In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, who is praised for His beautiful Names and perfect Attributes, and for their effects in the present life and in the Hereafter. We ask for Allah’s peace and blessings upon the leader of all prophets, who, from among all humans, has the most perfect praiseworthy attributes, the best morals, and the most eloquent sayings, and we ask for Allah’s peace and blessings upon his family, Companions, and all his followers.
Aside from the words of Allah, the Exalted, there are no words more truthful, more beneficial, or more inclusive of the good of this life and the Hereafter more than the words of His Prophet and His chosen one, Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). He was the most knowledgeable of all mankind, the most truthful, the greatest giver of advice and guidance, the most eloquent, the best taught, and he was given pithiness of speech.
Hence we recognize the dire need of people to know the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and what he was sent with, to believe him in what he told, to obey his orders, to avoid what he forbade, and to worship Allah, the Exalted, according to his teachings. There is truly no road to happiness and success for this blessed Ummah except by following the path of its Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), inwardly and outwardly, for there is no road to Allah and to Paradise except through the guidance of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
So, whoever seeks the best for himself and wishes to deliver it to safety and happiness should learn of his guidance, biography, and habits what takes him out of the group of those ignorant of the Prophet and admits him into the group of his followers and adherents to his Sunnah. People in this regard are divided into three categories: one that is deprived, one that takes a little, and one that takes a lot; and grace (in taking much of the Prophet's guidance) is in the Hands of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills, and Allah is the Most Bountiful.
One of the ways that makes such knowledge accessible is to consider the comprehensive beneficial summarized books about the guidance of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and his practices, such as:
The book of Riyād al-Sālihīn min Ahādīth Sayyid Al-Mursalīn (Gardens of the Righteous from the Hadīths of the Leader of the Messengers), compiled by the ascetic erudite scholar: Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf Al-Nawawi (631-676 AH, 1234-1277 AD) – may Allah have mercy upon him. He compiled therein a concise collection of authentic Hadīths, which represent a provision for the reader towards his afterlife, and an inventory of inward and outward etiquettes. It also combines encouragement and warning, and all the types of character traits for those who seek reward in the Hereafter and eschew this tempting life; all taken from Hadīths on asceticism, disciplining of the self, perfecting morals, purification and healing of hearts, guarding the body parts and the senses (against committing the unlawful) and straightening their crookedness, among other objectives.
Muslim scholars have vehemently recommended this book, gave great care to explaining it and teaching it to the general body of Muslims. This indicates the sincerity of its author and people’s need to such a concise and beneficial book.
Following the example of our scholars and imitating them in their good deeds, we have participated in this endeavor to make Riyād Al-Sālihīn accessible to those who seek its benefit. Our objectives are:
1) To make this an advice to believers in abidance by the guidance of the leader of Prophets (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), for it is surely the best guidance.
2) To follow the example of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) in hastening to venerate the command of Allah, the Exalted, and the command of His Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), for the Companions are the best of generations in terms of faithfulness in following the example of the the sent Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
3) To make people aware of the greatness of this lenient Abrahamic religion, with which Allah relieved the world, and whose goodness extended to all mankind. Allah Almighty singled out the Ummah of Muhammad with blessings, mercy, and facilitations that they attain by virtue of following the guidance of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Our methodology can be summed up in five points:
1. Explanation of the words that the reader does not comprehend in the Hadīth and which the author left unexplained. This is called Gharīb al-Hadīth (unfamiliar words in the Hadīth).
2. Inferring guidance from the chapters and evidences of the book that we hope can be messages of guidance and advice in following the example of the master of worshipers, Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). We were keen on placing the 'Guidance from the Hadīth' at appropriate places with regard to the evidences of each chapter. We have also added important points and useful notes relevant to some evidences. These were written under the sub-title "Benefit", in order not to confuse them with the wording of the author.
