This book is a short work to explain what every Muslim needs to know about the religion of Islam. It covers many lessons under 18 chapters. List of detailed topics can be found below:
Table of Contents
Preface To The First Edition
Important Points To Consider Before Reading
Foreword
Introduction
Lesson One
Surah Al-Fatihah And Other Short Surahs
Surah Al-Fatihah
Surah Az-Zalzalah
Surah Al- Adiyat
Surah Al-Qari'ab
Surah At-Takathur
Surah Al-Asr
Surah Al-Humazah
Surah Al-Fil
Surah Quraish
Surah AI Ma'un
Surah Al-Kawthar
Surah Al-Kafirun
Surah An Nasr
Surah Al-Masad
Surah Al-Ikhlas
Surah Al-Falaq
Surah AnNas
Lesson Two
The Pillars Of Islam. Lesson Three
The Pillars And Branches of Faith
Lesson Four
The Categories Of T'awhid And Shirk
Lesson Five
Ihsan
The Levels Of Ihsan
Lesson Six
The Conditions For Prayer
Lesson Seven
The Pillars (Arkan) of Prayer
Lesson Eight
The Obligatory Elements Of Prayer
Lesson Nine
An Explanation Of The Tashahhud
Lesson Ten
The Sunan Elements Of Prayer
Sajdah As-Sahw: The Prostration For Forgetfulness
Actions That Are Disliked During The Prayer
Lesson Eleven
Actions That Nullify One's Prayer
Lesson Twelve
The Conditions Of Wudhu' (Islamic Ablution)
Lesson Thirteen
Elements That Are Obligatory (Fardh) In The Wudhu'
Lesson Fourteen
Actions That Nullify One's Ablution
Lesson Fifteen
Every Muslim Must Adorn Himself With Manners That Are Legislated By Islam
Lesson Sixteen
Taking On Islamic Manners
Lesson Seventeen
A Warning Against Shirk (Associating partners with Allah) And Different Kinds Of Sins
Lesson Eighteen
Preparing The Dead Person's Body, Praying Over Him, And Burying Him. Study Questions
In The Name Of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful
Preface To The First Edition
Indeed, all praise is for Allah, we praise Him, repent to Him, and seek His forgiveness and help. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves and our wicked deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can lead astray; and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, none can guide. And I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, and He has no partner; and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah, send peace and blessings upon him, his family and his Companions until the Day of judgment.
Indeed Allah Almighty has protected this religion and raised its status among the nations, sending to the world the final Messenger, Muhammad , and with him the final and most complete religion - as Allah Almighty says:
This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.
Allah Almighty has made the scholars inheritors of the Prophets; they explain to the people their religious duties and they enlighten them, so that their worship of Allah Almighty is based on knowledge and insight. One such scholar, whom the Muslims recently lost, is the noble Shaikh and Imam, 'Abdul-'Aziz bin 'Abdullah bin Baz - may Allah Almighty have mercy on him, for he spent his life in knowledge, in teaching, in passing scholarly judgments and rulings. But over and above his knowledge, he was a man who was righteous and pious; he sought little from this world, and his manners were truly noble. From the many works in which the Shaikh served the different branches of Islamic knowledge - 'Aqidah, Fiqh, Hadith, Da'wah, and so on - is this very important work, Important Lessons For Every Muslim, a book that is much needed at the present time because so many Muslims lack a grasp on the fundamentals of the religion, in terms of belief, worship, and manners.
Seeking reward, seeking to benefit others, and seeking to apply the Hadith:
The best of people is he who benefits others most.
I decided to explain this important book, expanding on the clear concepts and rules mentioned by the Shaikh. In explaining and expanding on the Shaikh's words, I relied heavily, first upon Allah Almighty, and then upon the many other works of the Shaikh himself.
I chose to explain the copy printed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Preaching and Guidance; it is the last edition that was printed during the life of the Shaikh - may Allah have mercy upon him. I chose it because it is the best copy in terms of organization and editing; moreover, it has an additional section on the topic of Ihsan.
To further help and encourage the reader - whether he is a student, teacher, caller to Islam, male, or female - I inserted questions for each lesson (at the end of the book), to help the student both understand and digest the material.
I ask Allah Almighty by His Beautiful Names and Most High Attributes to rectify our intentions and to make our children righteous, and to grant us sincerity in speech and in deed; indeed, He is the One upon Whom we rely, and He is Most Capable of answering our prayers. And the last of our supplications is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.
Muhammad bin 'Ali Al-'Arfaj
(May Allah forgive him, his parents, and all Muslims)
