Dalīl al-Ṭālib - Marʿi al-Karmi - (1)

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate. In Him I place my trust.⦗1⦘

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, without partner, Master of the Day of Judgment. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger—the one who clarified the rulings of the sacred law and attained the utmost of aspirations⦗2⦘ from his Lord; whoever holds fast to his law is among the successful. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, upon all the prophets and messengers, and upon every member of their families and all of their companions.

To proceed: This is an abridged manual of jurisprudence according to the most praiseworthy school—the school of Imām Ahmad. I have exerted myself to explain it with utmost clarity in hope of forgiveness, setting out its rulings in the best possible manner. I have mentioned only what the scholars of verification and insight have declared sound, and upon which legal verdicts rest among those known for weighing the evidence and mastering the discipline. I have entitled it The Seeker’s Guide to Attaining the Demands.

I ask Allah to make it beneficial for any Muslim who studies it, and to show mercy to me and to the Muslims. He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.

(1) The phrase “and in Him is my trust” does not appear in manuscripts A and B. (2) Ibn Awad notes in the margin of al-Dalil that, in this context, the author is indicating that this book has gained its abridged form from Muntaha al-Iradat by way of tawriya (a figure of speech in which a single term bears two meanings). He uttered “Muntaha al-Iradat” while intending its more remote meaning. See Ibn Maniʿ’s marginalia, p. 3.

مقدمة ... بسم الله الر حمن الرحيم وبه ثقتي ١ الحمد لله رب العالمين وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له مالك يوم الدين. وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله المبين لأحكام شرائع الدين الفائز بمنتهى الإرادات٢ من ربه فمن تمسك بشريعته فهو من الفائزين صلى الله وسلم عليه وعلى جميع الأنبياء والمرسلين وعلى آل كل وصحبه أجمعين. وبعد: فهذا مختصر في الفقه على المذهب الأحمد مذهب الإمام أحمد بالغت في إيضاحه رجاء الغفران وبينت فيه الأحكام أحسن بيان لم أذكر فيه إلا ما جزم بصحته أهل التصحيح والعرفان وعليه الفتوى فيما بين أهل الترجيح والإتقان وسميته بـ دليل الطالب لنيل المطالب والله أسأل أن ينفع به من اشتغل به من المسلمين وأن يرحمني والمسلمين إنه أرحم الراحمين.

١ قوله: وبه ثقتي لا يوجد في أ, ب. ٢ في حاشية الدليل لابن عوض: المراد – هنا – أن هذا الكتاب ظفر باختصاره من منتهى الإرادات من قبيل التوراة وهي: إطلاق لفظ له معنيان فأطلق منتهى الإرادات وأراد معناه البعيد. حاشية ابن مانع "ص: ٣".