He asks about beneficial books after the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)

The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. He asks about beneficial books after the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh:
And beneficial books, praise be to Allah, are numerous in creed, jurisprudence, hadith, tafsir, and other useful sciences. The books, praise be to Allah, are available and abundant. For example, in jurisprudence, there are concise works in both verse and prose, concise works in every school of jurisprudence, and they are well known. Likewise, in the principles of jurisprudence, there are concise works; in the sciences of hadith, there are concise works; in grammar, there are concise works; in tafsir and hadith, there are also concise books such as Bulugh al-Maram and concise tafsirs. The books are numerous, some concise, some intermediate, some lengthy, some texts (matn), and some commentaries. But the matter lies in choosing the teacher or instructor from whom one seeks knowledge through these books?

The presenter:
Yes. Because the key is choosing a sincere, understanding teacher from whom one benefits in analyzing the expressions of these books. Yes.

The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Would you please name some of the books by their names?

The Shaykh:
Yes, for example, in the Hanbali school, the text al-Zad, the text al-Dalil, and the text al-Umdah are all concise and beneficial works. In hadith, Bulugh al-Maram min Adillat al-Ahkam by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, likewise al-Muntaqa by al-Majd Ibn Taymiyyah, a selection of hadiths on rulings, and likewise al-Umdah fi Ahadith al-Ahkam by al-Hafiz Ibn Siraj al-Maqdisi, which are hadiths from the two Sahihs. These are concise works in hadith.

The presenter:
All right.

The Shaykh:
In grammar, al-Mulhah and al-Alfiyyah; al-Mulhah by al-Hariri and al-Alfiyyah by Ibn Malik, and their commentaries. Before that, al-Muqaddimah al-Ajrumiyyah and its commentary, the text al-Qatr al-Nad and its commentary by Ibn Hisham. All are concise and beneficial works, in prose and verse. In the principles of jurisprudence, the text al-Waraqat by Imam al-Haramayn, this is a concise work with commentaries. Fath al-Bari by Imam Ibn Qudamah and its commentary by Ibn Badran, this is in the principles. In the sciences of hadith, al-Nukhba by al-Bakr, Ibn Hajar on the sciences of hadith, al-Alfiyyah by al-Iraqi on the sciences of hadith, and Tadrīb al-Rawi by al-Suyuti on the sciences of hadith. All are beneficial books.

The presenter:
A good response.

The Shaykh:
But the matter, as we mentioned, lies in choosing the teacher who clarifies these books for the student. Yes.

The questioner:
Regarding tafsir, if you would be so kind?

The Shaykh:
Tafsir Ibn Kathir is easy to grasp and reliable, and it contains abundant knowledge in the science of tafsir, because it explains the Qur'an with the Qur'an, then with the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), then with the sayings of the Companions, then with the sayings of the Successors, then with what the Arabic language in which the Qur'an was revealed necessitates. So it is a fine summary of the reliable tafsirs. Likewise, Tafsir al-Baghawi by the Reviver of the Sunnah, Imam al-Baghawi (may Allah have mercy on him), is a good book, a concise and accurate tafsir in terms of creed, following the path of the Salaf. Likewise, Tafsir by our Shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti, I'la al-Bayan, and Tafsir by Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di. All are good and beneficial tafsirs.

The presenter:
Good, may Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.