Gardens of the Righteous — Page xi
INTRODUCTION xi. Riyadh as-Salihin is a selection of hadith made by Imam Muhyi ad-Din Abu. Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi; for short, Imam Nawawi. Imam. Nawawi was born in the village of Nawa in the vicinity of Damascus in 631 A. H. (= A. D. 1233). He grew up in Nawa and at the age of nineteen moved into. Damascus where he completed his studies and later wrote on and taught all the subjects which were then current among religious scholars of that age. At one time he was attracted to the study of medicine but soon abandoned the attempt as he thought that it would distract his mind and wean it away from the study and pursuit of subjects in which he was more vitally interested. Imam Nawawi led a life of singular piety, righteousness, simplicity and concentration on the spiritual. He left behind a large number of valuable works on different topics, the best known of which is his Commentary on the Sahih of Muslim. He also wrote a Commentary on a part of the Sahih of Bokhari. . Ryadh as-Salihin is a selection from the Sahih and one or two other works on hadith, among them, the Muwatta of Imam Malik. The greater part of the hadith included in the Riyadh as-Salihin is a selection from Bokhari and. Muslim; most of these are to be found in both. Most sections of Riyadh as-Salihin set out the relevant verses from the Holy Quran at the outset of the section, as emphasising that the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet is an illustration of the values inculcated by the Quran. It was inescapable that some of the traditions relevant to more sections than one would be repeated. In such cases, repetition has been largely avoided in the translation by furnishing cross references. . Imam Nawawi, the saintly scholar, died at the early age of forty-six in 676. A. H. (= A. D. 1278) in the village of his birth, and was deeply mourned by all sections of Muslim society in Damascus. . We set out below in an English translation the preface written by Imam. Nawawi to the Riyadh as-Salihin: 'In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful. 'All praise belongs to God, the One, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Most. Forgiving and Forbearing, Who makes the night follow the day so that it would be an admonition and warning for those who have been blessed with insight and should be a lesson for the wise and far-sighted. He it is Who chooses whom He wills and awakens them from the sleep of neglect and bestows upon them the bounty of piety and enables them to be occupied with reflection and observation, and equips them with the capacity to retrace their steps after a mistake and to accept and follow good advice. He enables them to worship Him, to prepare for the hereafter and to be constant in the pursuit of these objectives. . I praise Him in the most eloquent, pure and comprehensive terms. 'I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship save God alone Who is. Holy, Noble, Gracious and Merciful. I bear witness that our lord and master is. His Servant and Messenger and His friend and loved one, who points out the straight path and calls people to the true faith. May Allah have mercy on him and on all Prophets and the righteous and their descendants.