Author’s Introduction

All praise belongs to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our misdeeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomever He allows to stray, none can guide.

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

To proceed: this is a concise academic study dedicated to tracing the chain of transmission and explaining a noble prophetic hadith. It was originally included among the reports found in the seventh volume of my book Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah (The Series of Authentic Hadiths). I deemed it fitting to publish it on its own because of its importance and the considerable benefit it offers. After some of our brothers read it, they suggested that I release it independently so that the good might reach people more swiftly. This proposal matched my own inclination, so I handed a copy to our colleague and young student ʿAli ibn Hasan al-Halabi, entrusting him with preparing it for publication and print, along with writing a scholarly preface that would bring its benefits closer to our esteemed readers.
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