Hadith are one of the main sources of Islamic knowledge as they are the speech of our Beloved Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him). They are a boundless treasure of succinct sayings and guidance for anyone at any time.

There are many collections of hadith that have been gathered for the benefit of the Muslim nation. Few are more beneficial than the forty hadith compiled by Imam Al-Nawawi (may Allah show him mercy). These hadith are like seeds from which great trees of understanding emerge and take form. So it's for this reason that we would like to present this commentary on the forty hadith of Imam Al-Nawawi by Ibn Daqiq al-'id (may Allah show them both mercy).

 Within this publication we have the combination of expertise of two masters in the science of hadith. Ibn Daqiq al-'id (may Allah show him mercy) has unpacked meanings that only a specialist can. Benefit from this extremely rare text that has the original Arabic sources as well as over three hundred and fifty footnotes.

 About Author:

 Abu Zakaria Mohiuddin Yahya Ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (1233–1277), popularly known as al-Nawawi, an-Nawawi or Imam Nawawi (631–676 A.H. / 1234–1277 CE), was a Sunni Muslim author on Fiqh and Hadith. His position on legal matters is considered the authoritative one in the Shafi'i Madhhab. He was born at Nawa near Damascus, Syria. As with many Arabic and Semitic names, the last part of his name refers to his hometown.

He studied in Damascus from the age of 18 and after making the pilgrimage in 1253 he settled there as a private scholar. From a young age he showed signs of great intelligence, and so his father paid for a good education. As a judge, he was much sought after for advice and adjudication of disputes.

During his life of 45 years he wrote many books on Islamic studies and other topics. He collected and sourced 42 Hadith of the Islamic prophet, Mohammed back to one of his companions.

In 1267 he succeeded Abu Shama as professor of Hadith at the Ashrafiyya [school] in the city. He died at Nawa at a relatively young age, having never married.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id (d.1302), is accounted as one of Islam’s great scholars in the fundamentals of Islamic law and belief, and was an authority in the Shafi‘i legal school.

About Translator:

Arfan Shah’s journey in search of knowledge began in 2002 when he resigned from his job to study the Arabic language at Leeds University. He attended an Arabic studies degree from which he graduated with honours in 2006. The course primarily focused on the Arabic language, Islamic history, theology and other subjects. At the same time he spent his spare time studying with Sheikh Saad Al-Attas the following subjects, Tajweed, Aquida Tahawiyyah, parts of Shammail At-Tirmidhi and most of the forty hadith of Imam Al-Nawawi’s collection, history of four Madhabs, Tafsir of Surah Mulk and Yaseen as well as completing the texts ‘Medina Arabic’ course.

He subsequently travelled to Morocco where he completed three levels of Arabic at the Alif institute in Fez. He has studied briefly in Egypt and Syria.

In 2011 he was given verbal permission (ijazah) by Sheikh Atabek Shukurov to teach sacred knowledge, which Alhamdullilah, he began to do at the newly founded Islamic Information Society in Halifax, UK. Previously he has taught in various institutions and privately since 2006.