Publisher's Preface
عرض ناشر
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
عرض ناشر — Publisher's Preface
The book before you is the text and translation of Kitāb al-Iḥsān, one part of "Al-Dīn" — written in the Arabic language, which was included in the syllabus of Osmania University — the work of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm Ḥaḍrat al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qadīr Ṣiddīqī Ḥasrat (may Allah have mercy on him), former Professor of Ḥadīth and Head of the Department of Theology, Jāmiʿa ʿUthmāniyya, Hyderabad Deccan. In the manner in which īmān (faith), islām (submission) and iḥsān (excellence: worshipping Allah as though one sees Him) are mentioned and explained in the Ḥadīth of Jibrīl (peace be upon him), on that very basis Baḥr al-ʿUlūm (may Allah have mercy on him) composed this book, in which first of all comes Kitāb al-ʿIlm, which is on the principles of ḥadīth (uṣūl al-ḥadīth). Then, by presenting Qurʾān and aḥādīth on īmān, islām and iḥsān, he has proved that the Ḥanafī school (madhhab) rests entirely upon the Qurʾān and the Sunna. In Kitāb al-Islām, Qurʾānic verses and aḥādīth are set out for the acts of worship (ʿibādāt). On some questions the differences of the imāms have been explained in a very fine manner. The readers of this book also become acquainted with fiqh (jurisprudence). Kitāb al-Iḥsān is based on taṣawwuf. From reading the Qurʾānic verses and aḥādīth in it, it becomes clear that taṣawwuf is not some separate discipline; rather, understanding the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth in the correct way is what is called taṣawwuf, which in reality is only another name for maʿrifa ilāhiyya (the gnosis of Allah).
Kitāb al-Iḥsān had been published from Karachi with the translation of Ḥaḍrat Sayyid Quṭb al-Dīn Ḥusaynī (may Allah have mercy on him), former lecturer of Chaderghat College, Hyderabad. Since the tafsīr (Qurʾān commentary) of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm had not been fully printed by then, the translation of the Qurʾānic verses there was not that of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm. I have taken the translation of the Qurʾānic verses from Baḥr al-ʿUlūm's Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī, and the translation of the aḥādīth I have kept, as far as possible, that of Ḥaḍrat Quṭb al-Dīn Ḥusaynī (may Allah have mercy on him). In some places changes have been made out of necessity. The book Al-Dīn, with translation and explanations, was being published in the monthly al-Qadīr during the lifetime of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm.
It is said [in the ḥadīth]: lam yashkuri'llāha man lam yashkuri'n-nās ("He has not thanked Allah who has not thanked people"). For this reason I am grateful to the daughter of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm (may Allah have mercy on him), Ḥaḍrat Saʿīda Quṭb al-Nisāʾ Ṣāḥiba, may her shadow endure, wife of Ḥaḍrat Qāḍī Aḥmad Bashīr al-Dīn Fārūqī, may his shadow endure, resident of Canada, who had wished for years that this book be printed with her help. Besides this, I am also grateful to Dr. Muḥammad Bashīr al-Dīn Ṣāḥib for his help, and to Janāb Muḥammad Zāhid Ḥusayn Qādirī Ṣāḥib and Janāb Muḥammad Bāqir ʿAlī Ṣiddīqī Qādirī Chishtī for helping in the correction of this book. May Allah grant them a good reward. Āmīn.
It is my prayer to Allah Most High that this book of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm (may Allah have mercy on him) gain acceptance among the elite and the common people, and that the ranks of Baḥr al-ʿUlūm be raised high with Allah. Āmīn, thumma āmīn, bi-jāhi Sayyid al-Mursalīn (Āmīn, and again āmīn, by the rank of the Master of the Messengers).
The humblest of servants, Muḥammad ʿAbbās ʿAlamburdār Ṣiddīqī, Director (Muhtamim), Hasrat Academy and Kutub-khāna Baḥr al-ʿUlūm
Siddiq Gulshan, Hyderabad Rabīʿ al-Awwal 1434 AH — February 2013 CE