3. When Hadīths are repeated in chapters, we reexplained the unfamiliar words they contain and rewrote the guidance derived from them in accordance with the chapter in which they are mentioned. This is done in imitation of the Qur'an's approach; {Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration} [Al-Zumar: 23] The verse means that statements, stories, rulings, and all useful subjects are repeated in the Qur'an for great reasons that include assertion of these meanings in the hearts of people by repetition; for if something is repeated it becomes established. Hence, we repeated the meanings of the recurrent Hadīths so that they become established in minds and hearts. It is noteworthy to mention that there are 168 recurrent Hadīths in Riyād Al-Sālihīn.
4. We have drawn the reader's attention to a number of Hadīths that the scholars judged to be weak in this great book. They are few compared to the total number of Hadīths cited therein. The reader can find the note to the weakness of a Hadīth in the footnotes of the book. We relied in this regard on a fine version of the book verified by Shaykh ‘Isām Hādi, published by Al-Rayyān Institution. Whoever wishes to learn the reason for judging a Hadīth as weak can consult Takhreej (Hadīth documentation) books.
It is well know, dear brother – may Allah guide us all to the true path – that it is the duty of all Muslims to worship Allah based on the authentic traditions of our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). If authentic Hadīths are available, there us no need to resort to weak ones. As for what some scholars cite of weak Hadīths - of minor weakness - it is due to the fact that these Hadīths have authentic grounds in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Therefore, they are correct in meaning, despite being weak in the chain of narration.
That is why we have included the weak Hadīths in the general body of Hadīths cited in the book and treated them in the same way by explaining their unfamiliar vocabulary and deducing guidance from them, for there are other texts that corroborate their meanings. We excluded a few rare Hadīths whose meaning is Munkar (denounced), given the principle that what is rare is not to be taken into consideration.
5. We attached three appendices to help the reader, as follows:
First: Appendix of Hadīths and traditions, which includes:
Parts of the prophetic Hadīths and traditions narrated by Companions of the Prophet; which facilitates for the reader access to any Hadīth or tradition in the book.
Second: Index of repeated Hadīths, which include:
Reference to the Hadīth's repetitions in the book. The objective is to show the aptitude of the author, may Allah have mercy upon him, in including a single Hadīth in different chapters. This shows the real meaning of Jawāmi‘ al-Kalim (succinct speech) that was an exclusive characteristic of our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), as he would make statements that are brief in wording but broad in meaning, thus making a single Hadīth relevant to many contexts.
Third: Index of subjects of the book, which includes:
Indexing the book's subjects according to chapters; totaling 372 chapter. Each chapter includes a group of textual evidences. Most chapters contain Qur'anic verses and Prophetic Hadīths. The total number of Hadīths in these chapters are 1896, according to the most popular versions of the book.
That said, we have relied, in the arrangement of Riyād Al-Sālihīn, on the version verified and documented by Shaykh Shu‘ayb Al-Arnā'ūt and published by Ar-Risālah Foundation. Some minor mistakes in this version were corrected by comparing them with the original books.
We prefaced the book with a summarized biography of Imam Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) and brief excerpts from the statements of the scholars regarding the merit of Riyād Al-Sālihīn and their advice to Muslims to read it.
Finally, we have named this advice of ours 'Rawh wa Rayāhīn Sharh Riyād al-Sālihīn'.
We dedicate it to every believer who is interested to follow the example of the leader of all prophets (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and the example of the first forerunners in Islam (may Allah be pleased with them all). We ask Allah, the Exalted, to bless this work and make it useful, just as He blessed and made useful the original book upon which it is based. Whatever correctness the book contains, it is by the grace of Allah; and whatever incorrect content it contains, it is due to our negligence, ignorance, and misdeeds, which barred us from receiving the favors of our Lord.
We ask Allah, the Great, the Lord of the Exalted Throne, not to deny us the good He has due to the bad we do, for He is Bounteous and Generous.
Praise be to Allah who guided us to this; and we would not have been guided if Allah had not willed so.
May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and Companions.
Blessed Levant
Damascus
Third Print/ Rajab/ 1434 AH [1]