The Best In Islam
Written by Dr. Bilal Philips
A concise reference book on aspects of righteousness from an Islamic perspective, based on authentic hadeeths and Quranic verses, along with their brief commentaries. The basic pillars are covered, as well as other aspects of life, to give Muslim and non-Muslim (Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc.) readers an idea of the higher ideals and goals of Islamic teachings and practices.
The purpose of this work is to provide the English reader with a view of the majority of issues which Islam considers to be the best and most pleasing to God Almighty. It is therefore intended to be a concise reference book on aspects of righteousness from the Islamic perspective; for whatever is pleasing to God is, of necessity, righteous. Consequently, the basic pillars of Islam are all included, with special emphasis placed on their most important aspects. Likewise, various facets of human life are analyzed and the key components essential to maintain righteousness are identified. In this way, the non-Muslim reader will become familiar with the higher ideals and goals of Islamic teachings and practices, and the Muslim reader will be enlightened as to the Islamic spirit which the Islamic rites, rituals and traditions were intended to engender within the true believer, according to the words of the Prophet (pbuh) himself.
The core of this work comprises an authentic compilation of hadeeths (prophetic traditions). The majority of the traditions are in the form of statements made by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) beginning with the superlatives afdal, khayr, ahsan, which mean ‘the best’ and ahabb which means ‘the most beloved.’ Quranic verses identifying what is better and best have also been added to the hadeeth core to make the work more comprehensive. The traditions and verses are grouped according to their subject matter, and explanatory footnotes have been added where necessary.
This collection of prophetic traditions has been primarily extracted from Shaykh Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee's authen-tication of the sixteenth century hadeeth classic known as al-Jaami' as-Sagheer compiled by Imaam Jalaalud-Deen as-Suyootee. The symbol [S.J.S.] indicates al-Albaanee's Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer, and the number that follows it is the hadeeth number in that book. However, the collection does include a number of other narrations which I have gathered from Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, as well as al-Albaanee's authentication of the four Sunans. Available English translations of these and other hadeeth collections have also been given as references for those who would like to read more on the subject.
Al-Jaami' as-Sagheer
Imaam Jalaalud-Deen as-Suyootee (d. 911 AH/1505 CE) collected all the hadeeths available to him and recorded them in a comprehensive work which he entitled Jaami' al-Jawaami'. The hadeeths in it were divided into two sections:
1) Ahadeeth Qawleeyah [hadeeths based on the Prophet's statements], which as-Suyootee arranged in alphabetical order, and
2) Ahadeeth Fi'leeyah [hadeeths based on the Prophet's actions], which as-Suyootee arranged according to the names of their narrators among the Sahaabah (companions of the Prophet (pbuh) ).
Unfortunately, Imaam as-Suyootee died before completing this monumental work. However, four years before his death, he condensed the first of its two sections into a work which he named al-Jaami' as-Sagheer (lit. The Small Compilation). Later he added an appendix of additional hadeeths which came to be known as az-Ziyaadah (lit. The Addition). In the twentieth century, these two collections were integrated into one text by Shaykh Yousuf an-Nabhaanee, who called it al-Fat-h al-Kabeer. It is this text that Shaykh al-Albaanee authenticated and divided into two separate works according to the authenticity of the hadeeths. He entitled them Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer wa Ziyaadaatuh and Daeef al-Jaami' as-Sagheer wa Ziyaadaatuh.
In closing, I would like to thank all of those who participated in getting this work published. Among them, my wife Sakeenah and sister Jameelah Campbell, as well as brother Abdul-Majeed Alee Hasan.