THE FOUNDATIONS of the Prophetic Way (دعائم منهاج النبوة), by Muhammad Ibn Said Raslan (Illustrious Egyptian scholar and doctor of hadith science)

Da'aim Minhaj An-Nubuwwah by Sheikh Raslan, is one of the best works explaining the Way of the People of the Sunnah and its foundations.

Among the topics covered: the definition of the minhaj, its specificities, the obligation to follow it, the words of the Pious Predecessors proving the importance of clinging to it and the causes that lead to moving away from it.

But also the signs of the followers of innovation as well as the position of the People of the Sunnah against them and much more

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Translator's preface

Praise be to Allah, prayer and salvation be upon His noble Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, as well as his family, companions and all who walked his way.

Our Prophet and Messenger Muhammad has certainly left us on a clear path day and night, as he himself mentioned in the hadith of Al-Irbad Ibn Sâriyah (may Allah be pleased with him): " I have left you on a clear path night and day, only those who are doomed lose their way. »>

However, despite the clarity of this prophetic path, the multiplication of troubles and the emergence of ideologies contradicting the Sunnah make access to this path difficult, except for those to whom Allah has mercy.

From the first centuries of Islâm until today, scholars have never ceased to write works aimed at clarifying the prophetic way and methodology to Muslims. Nevertheless, despite the abundance of these works dealing with the way of the Prophet and that of the pious predecessors, methodological questions have long remained the poor relation in the field of French translation, not that no work has been translated, but because of their small number compared to those dealing with other areas of religion. And if for some years we have witnessed by the grace of Allah a renewed interest in this theme, it seems to us that it should continue to be invested by French-speaking translators.

It is indeed from this methodology that derives the correct understanding and application of religious texts, far from laxity and extremism, in the happy medium characteristic of the Muslim religion in general and of the path of the pious predecessors in particular. . With this in mind, we therefore wanted to contribute our small contribution to the building by translating a methodology book. However, the abundance of works on the subject in Arabic did not make the choice easy.

Our decision to translate that of Sheikh Muhammad Sa'id Raslan (may Allah preserve him), Foundations of the Prophetic Way, thus stems from a desire to retain a book that is both clear for a contemporary French-speaking reader and exhaustive, written in an accessible style but fully rooted in the sacred texts, as well as in the writings and words of the scholars of the first generations.

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Besides the fact that this work is written by a Sheikh of merit, known for his efforts in preaching, it also has the particularity of exposing in detail the foundations of the followers of the Sunnah as well as those of the followers of innovation and of misguidance. This will allow the reader, Allah willing, to better understand the origin of the misguidance of the various sects which have dotted Muslim history with a view to guarding against it, as well as to fully grasp the rules which govern the way. pious predecessors.

Finally, let us add that the book is distinguished by its mention of misguided contemporary groups whose misdeeds have hit the Muslim world hard, like the Tabligh group, reviver of Sufi deviations, or that of the Muslim Brotherhood, cradle of the revival of methodology of the khawârij in our time.

We therefore ask Allah to forgive us for our shortcomings, to accept this modest work and to reward all those who have contributed to its development and dissemination, because it is up to Him and He is perfectly capable of it.