The Summary of ^Abdullah al-Harariyy

Ensuring the Personal Essential Knowledge of the Religion is a summary of most of the Obligatory

Knowledge every accountable person is obligated to know. This comprises the Obligatory Knowledge pertaining to beliefs, issues from Purification (Taharah), up to Pilgrimage (Hajj), and some rules of dealings according to the school (madhhab) of Imam ash-Shafi^iyy. The sins of the heart and other organs, such as the tongue, are also included.

The original book was written by the Hadramiyy jurist, ^Abdullah Ibn Husayn Ibn Tahir. Many precious issues were added to the book while what was mentioned about Sufism was omitted. Some sentences were changed while the subjects covered remained unaffected. In a few cases, the author mentioned what some Shafi^iyy scholars, like al-Bulqiniyy, preponderated to expose what was weak in the original book. One must pay due attention to this Obligatory Knowledge to have one’s deeds accepted.

The Clear Statement

The famous and well-renowned scholar of his time, Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah al-Harariyy spent his lifetime fighting injustice and spreading the correct belief of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah. In his famous book, The Summary, he covered the basics of the personal obligatory knowledge that every accountable person is required to know. The summary, whose words herein are in bold, are explained by two of his students, revealing the wealth of knowledge veiled behind the brevity of the original book. The two texts, both The Summary and its explanation, are merged, blending in a stylistic way to flow as one book.

The beginner student as well as the experienced teacher will benefit from this concise explanation as it offers the definitions, synonyms, and basic textual references to clarify the subject matters.