is that in our commentary on the hadiths, we did not limit ourselves to the apparent ruling on the chain of transmission - as is the case with many commentators on books - but rather we traced the defects of the hadiths from specialized books of defects, such as “Ilal al-Hadith” by Ibn Abi Hatim, “Ilal” by al-Daraqutni, “Ilal al-Kabir” by al-Tirmidhi, “Ilal al-Hadith” by Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others. Likewise, we traced the statements of scholars of defects from history books and books of rijal such as “al-Kamil” by Ibn Adi, “al-Du’afa” by al-‘Uqayli, and others, as well as the Sunnah, such as “Fath al-Bari” by Ibn Hajar, and others.

He wrote commentaries, and for this reason our commentaries on the hadiths are adorned with the words of scholars of criticism and their judgments on the hadiths, including what they contain of keen insight, precise criticism, and penetrating perception, which is too subtle for many who have not reached their level or reached their status to understand.

How could it not be, when they are the ones by whom we are remembered, and by the ray of their light we are enlightened, and by our following it is clear, their traces distinguish us, and by following their path we are separated from the savages, and their likeness and ours is only as Abu Amr ibn al-Ala’ said: “We are not among those who have passed except like a herb in the roots of tall palm trees.”

As the first said:

When a young camel leans in a horn, it cannot catch the strong camels.

Finally:

So I ask God Almighty to benefit the people of knowledge and its seekers with this book, and to make it, and all our deeds, a provision for us on the Day of Judgment, and not to make it a burden upon us, by His grace and mercy, for He is the Guardian.

That and the one who is able to do it.

May God bless Muhammad, his family and his companions and grant them peace.

And he wrote

Abu Muadh Tariq ibn Awad Allah ibn Muhammad

Director of the Investigation Department at Dar Al-Haramain