The Prophetic Jewels Of Al-Hafiz Abu Nu’Aym Al-Asbahani

This book is a translation of an extract from Jawahir Al-Bihar Fi Fada'il Al-Nabi Al-Mukhtar ﷺ by Al-Shaykh Yusuf Ibn Isma'il Al-Nabhani on the virtues of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ through the writings of Al-Hafiz Abu Nu’aym Al-Asbahani in his book, Dala’il Al-Nubuwah — with foreword by Al-Ustadh Muhammad Fairuzee Salihudin, Co-founder of Mihwar LLP.

The first half of this book’s main contents broadly consists of the virtues and specialties of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ based on Quranic verses and Prophetic Hadiths. These include — but are not limited to — his existence as mercy for the worlds, the greatness of his status, the precedence of his Prophethood before the Prophets’, his intercession for his Ummah, and his noble characters and characteristics ﷺ.

The second half of this book’s main contents thoroughly explains the superiority of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ over the other Prophets in their virtues and miracles. The book is then concluded by a section by the compiler himself, Al-Shaykh Al-Nabhani, on his study on the marvels of the Saints and the miracles of the Prophets. This study ultimately aims to further emphasize that the Prophet ﷺ is superior to all the other Prophets as he is the Chosen Prophet, the Master of the Messengers and the most honourable creation to Allah ﷻ.

All in all, this book is very rich in Quranic verses, Prophetic Hadiths and narrations about the noble virtues of the Prophet ﷺ. Its scope also covers the most basic knowledge and the most fundamental information about the virtues and specialties of the Prophet ﷺ that are essential for a Muslim's principles of faith in him ﷺ.

By studying this book, readers can learn more about the Prophet Muhammad, deepen their love for him and increase their obedience to him ﷺ.

The author, Al-Hafiz Abu Nu’aym Al-Asbahani (336H-430H), was a renowned Hadith scholar in Islam. It has been consensually agreed among Hadith scholars that Al-Hafiz Abu Nu’aym was the leading Hadith scholar in his era who was incomparable in the field of Hadith. From a very young age, he was diligent in learning, devoted to studying and dedicated to teaching.

The compiler, Al-Shaykh Yusuf Ibn Isma'il Al-Nabhani (1849-1932), was from the Levant, graduated from Al-Azhar, Egypt and was a very learned scholar in many disciplines such as Islamic Jurisprudence and Sufism. He was also a glorious poet who mastered in Arabic knowledge and literary arts. For most of his adult life, Al-Shaykh Al-Nabhani worked within the judicial positions in various courts in several places until he was promoted to Chief Justice of the Court of Human Rights in Beirut, and held this position for a period of over 20 years. Al-Shaykh Al-Nabhani was devoted to knowledge, literature, composing poems and writing books, especially in defence of his beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.