As for the occasions on which I was unable to trace a citation—and, praise be to Allah, they are few—I try, as far as possible, to authenticate it by consulting other sources. If I cannot find it anywhere but discover that the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, has recorded it in one of his own works, I collate our text with that work to ensure the passage is presented in sound form.
7 – I have cited every Qurʾanic verse in its proper place, giving the name of the surah and the verse number.
8 – I have fully referenced all the hadiths and transmitted reports in the book. Whenever a hadith is not found in either of the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections, I indicate its grade by referring to the scholars’ rulings on it.
9 – Because many individuals are mentioned in this book, I have confined myself to brief biographical notes for those whose names are written incorrectly, whose names differ among the manuscripts, or from whom the Shaykh quotes, to whom he attributes a statement, or about whom he speaks in praise or criticism.
10 – I have endeavoured, whenever possible, to identify every source to which the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, refers, noting whether it is a manuscript or a printed work, extant or lost. As a rule, I do not specify the copy that came into my hands and from which I quoted, contenting myself with the details that will appear in the index.
11 – I have annotated certain issues that required comment, keeping the notes concise so as not to overburden the book with footnotes.
12 – I have explained some unfamiliar words and technical terms, and have provided brief identifications of the various sects, places, and regions mentioned.
13 – In the biographical entries and similar contexts I have used the Hijri calendar and have written the dates in numerals rather than words for brevity. When a date precedes the Hijrah, I append the symbol “q.h.” (before the Hijrah); if it precedes the Common Era, I append “q.m.” (before the Common Era).
14 – For concision, I have frequently referred to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah simply as “the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him,” without repeating his full name.