In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Introduction to the Critical Edition

All praise belongs to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from our misdeeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomever He allows to stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

To proceed: this is a new volume, a precious work being published for the very first time by the Qur’anic scholar, the steadfast and God-centred combatant, Shaykh al-Islam and the Muslims, Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him. We offer it to the Muslim community at a moment when they are in greatest need of courage, sacrifice, initiative, and steadfastness in the face of the ferocious assault of hateful Zionism against Islam and the Muslims.

The Shaykh, who confronted the Tatars with both sword and pen, spared no effort in teaching Muslims whatever would benefit them in their religion and worldly life—above all in matters of jihad and the mujahidin, the apex of the faith.

The true combatant is the one who follows guidance: “And those who strive for Our sake, We shall surely guide them to Our paths” (al-‘Ankabut 29:69). He does not embark upon any undertaking without knowledge, lest he bring about more corruption than rectification.