By Salim Eid Al-Hilali
Introduction
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, and we ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the wickedness of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomever He misguides, none can guide him.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.
To proceed: Among the most delightful compilations of prophetic reports, and the most beneficial works on Muhammadan traditions, is the book "Riyadh al-Salihin (Gardens of the Righteous) from the words of the Master of Messengers" by Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him. It is one of the most comprehensive and widely circulated hadith books, and the most frequently consulted and famous. No other book has been compiled in its style for gathering the sunnah of lawful and unlawful matters, and for knowing the hadiths of the virtues of times and deeds.
Its author, may Allah have mercy on him, devoted great care to it and nurtured it thoroughly, desiring it to be: "encompassing that which leads its owner to the Hereafter, and achieving its inner and outer manners, combining encouragement and deterrence and all types of manners for seekers; from the hadiths of asceticism, self-discipline, refining character, purifying and treating hearts, safeguarding the limbs and removing their crookedness, and other objectives of the knowing ones" (1). Therefore, he selected its hadiths from the collections of Islam upon which the Prophetic Sunnah revolves: "And I committed myself in it not to mention anything but an authentic hadith from the clear ones, attributed to the well-known authentic books" (2); so he arranged them with perfect order, and categorized them with excellent categorization, clarified the problematic, and explained the obscure. Thus, it became a masterpiece in its creation and impregnable in its arrangement, its side became mighty, its purebred camels knelt, the capture of its stray parts became easy, and the quotation from its benefits became abundant; so Allah Almighty fulfilled his desire for his sincerity and piety, and perfected for him what he sought: "I hope that if this book is completed, it will be a guide for its diligent reader to good deeds, and a barrier for him from all kinds of evil and destructive things" (1); so may Allah reward his efforts, and make the highest Paradise our abode and his. The vast majority of Muslims have received it with acceptance and enthusiasm, so it became the master of masters in education and reform, and rarely is a Muslim home without it. Therefore, scholars and students of knowledge have engaged in studying and teaching it, and many commentaries have been written by the righteous, and travelers for success have hitched their camels to it, and they have drunk from its pure spring and inhaled its fragrant scent; some abbreviated and refined, others authenticated and simplified, and a third explained extensively; so I desired Allah to grant me a generous share of this legacy, and the Generous Bestower granted my wish and answered my prayer; my share is to explain its hadiths and chapters and make it easy for its students, so this moderate and disciplined explanation was produced, based on the principles of the methodology of the righteous predecessors in receiving and inferring, and I named it: "Bahjat al-Nadhirin fi Sharh Riyadh al-Salihin". We ask Allah to make it solely for His sake and in seeking His pleasure, and a provision for a good destiny towards Him, and a preparation for a blessed arrival before Him; He is indeed sufficient for every beautiful thing, and He is my sufficiency and the best disposer of affairs. And now I embark on the intended purpose, seeking help from the Forgiving, the Loving, mentioning an introduction that includes three chapters:
Chapter One: Mentioning the biography of al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him.
Chapter Two: Mentioning the commentaries on "Riyadh al-Salihin" and their scientific value.
Chapter Three: On the motive for this commentary, its methodology, and its sources.
Author's Name: Salim bin Eid Al-Hilali
• Publishing House: Dar Ibn Al-Jawzi - Riyadh
• Year of Printing: 1430 AH
• Number of Pages: 1837
• Number of Volumes: 3
• Binding Type: Artistic Bound
• Paper Type: Cream
