The Most Important Books in Jurisprudence and Creed

Question:
The questioner says: Shaykh Salih, may Allah preserve you, what books do you advise me to read in jurisprudence and creed?

Answer:
The beneficial books are many, praise be to Allah, and they are available. Books certainly vary in rank. The greatest book, without doubt, is the Book of Allah the Exalted. A person should read it with reflection and understanding, and read its correct tafsir (exegesis) from the words of the scholars. This is the greatest of books: the Qur'an and its tafsir. Then come the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), for they are part of the revelation. They contain the rulings, the guidance, the news, and what people need, just as the Qur'an does. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is from the grace of Allah the Exalted. This is available and accessible, praise be to Allah. After that come the books authored by the scholars. For example, the concise books on creed, such as *Al-Talathat al-Masail* (The Three Issues) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, *Kashf al-Shubuhat* (Dispelling the Doubts) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, *Kitab al-Tawhid* (The Book of Tawhid), which is the right of Allah upon His slaves, by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, and *Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah* (The Middle Creed) by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), which is a good, concise creed.
*Al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah* is also a good, concise creed that can be memorized. Likewise, there are many books in jurisprudence, praise be to Allah. For example, *Adab al-Mashy ila al-Salah* (The Etiquette of Walking to Prayer) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. It contains the rulings of prayer, the rulings of zakah, and the rulings of fasting, explained and clarified in an easy style. Also, after that comes *Matn al-Zad* (*Zad al-Mustaqni'*), or *Matn al-Dalil*. These are concise, compressed texts, but they contain abundant knowledge. They were condensed for the purpose of memorization, so that a person can memorize them. However, these books must be read under the guidance of scholars. A person should not be content with merely owning them, reading them, or memorizing them without presenting them to a scholar, asking him to explain them, and receiving the explanation from him. Likewise, in hadith there are concise and lengthy works. The concise ones include *Al-Arba'in al-Nawawiyyah* (The Forty Hadiths of al-Nawawi) and its commentary *Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hukm* (The Comprehensive Collection of Knowledge and Rulings). Also, *Bulugh al-Maram min Adillat al-Ahkam* (The Attainment of the Objectives from the Evidence of Rulings) by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar. Its commentary is *Subul al-Salam* by al-San'ani.
And *Umdat al-Ahkam* (The Foundation of Rulings) by 'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi al-Hanbali. It consists of hadiths from the two Sahihs, the hadiths agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, organized according to the chapters of jurisprudence. It has commentaries that clarify it, such as the commentary by Ibn Daqiq al-Eid (may Allah have mercy on him), or the commentary by Shaykh Fayyaz ibn Mubarak, *Khalasat al-Kalam fi Sharh 'Umdat al-Ahkam* (The Essence of Speech in the Commentary of Umdat al-Ahkam), which is a concise and beneficial commentary. Yes.