A Reading of the Introduction to Riyad al-Salihin by Imam al-Nawawi and Shaykh al-Albani’s Commentary on It

The Shaykh : Now I will begin by reading to you the introduction to his book, for it is through this that the listener will understand the merit of this book, and thereby, any of our brothers who are students of knowledge will be able to know the difference between, for example, "Riyad al-Salihin" and the book "Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib," and between, for example, "Riyad al-Salihin" and "Al-Mishkat" (Al-Mishkat al-Masabih) and the like of the books we mentioned earlier, which some of the later scholars compiled. Some of them compiled without verifying, and some compiled and verified. Among these is our Imam, Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him). He says: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
Praise be to Allah, the One, the Subduer, the Mighty, the Forgiver, Who wraps the night around the day, as a reminder for those with hearts and eyes, and as a realization for those with intellects and caution. He is the One who awakened from His creation those He chose, making them renounce this world, occupying them with watching Him and constant reflection, adhering to taking heed and remembering, and guiding them to diligence in His obedience, preparation for the abode of permanence, and caution against what angers Him and leads to the abode of destruction, while maintaining this despite the changing of circumstances and stages. I praise Him with the most eloquent and purest praise, and the most comprehensive and greatest. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Beneficent, the Generous, the Compassionate, the Merciful. And I bear witness that our master Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, His beloved and His intimate friend, the guide to a straight path, and the caller to a sound religion—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and upon all the prophets, the families of each, and all the righteous ones. As for what follows:
Allah the Exalted said: This is a clear statement that they were created for worship, so it is their right to care for what they were created for and to turn away from the desires of this world through asceticism, for it is a place of exhaustion, not a place of lingering, a means of passage, not a place of joy, and a point of departure, not a place of permanence. Therefore, the most awake among its people are the worshippers, and the most intelligent among its people are the ascetics. Allah the Exalted said: And there are many verses in this meaning. And the poet spoke well when he said:
Indeed, Allah has servants who are keen-sighted * Who divorced the world and feared the trials
They looked at it, and when they knew * That it is not a home for the living
They made it a turbulent sea and took * The good deeds therein as ships
If its state is as I have described, and our state and what we were created for is as I have presented, then it is the right of the one obligated to direct himself in the way of the virtuous, to follow the path of those of understanding and insight, to prepare for what I have indicated, and to be concerned with what I have pointed out. The best path for him in that, and the most guiding of the paths he can take, is to conduct himself according to what is authentic from our Prophet, the master of the first and the last, and the most noble of the predecessors and successors—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and upon all the prophets. And Allah the Exalted said: And it is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And that he said: And that he said: And that he said to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): . So I saw it fitting to compile a concise collection of authentic hadiths, containing what serves as a path for its owner to the Hereafter, and gathering his inner and outer etiquettes, combining encouragement and warning and all types of the etiquettes of the seekers: from hadiths of asceticism, exercises of the souls, refinement of morals, purification of hearts and their treatment, protection of limbs and removing their crookedness, and other purposes of the knowers. And I commit to mentioning in it only an authentic hadith from the clear ones, attributed to the famous authentic books, and I will open the chapters with noble verses from the Noble Qur'an. This is one of the merits of the book of Riyad over the books of Sunan in which hadiths are collected in this manner of gathering chapters, where what suits the hadiths of a chapter from the clear verses is placed before them. Therefore, he says: "And I will open the chapters with noble verses from the Noble Qur'an, and I will adorn what requires memorization or explanation of a hidden meaning with excellent notes."