of proper scholarly attention to it, I rolled up my sleeves in earnest and spent four years of my life working on the critical edition of this text—without being able to devote myself to it full-time. I pursued its handwritten copies, even travelling for that purpose, until, by Allah’s grace, I obtained five manuscripts. With Allah’s help—and despite my limited means—I then set about verifying the text until, praise be to Allah the Exalted, the work was finally brought to completion.

This project could never have come to fruition were it not for Allah’s enabling grace, His bounty, and His favor, followed by the assistance of my teachers and brothers. After thanking Allah, therefore, I express my gratitude to everyone who helped bring this work to completion, whether by photographing a manuscript, collating copies, or providing other forms of support.

I would like to mention in particular our esteemed shaykh and noble scholar, Shaykh Muhammad b. ʿAbd al-Rahman Āl Ismāʿīl—may Allah preserve him—who graciously read the entire book, offered a number of valuable observations from which I benefited greatly, and then honored me by writing a foreword to this work (1). I ask Allah, the Most High, to place all of that in the balance of his good deeds.

I likewise thank our eminent and steadfast scholar, Shaykh ʿAdnān b. Sālim al-Nihām—may Allah preserve him—for granting me the opportunity to read the book with him. I read a portion of it to him with meticulous verification over several sittings and benefited from his knowledge, his critical insights, his demeanor, humility, and fine character—may Allah the Exalted protect him. He also honored me by providing a foreword to this book. May the Almighty reward him with the best and most beautiful recompense, and may He allow us to continue benefiting from his knowledge and grace.