In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Preface

All praise is due to Allah, who created the heavens, the earth, and all that lies between them, and to whom all matters return. He causes the day to merge into the night and the night to merge into the day, and He knows what lies within every heart. He created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds, and He is the Almighty, the All-Forgiving.

We praise Allah Most High and thank Him; we seek His help and forgiveness. We bear witness that none is worthy of worship but Allah alone, with no partner—a testimony through which we may find deliverance and salvation on the Day of Resurrection and Rising. We also bear witness that our master Muhammad is His Messenger, chosen from among all His creation. He sent him with the religion of guidance and truth to make it prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists detest it, and even though the disbelievers detest it. O Allah, bestow upon him blessings that You love and approve for him, and through which we may receive his intercession on the Day when neither wealth nor children can intercede. Indeed, You are the best Protector and the best Helper.

To proceed, dear reader:

Al-Hilāl Publishing House and Library placed great trust in us and entrusted us with a considerable responsibility when it commissioned us to critically edit, explain, and review this valuable work on the interpretation of