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

Editorial Introduction
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.

To proceed: The treatise before us is among the works of the eminent imam and scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah—may Allah have mercy on him. He composed it in Muharram of the year 733 AH while in Tabuk and sent it to his companions in Greater Syria; hence it became known as “The Tabuki Epistle.” In it the author explains the Almighty’s words: “Help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and transgression. And be mindful of Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in punishment” (Al-Ma’idah 5:2). He affirms that one of the greatest manifestations of cooperation in righteousness and piety is to aid one another in the journey of migration to Allah and His Messenger—by hand, tongue, and heart—through assistance, advice, instruction, and guidance.

He clarifies that the provisions for this journey are the knowledge inherited from the Prophet ﷺ; the way to obtain them is by exerting every effort; and the mount is sincere refuge in Allah, complete reliance upon Him, and the realization of utter need for Him in every respect. The capital and mainstay of the whole enterprise is continual reflection and meditation upon the verses of the Quran until they dominate one’s thoughts, occupy the heart, and the meanings of the Quran take the place of passing notions within it.

The author then digresses to set out how to ponder the Quran, understand it, and behold its marvels and treasures. He offers an extensive exegesis of verses 24–30 of Surah al-Dhariyat, uncovering their secrets, extracting their treasures, and elaborating upon them, so that this may stand as a model for reflecting on the Quran.