The Sacred Law, by al-Ājurrī
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. May Allah bless our master Muhammad the Prophet, and his family and Companions, and grant them peace.
Umar ibn Ibrāhīm—may Allah pardon him—reported: The jurist and imam Abū al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muqbil—may Allah support him and guide him aright—informed us, saying: The jurist and imam Abū al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Masūd al-Burayhī—may Allah have mercy on him—informed us, saying: The jurist and hadith master Abū al-Hasan Alī ibn Abī Bakr ibn Himyar ibn Tubba ibn Fadl informed us, saying: The shaykh and jurist Asad ibn Khayr ibn Yahyā ibn Īsā ibn Mulāmis—may Allah have mercy on him—informed us, on the authority of his father, Khayr ibn Yahyā, who said: Abū Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Bazzār al-Makkī informed us, on the authority of Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Ājurrī—may Allah have mercy on him.
Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Ājurrī—may Allah have mercy on him—said:
The most fitting words with which I may begin are praise of Allah, our Generous Lord. The noblest praise is that with which the Generous Lord praised Himself, and with it I praise Him:
“Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment.” [Surah: al-Fātihah]
And:
“Praise be to Allah, to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. To Him belongs all praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware. He knows what enters the earth and what emerges from it, what descends from heaven and what ascends into it. He is the Ever-Merciful, the All-Forgiving.” [Surah: Saba, verse: 2]
And:
“Praise be to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light; yet those who disbelieve set up equals with their Lord.” [Surah: al-Anām, verse: 1]
And:
“Praise be to Allah, who has taken no son, has no partner in His sovereignty, and has no protector out of weakness. Proclaim His greatness abundantly.” [Surah: al-Isrā, verse: 111]
I praise Him in gratitude for the enduring blessings and favors He has bestowed upon us from of old—the praise of one who knows that his Generous Lord loves praise. To Him belongs all praise in every circumstance.
May Allah bless the bearer of glad tidings and the warner, the radiant lamp, the master of the children of Adam—peace be upon him—whose description is given in the Torah and the Gospel, the Seal of all the prophets: Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. May He also bless his virtuous family, his chosen Companions, and his wives, the Mothers of the Believers.
May Allah grant us and you steadfast adherence to obedience to Him and to His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and to the path followed by his Companions, those who followed them with excellence, and the leading scholars of the Muslims. May He protect us and you from misguiding whims. He is indeed All-Hearing and Near.