Supplement for the Seeker of Certitude: Worship from Zād al-Mustaqni

Supplement for the Seeker of Certitude presents the sections related to worship from Mūsā al-Ḥajjāwī’s Zād al-Mustaqni‘, an abridgment of Ibn Qudāmah’s Al-Muqni‘ that sticks to the school’s official position, removing extraneous issues, and adding a few necessary things. The book is extremely terse yet it still manages to present the basics for the school along with issues rarely found in books twice its length. The book was accepted by scholars of the school to such an extent that some said that whoever has memorized it is fit to be a judge. The book continues to be considered essential reading for students of the school, making it a natural choice for presenting the school to English readers.

It is more advanced than Ḥanbalī Acts of Worship and it is intended to be read as a supplement to it.

The contents of this edition are based on a series of lessons the translator delivered in 2002–2003, with numerous corrections (and only slight editing). The chapters covered in the text include purification, prayer, zakah, fasting, pilgrimage, and jihad. The text includes numerous notes from Manṣūr al-Buhūtī’s commentary Al-Rawḍ al-Murbi‘.