Praise be to Allah Who has guided us to this; had He not guided us, we would never have found the way.
To Him belongs praise until He is pleased, to Him belongs praise in every circumstance¹, and praise belongs to Allah alone².
The author—may the Possessor of Majesty and Bounty pardon him³—says:
I finished annotating it on Saturday, the seventeenth of Rajab al-Fard, the inviolable sacred month, in the venerable al-Azhar Mosque—ever-flourishing with the remembrance of the All-Knowing King—in the year nineteen⁴ after one thousand. That was the conclusion, and I ask Allah, exalted is He, to cause me to die upon Islam, to gather me and my parents⁵ in the company of Muhammad, the best of creation, and to benefit us through what we have learned from our teachers, men of honor and esteem—may Allah, exalted be He, reward them on behalf of the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection and Standing⁶ and grant us everlasting abode in the Home of Peace—and to grant me and them a wholesome life until we meet Him,