Muntakhab Ahadith

All praises to the Sustainer of the worlds, and grace, honor and salutations on the Chief of Apostles and Seal of Prophets, Muhammad, his family, companions and those who followed him in an excellent fashion and invited mankind towards Allah, till the Day of Resurrection. This is a reality which can be stated without any ambiguity and Exaggeration, that in the Islamic world of today the most power full, use full and all-encompassing effort, is the struggle of the Tablighi Jamaat whose center is situated at the Tablighi Markaz Nizamuddin,Delhi(India). The scope of this effort and its impact is not restricted to the India subcontinent, or Asia, but extends to many continents and to a host of Islamic and Non- Islamic States. The history if such campaigns and revolutionary or reformative movements shows that,after passage of a period of time,or when the scope of the effort enlarge greatly ( specially when, by means of it, the attainment of certain advantages and leadership become apparent)then such weaknesses, unwanted objectives and neglect of the original goals set in, which reduce or even totally wipe out the true influence of the work.

Sheikh Yusuf Rahmatullahi 'alaihi, son of Sheikh Ilyas Rahmatullahi 'alaihi, dedicated his whole life striving relentlessly with a directed zeal to promote the work in this direction and raise a group of workers equipped with these qualities. These qualities have been derived from reputable books of Ahadith, biography, and history, he compiled a three- volume book, Hayat-us-Sahabah (The Lives of the companions of the Prophet), which gives a representative glimpse of the life of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam and his companions. By the grace of Allah, this book was published during his lifetime. The Sheikh had compiled another book of hadlth, Muntakhab Ahadith, in respect of these six qualities (six points). However, prior to the final compilation of this book, he left for his heavenly abode. [Inna llilahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji'oon] Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Rahmatullahi 'alaihi, spoke to numerous close friends and colleagues about this collection of ahadith He used to thank Allah, in gratitude and was well pieased with this collection. Allah alone knows what aspirations were in his heart and how he wanted to present the collection, to make it illuminating and effective. This is how it was destined by Allah. By the grace of Allah, the Urdu rendering of Muntakhab Ahadith has already been presented (Jamadiul-Auwal 1421 or September 2000). Now this collection of ahadith with its English translation is being presented. In translating this book, it has been tried that the language remains simple and easy to grasp. For the clarification of the meanings of certain ahadith, some sentences have been added in brackets. Besides this, some explanatory notes have also been added. Since, the Sheikh could not review the draft of the book, considerable effort had to be made to, correct the text of ahadith, and to make a critical analysis of the transmitters, and to classify the ahadith as Sahih, Hasan, or Dhaif (technical terms used in the classification of hadith) and an explanation of the difficult words of hadith. All the sources consulted have been referred to at the end of the book. All precautions were taken in accomplishing this task and a group of scholars have substantially shared the burden. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala bless all those associated with this venture with an excellent recompense. However, human error is always there. It is an earnest request to the scholars of Deen that they may kindly inform us of any amendments that may be needed. This collection was compiled by Sheikh Yusuf RahmatuHahi 'alaihi for a specific objective, the importance of which has been adequately explained by Sheikh Sayyad Abul Hasan AH Nadvi RahmatuHahi 'alaihi. It is, therefore, important to save this collection from any amendments or brevity. I begin this book with an excerpt from the Preface of the book, Amaniyal Ahbar Sharh Ma' aniyal Athar by Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Rahmatullahi 'alaih. This book is a commentary on Imam Tahawi Rahmatullahi 'alaih' s famous book of hadith Ma'anil Athar, on the life and sayings of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam and his companions.

It is now forty years since this book was written, twenty since it was translated into English, and twelve since the translation was first published. The issues that had caused the author so much concern at the time have become, without exception, all the more pressing today. The need to convey the Islamic concept of Tawhid to the world at large in clear unequivocal terms has been and shall remain a Muslim's first duty. Now that there is renewed worldwide attention towards Islam, it has become even more urgent to convey its core concept, without which there is no religion: The Oneness of God. Key to the Garden is an elaborate exposition of Prophet Muhammad (s) teaching that the inner life must pass through three stages: affirmation of faith with the tongue, then the mind, and finally the heart. The Muslim Testimony of Faith, that there is no deity save God, is at once the essence and the highest principle of Islam. This book is a demonstration, by one of the greatest recipients of the Prophet's heritage of knowledge, of how the whole spectrum of Islamic thought and worship unfolds naturally from these few words.