Publisher's Preface

عرض ناشر

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

Praise be to Allah and peace upon His Messenger. This fourth part of the series Al-Deen is titled Kitab al-Ihsan — The Book of Ihsan. Just as Part 1 treats Knowledge (Kitab al-Ilm) and Part 2 treats Faith (Kitab al-Iman), this volume expounds the third and highest pillar of the religion, Ihsan (spiritual excellence and sincere worship), as defined in the famous hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him). The author, Hazrat Bahr-ul-Uloom Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui Hasrat (1288–1381 AH), was one of the foremost Islamic scholars of the Indian subcontinent. Born on 24 Rajab 1288 AH (13/14 October 1871 CE) in Hyderabad (Deccan), he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Religious Sciences at Osmania University and later as its Vice-Chancellor. He published the first complete Urdu translation and commentary of the Qur'an, entitled Tafseer Siddiqui, in 1931 from Hyderabad. He also wrote the celebrated treatise on the authenticity of the Qur'anic text, and translated the Arabic works of the renowned scholar al-Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn ʿArabī. He passed away on 17 Shawwal 1381 AH (23 March 1962 CE). This publisher's note is written by Muhammad Abbas Ali Bardari Siddiqui, Administrator of the Hasrat Academy and Siddiq Gulshan Library, Hyderabad.