and contains marginal annotations in several places; accordingly, it became our principal point of reference in most cases, and we collated the book against it from beginning to end. This manuscript opens with the start of the “Book of Tribulations and Battles” from al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya and concludes with its final lines. In our footnotes we designate it with the letter (M). It is kept in the Qarawiyyin University Library in Fez under catalogue number 40/248.
We also benefited from the edition issued by Dār Hajr in Cairo under the supervision of Professor Dr. ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAbd al-Muḥsin al-Turki; in the notes it is referred to with the letter (Ṭ).
Afterward, we verified this portion of the book, added explanatory comments, traced its hadiths to their sources, clarified some unfamiliar terms, introduced brief biographies of certain figures, and undertook other related tasks. We implore Allah, exalted be He, that the efforts invested in this verification have produced a work that is pleasing to Him and beneficial—God willing—to students of knowledge.
Several seekers of knowledge assisted with the collation and annotation—may Allah reward them abundantly.
We ask Allah, mighty and majestic, to benefit every scholar and student who reads this section, to grant us beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, and to make this endeavor purely for His noble Face. We likewise thank all who helped bring this great work to light, especially our esteemed colleague Mr. ʿAli Mastu, proprietor of Dār Ibn Kathir, who bore the burden of publishing it for many years. We also extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed to its production, foremost among them our son and dear student Mr. Maḥmud al-Arnaʾūt, who urged us to verify this section and to review the hadith texts in the previous volumes and assess them. May Allah reward them all with the best of recompense.
In conclusion, we beseech Allah to envelop us all in His care. He has power over all things and is worthy of answering prayers. Our final supplication is: Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Damascus, the first day of Allah’s sacred month of Muḥarram, 1425 AH
ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnaʾūt
Servant of the Prophetic Sunnah in Damascus