About This Work
This is a preliminary publishing of the Mirat ‘t-Tullab Fee Mustanid al-Abwaab Li Deen
Allah al-Wahhab (The Mirror of the Students Regarding the Authoritative Sources of the Issues of the Deen of Allah, the Benefactor). It is ‘preliminary’ because it is devoid of the footnotes, citations or annotation; which I will include in the second edition. The reason that I omitted them in this edition is in order for the text to be easy for students to study and memorize. My intention is to produce another version for academics and scholars including: citations of Qur’anic verses and prophetic traditions; brief biographies of the narrators and authors cited by the Shehu as well as an annotation of the manuscripts used to create this standardized version of the text.
If, Allah ta`ala grants me time and Baraka, it is also my intention of composing a commentary upon this blessed work which I will call: Diya’l-Lubbab Fee Mirat ‘t-Tullab and include in it an explanation of all the verses, prophetic traditions and the sayings of the ijma`a of the Sunna scholars which the Shehu cites in this blessed work; which will, Allah willing, uncover the inner meanings, secrets and spiritual jewels hidden in this blessed work.
Realize, beloved reader that this work, the Mirat’t-Tullab is the first of three works which the scholars determined established Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye` as the reformer (mujaddid) of 12th century of the Islamic hijra. The second work is the Sawq’l-Umma Ila Ittiba` as-Sunna which I’ve already completed with its commentary.
The third work is the `Umdat’l-`Ulama (the Support of the Scholars), which is complete, but whose commentary is still on progress. All three works give a complete picture of the legal sources from which Muslim scholars draw their evidence, extract their legal decisions and make their independent judgements.
The Mirat’t-Tullab is as the title indicates, a work for the students of knowledge and provides them with the Qur’anic verses, the sound prophetic traditons from the Sahih of al-Bukhari; the consensus of the Sunni scholars, as well as the views of the leading Maliki jurists in the fifty major issues of the religion which are obligatory for the student to know and act upon.