The book: The Ornament of the Righteous and the Slogan of the Righteous, called Al-Adhkar - by Imam Abu Zakaria Yahya bin Sharaf al-Nawawi al-Dimashqi, who died in the year 676 AH. The
book is well-known and needed by every monotheist of God.
Author's Introduction:
Praise be to God, the One, the All-Mighty, the Mighty, the Forgiving, the Appreciator of Destinies, the Arbiter of Affairs, He who turns the night into the day, an insight for those endowed with hearts and eyes, who awakened from among His creation those whom He chose and included them in the group of good people, and granted success to those whom He chose from among His servants, making them among those who are close to the righteous, and granting sight to those who love Him. He made them ascetic in this abode, so they worked hard to please Him, prepare for His abode, avoid what would displease Him, and beware of the torment of the Fire. They took themselves seriously in obeying Him, and constant in His remembrance in the evening and early hours, and when conditions changed, and at all times of the day and night, so their hearts were illuminated by the radiance of lights.
I praise Him most deeply for all His blessings, and I ask Him for more of His grace and generosity. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Great, the One, the Eternal, the Mighty, the Wise, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, His purest, His beloved, and His friend, the best of creation, and the most generous of those who preceded and followed. May God’s prayers and peace be upon him and all the prophets and messengers, and the family of all and all the righteous.
As for what follows:
1- God the Great, the Mighty, the Wise said: {So remember Me, and I will remember you} [Al-Baqarah: 152] And God Almighty said: {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that I should worship Me} [Al-Dhariyat: 56]. It is known from this that one of the best - or best - condition of a servant is when he remembers the Lord of the Worlds, and is occupied with the remembrances received from the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - the Master of Messengers.
2- The scholars - may God be pleased with them - have compiled many books about the actions of the day and night, supplications, and remembrances that are known to those who know them, but they are long with chains of transmission and repetition, thus weakening the interest of the seekers, so I intended to make this easy for those who wish. So I set out to compile this book, condensing (1) roughly what I mentioned for those who care about it, and omitting the chains of transmission in most of it due to the preference I mentioned for brevity and the fact that it is a topic for worshipers, and they are not eager to know the chains of transmission, but rather they hate it, even if it is short, except for the few. Because what is intended is to know the remembrances, act upon them, and clarify their meanings (2) for those who are guided.
3- We have narrated in: Sahih Muslim [No.: 2674], on the authority of Abu Hurairah - may God be pleased with him - on the authority of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - who said: “Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the rewards of those who follow him, without that detracting from their rewards in the least.” . [It will be cited as number: 1606].
4- So I wanted to help the good people by facilitating his path, referring to him, and clarifying his behavior and indicating it, so I mention at the beginning of the book important chapters that the author of this book and other concerned people need; If there was someone among the Companions who was not famous among those who did not care about knowledge, I would draw attention to him and say: Narrate it on the authority of so-and-so Companion, so that there is no doubt about his companionship.
5- In this book, I limit myself to the hadiths that are in the famous books that are the foundations of Islam, which are five: “Sahih Al-Bukhari,” “Sahih Muslim,” “Sunan Abi Dawud,” “Al-Tirmidhi,” and “Al-Nasa’i.” I have narrated a few other well-known books.
6- As for the parts and chains of transmission, I do not quote anything from them except in rare instances, and I also do not mention the well-known originals from the weak ones except the rare ones with an explanation of their weakness, but I mostly mention the authentic ones (3), and for this reason I hope that this book will be an approved original.
7- Then I do not mention any of the hadiths from this chapter except those whose significance is clear in the issue.
8- By God the Generous, I ask for success, representation, assistance, guidance, and maintenance. And facilitating the good deeds that I intend, and continuing to do various types of good deeds, and bringing me together with my loved ones in the abode of His dignity, and all other aspects of joy.
9- God suffices me, and He is the best disposer of affairs, and there is no power nor strength except with God, the Mighty, the Wise. God willing, there is no power except with God. I put my trust in God, I hold fast to God, I seek help from God, I delegate my affairs to God, and I entrust to Him (4) my religion, myself, my parents, my brothers, my loved ones, and all others. Whoever does good to me and all Muslims and all that He has bestowed upon me and upon them regarding the matters of the hereafter and this world, then glory be to Him, if something is entrusted to Him, He will preserve it, and He is the best protector.
