Notes Concerning the Book

1. The book Governance According to Islamic Law was translated by Pīr Muhammad ibn Alī al-Āshiq in order to acquaint Sultan Selim Khan with his circumstances and explain his inability to undertake judicial office. He entitled it The Ascent of Governance and the Path of Justice, and added material relating to warfare and the public treasury (1).

2. The eminent scholar Siddīq Hasan al-Qannawjī (d. 1307 AH) said: “Governance According to Islamic Law for the Reform of the Ruler and His Subjects, by Shaykh al-Islām Ahmad ibn Taymiyya al-Harrānī—may Allah be pleased with him and make him well pleased—is a concise work. I found it in Mecca and copied it out in my own hand for myself and those I leave behind. It is housed in my library. All praise belongs to Allah” (2).

3. The eminent scholar Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sālih al-Uthaymīn (d. 1421 AH)—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—wrote a commentary on it. This commentary was published under the title Notes on Governance According to Islamic Law.