Foreword by His Eminence, the Eminent Scholar Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahmān al-Bassām

Member of the Council of Senior Scholars

Praise be to Allah, who grants whomever He wills among His creation understanding of the religion. May blessings and peace be upon the one whom Allah sent as a mercy to all the worlds and a radiant lamp for those who tread the path, and upon his noble, blessed family and Companions.

To proceed: This is an introduction to this beneficial compendium entitled Manhaj al-Sālikīn (The Wayfarers’ Path), in which we shall discuss two matters:

The first concerns the book.

The second concerns its critical editing.

As for the book, there is a story behind its composition. In 1359 AH, the first class graduated from al-Azīziyyah Primary School in the city of Unayzah. At that time, Unayzah had neither an intermediate school nor an Islamic institute, so the primary-school certificate was the highest qualification a student could obtain in the city. Although most of those young men wished to continue their studies, they were at an age when it was not appropriate for them to leave their families to study in the Kingdom’s major cities.

By a fortunate coincidence, construction of the public library in Unayzah—may Allah preserve it—was completed that same year, 1359 AH. Our Sheikh, Abd al-Rahmān al-Nāsir al-Sa‘dī—may Allah have mercy on him—had decided that his advanced instruction—