Scan barcode
A review by bookifiction
The Complete Forty Hadith by Yahya ibn Sharaf al Nawawi
5.0
This collection of ahadith by Imam an-Nawai was first brought to my attention six years ago at our weekly halaqah, my teacher held aloft the forest green and gold cover and told us this was our next study. I vaguely recall analysing a select handful of these ahadith in class (In fact, I certainly remember the first few - whether we examined all forty I cannot recall, however I will interrogate my old notebooks to soon find out the extent to which my memory has failed me). Half a decade later I finally got around to reading it cover to cover myself - a feat that most likely would not have been possible if not for the global lockdown this Ramadan.
Imam an-Nawawi is a renowned hadith scholar and shafi’i faqih, and has been praised over the centuries for his unwavering devotion to knowledge-seeking and academia, so much so that he never married in his lifetime, conscious that his dedication to ‘ilm would disavow his wife her rights. This compilation of forty(two) ahadith intend to comprise all the essentials of the religion and shariah (islamic law). Each hadith is selected specifically for its high classification and foundation in the Islamic tradition. The ahadith mentioned in this work are primarily sourced from Sahih Muslim and Bukhari.
I found this edition very useful - not only was it translated into english, it also had the original arabic preceding the text (helpful for someone studying arabic). I valued the commentary of each hadith (most hadith are straightforward in message, but further clarity is never a bad thing). The footnotes were also beneficial, particularly for contextualisation, and giving details on the narrators of each hadith (sahaba). It gave details of their life, relationship to the Prophet ﷺ and how many ahadith they narrated in their lifetime. I had no idea Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated 5,000+ ahadith.
Of the ahadith that comprise this work, the ones that I particularly valued included:
* The Hadith of Jibreel (Islam, Iman & Ihsan)
* Istiqamah (going straight)
* Easing Someone’s Distress
* Be Mindful of Allah and He will be Mindful of You
In addition to being easy to read and understand, the majority of ahadith in this work are also easy to memorise, and will serve as great reminders.
Imam an-Nawawi is a renowned hadith scholar and shafi’i faqih, and has been praised over the centuries for his unwavering devotion to knowledge-seeking and academia, so much so that he never married in his lifetime, conscious that his dedication to ‘ilm would disavow his wife her rights. This compilation of forty(two) ahadith intend to comprise all the essentials of the religion and shariah (islamic law). Each hadith is selected specifically for its high classification and foundation in the Islamic tradition. The ahadith mentioned in this work are primarily sourced from Sahih Muslim and Bukhari.
I found this edition very useful - not only was it translated into english, it also had the original arabic preceding the text (helpful for someone studying arabic). I valued the commentary of each hadith (most hadith are straightforward in message, but further clarity is never a bad thing). The footnotes were also beneficial, particularly for contextualisation, and giving details on the narrators of each hadith (sahaba). It gave details of their life, relationship to the Prophet ﷺ and how many ahadith they narrated in their lifetime. I had no idea Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated 5,000+ ahadith.
Of the ahadith that comprise this work, the ones that I particularly valued included:
* The Hadith of Jibreel (Islam, Iman & Ihsan)
* Istiqamah (going straight)
* Easing Someone’s Distress
* Be Mindful of Allah and He will be Mindful of You
In addition to being easy to read and understand, the majority of ahadith in this work are also easy to memorise, and will serve as great reminders.