Al-Siraj: The Lantern on the Path To Allah Almighty

The Book and the Author

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

Peace and blessings be upon the best of Allah’s creation, Muhammad (‘s), and upon his Purified Progeny (‘a), the ones through whom Allah Almighty perfected the code of ethics, and the curse be upon their foes and those who denied their virtues from the beginning of life and for eternity.
 
The book before you is regarded as one of the best that deal with applied ethics if you observe the following: its brevity and concentration. The best is what is the least said, while meaning the most, be it with regard to what is articulated or written. It is well known that too much talk about one topic, though useful, may be too much of a distraction to one seeking to benefit there from. This is why we notice how the Qur’an, which brings about the happiness of the beings if they follow it, is no larger than ordinary books nowadays.
 
The Qur’an is inclusive, moderate and does not concentrate on one particular field at the expense of another. Some people look upon ethics from the ritualistic angle, so they move about from one ritual to another, finishing the entire recitation time and over again, commemorating one Arba`in [^1] after another...

It is as though the worshipper tries to ascend to the angelic world in one night and through one ritual, forgetting that the path is what is advocated by the Qur’an: through one’s straightforwardness, struggle and serious effort to implement the Shari`ah to the letter, starting from individual matters, that is, acting upon what is obligatory and abandoning what is prohibitive, passing by what is highly commendable and what is held as contemptible, ending with the social issues, even if the latter means fighting the enemies of Allah Almighty on the field. We have pointed out in this book to portraits of such inclusion, something which has set this work apart from others.
 
Its realism: We see how the author inclines to display ethics as applied portraits to which one has to adhere while practicing them, rather than a collection of complicated ideas very close to being runes and riddles, as if their owner wants to prove through them his scholarly distinction and superiority over his peers. You may read the book once or twice without finding in it any one practical point applied on life’s field, one whereby a human alters his conduct, instead of being a purely scholarly luxury.
 

[^1]: For the meaning of Italicized Arabic terms, please refer to the Glossary. __ Tr.