The Sublime Status of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar

Publisher's Summary

An abridgement of Matla' Al-Qamarayn fi Ibanat Sabqat Al-'Umarayn

The great Imām and Mujaddid (Reviver of the Religion), Shaykh Aḥmad Riḍā Khān, wrote Muntahā al-Tafṣīl li Mabḥath al-Tafḍīl, a masterpiece making abundantly clear from verses of the Holy Qur’ān, the Aḥādīth and the statements of the scholars, the pre-eminent stations of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr and Sayyidunā ʿUmar among the Companions. This work spans 90 juz’; however, fearing its length would be arduous on readers, the erudite Imām penned an abridgement entitled, Maṭlaʿ al-Qamarayn fī Ibānat Sabqat al-ʿUmarayn.

Using 69 verses of the Holy Qur’ān, 235 Aḥādīth, and numerous statements of the luminary scholars of the past, Imām Aḥmad Riḍā proves the pre-eminent rank of the two greatest Companions, namely Sayyidunā Abū Bakr and Sayyidunā ʿUmar.

This book is itself a summary translation of Maṭlaʿ al-Qamarayn fī Ibānat Sabqat al-ʿUmarayn, consisting of three parts:

Part A – Defining the meaning of superiority (afḍaliyyah)
Part B – Textual proofs establishing the superiority of the Shaykhayn
Part C – Further virtues and excellences of the Shaykhayn.

About the Author

Imām Ahmad Ridā Khān, (b. 1272 AH/1856 CE), alayhi ar-Rahman w'al-Ridwan, was a renowned Hanafī jurist, hadīth expert and theologian par excellence, recognized by scholars from the Islamic world to be a reviver of his era.  He was a prolific writer whose legal edicts were gathered into twelve encyclopedic volumes and covered almost every science of his day.