procedure from someone who fancies themselves a doctor simply because they have read a medical textbook in their spare time. Indeed, there are serious legal consequences for those who claim to practice medicine without a recognized licence—one which is granted because they have been through rigorous training and examination. Such legal repercussions are entirely appropriate of course, for such frauds place people ’s worldly lives at risk. Yet why is it that when it comes to our health we seek an expert opinion, but when it comes to our everlasting Hereafter so many of us prefer to follow someone who considers himself an expert after reading just a couple of books? Simply put: why do we risk our eternity by following those who are not qualified? Why do we not seek out recognized experts? As God the Almighty says: ‘ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.’ (16: 43) It is precisely to address this gap between scholarly works and non-scholarly opinions that we have endeavoured to produce this invaluable resource.
After reading the entirety of al-Minhaj in Turkish, the Director of Organisational Management at Islamic Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) Youth Australia, Adem Temel, conducted a meeting with our small team in which we studied the book and recognized how blessed we were to have access to such a stupendous work. It was evident that the renowned scholar and author of al-Minhaj, Imam al-Nawaw i, may God have mercy on him, had wisdom and knowledge many today are in desperate need of. Indeed, al-Minhaj is one of the greatest and most respected commentaries on Sahih Muslim. While an English translation of a hadith can struggle to convey its apparent meaning, let alone the appropriate context and other subtleties, commentaries by experts like Imam al-Nawaw i can shed light on hadiths more comprehensively and thus give us greater access to the intended meaning while guarding us against misunderstanding. During a subsequent meeting, our team compared the Turkish translation of Fi Zilal al-Qur’an with the English translation by Dr Adil Salahi and were impressed by the remarkable consistency between the two translations. Immediately thereafter, the team made the decision to contact Dr Salahi with a view to proposing that he translate Imam al-Nawawi’s al-Minhaj into English. We were overjoyed to hear his positive response.
A number of people and organizations have contributed to this project. Firstly, this work would not have been possible without Adil Salahi ’s mastery of both the Arabic and English languages. His love of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and his dedication to making knowledge accessible has led to the translation of significant works from the Islamic literary heritage. Second, the ICMG Youth Australia and Kube Publishing (UK) teams worked closely to meet all project timelines. Third, many individuals and groups volunteered to support this project both physically and financially. Lastly, and most importantly, God, the Almighty, guided us, brought ease, and opened closed doors to make everything possible.
‘… and my success can only come from God. In Him I put my trust, and to Him I will return.’ (11: 88)
Halim Erbasi
ICMG Youth Australia
Director of Education
BEFORE YOU READ
There are some important points that the reader, particularly a student of Hadith, needs to bear in mind when using this book. Although these have been explained in the Introduction to the first volume, it is considered worthwhile to remind readers of the editorial method followed in this work.
1. Numbering and references
It is surprising, but there has never been a full and serial numbering of hadiths in Sahih Muslim, and hence references to hadiths vary. A hadith is often referenced by book and chapter: ‘Related by Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter so-and-so’, and so forth. This is a difficult method of referencing, particularly because the headings of some chapters run into two or three lines, or even longer. The fullest numbering of the hadiths in Sahih Muslim is that given in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras li-Alfaz al-Hadith, but many hadiths are left without numbers. These are versions of the previous hadith, differing only in their chains of transmission, and it was probably felt that they should count with the earlier and often more complete version.
Al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras is a concordance of the words of the Prophet’s hadiths listed in the most important nine anthologies: al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, as well as Malik’s al-Muwatta’, Ahmad’s al-Musnad and al-Darimi’s Sunan. It was prepared by a group of forty Western researchers of Islamic studies under the supervision of Arent Jan Wensinck (1882–1939) and edited by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Fu’ad [Abd al-Baqi (1882–1967).i
However, al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras gives a serial number to each ‘book’ in Muslim’s Sahih. Thus, it lists the numbers of the hadiths in the Book of Faith from 1 to 380, and then begins the numbering in the Book of Cleansing from 1. As such, it does not give a complete serial numbering to the entire anthology. I have therefore decided to provide serial numbering, giving every hadith its own numbered identification. In doing so, I follow the method adopted by the late hadith scholar Musa Shahin Lashin (1920–2009) in his 10-volume commentary, Fath al-Mun[im fi Sharh Sahih Muslim. This method does not assign a number for a hadith that differs from the one before it only in its chain of transmission, but that has exactly the same text.
Muslim’s Sahih has been translated into English by Abd al-Hamid Siddiqui. The translation is well circulated and its better known edition, published by Dar al-Salam, is available online. After looking carefully at this translation, I have decided to provide my own. However, the translation gives a full serial numbering of the hadiths listed by Muslim, bringing the total to 7,190 hadiths. This is different from Lashin’s method of numbering, which brings the total to 6,571 hadiths. To make it easier for readers who wish to refer to Dar al-Salam’s translation, I give the number in that translation in brackets before the chain of transmission.
Thus, three sets of numbers are included before the chain of transmission of each hadith. The first is a complete serial number following Lashin’s method. The second is that of al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras and the third is that of Dar al-Salam’s translation given in brackets. Where Lashin or al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras does not give a hadith a number, because it is the same as the hadith before it, I follow the convention of giving it the mark ‘000’. Thus, either of the first two numbers may be replaced by 000. Where Dar al-Salam’s translation omits a hadith or does not give it a number, I give it the mark ‘0’. The pattern of numbering is simplified, as follows:
This applies to all the hadiths that are entered in the anthology itself, beginning with the Book of Faith. Imam Muslim wrote a long introduction to his work, explaining his method. In it, he includes ninety-two hadiths and statements by the early scholars of Hadith. These are given separate numbers, from 1 to 92. Only a few of these are entered in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras, because the majority are attributed to scholars of Hadith. Whichever is entered in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras its number is stated. Dar al-Salam’s translation does not include this introduction.
When a hadith is entered in any of the other five anthologies considered to be the most authentic, I mention these in a footnote. Where no such information is given, it means that the hadith is entered only in Muslim’s anthology. The Arabic original of each hadith is given immediately after the English translation, but this applies to the main body of the anthology, not to Muslim’s introduction.
Imam Muslim divided his anthology into books, each covering an important area of the Islamic faith, such as the Book of Faith, the Book of Prayer, etc. He did not make further classification. It was left to Imam al-Nawawi to divide each book into chapters, and give headings to these. These chapters were later given numbers in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras. The headings and their numbers are given in this translation. However, as many headings tend to be long, I have tried to reduce them while retaining the elements highlighted in the headings. It should be pointed out, however, that some of these chapters are not given numbers. Where no number is given to a chapter in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras, it appears without a number in this translation.
There are a few instances where the same number is given to two consecutive hadiths. In order to indicate that this is not an error, but merely following the Arabic original, the repetition is indicated by the symbol [R].
2.