Healing the Spiritually Sick: A Selection of Noble Hadiths as a Guide for Beginners
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Fifty-nine short, sound sayings of the Prophet ﷺ, selected by al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz of Tarim, each with a reflection from Imam al-Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din.
Every science has its beginners, and the wisest teachers have always known what to place first in their students’ hands. From a larger collection of Hadith known as Shifa al-Saqim (Healing the Spiritually Sick), al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz of Tarim, founder of Dar al-Mustafa, selected fifty-nine short, sound sayings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: words brief enough for a child to memorise and deep enough to guide a lifetime.
This edition presents each Hadith in fully vowelled Arabic with a clear English translation, its sources referenced. Beneath every entry stands a reflection drawn from Imam al-Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din, followed by points to ponder for private thought or the family table. In Tarim, one reading of the Ihya has always begun another; here, a beginner’s first Hadiths are set beside the tradition’s greatest manual of the heart.
The fifty-nine entries traverse the whole life of a believer: sincerity of intention, the secrets of prayer and congregation, remembrance and salawat, charity given in secret, honest earning and the lawful morsel, mercy at home and beautiful character abroad, the guarded tongue, the shared table, love of the Prophet ﷺ and his Household, the remembrance of death, and a good opinion of Allah at the last breath.
Samples from the Book
‹ swipe through six ›
رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا
“The two rak‘ahs of the dawn prayer are better than this world and all that it contains.”
Hadith 25 · al-Tirmidhi
كَلِمَتَانِ خَفِيفَتَانِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ، ثَقِيلَتَانِ فِي الْمِيزَانِ، حَبِيبَتَانِ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللهِ الْعَظِيمِ
“There are two words that are light upon the tongue, heavy in the Scale, beloved to the Most Merciful: subhan Allah wa bi-hamdih, subhan Allah al-azim.”
Hadith 43 · al-Bukhari and Muslim
الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ
“A man is with those whom he loves.”
Hadith 48 · al-Bukhari
طَعَامُ الِاثْنَيْنِ كَافِي الثَّلَاثَةِ، وَطَعَامُ الثَّلَاثَةِ كَافِي الْأَرْبَعَةِ
“The food of two suffices for three, and the food of three suffices for four.”
Hadith 34 · al-Bukhari and Muslim
يَسِّرُوا وَلَا تُعَسِّرُوا، وَبَشِّرُوا وَلَا تُنَفِّرُوا
“Make things easy and do not make them difficult; give glad tidings and do not drive people away.”
Hadith 56 · al-Bukhari and Muslim
نِعْمَ الْأُدُمُ الْخَلُّ
“What an excellent condiment vinegar is.”
Hadith 49 · Muslim
“Human beings are travellers in this world. Their first stop is the cradle, their final one is the grave.”
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya Ulum al-Din
Fifty-nine passages like this run through the book, each traced to its Book of the Ihya; and for the reader who finishes them, the whole ocean of the Ihya is waiting.
Inside this edition
- ✦Fifty-nine short, sound Hadiths, chosen for beginners by a master teacher of our age
- ✦Fully vowelled Arabic above a clear English translation, every source referenced
- ✦A reflection beneath every Hadith, drawn from Imam al-Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din
- ✦Points to Ponder after each entry, for private reflection or the family table
- ✦The compiler’s biography, from Tarim to Dar al-Mustafa
- ✦Elegant typesetting made for memorisation, gifting, and study circles
About the Compiler
Al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz · Tarim, Hadramawt
Al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz was born in Tarim, in Yemen’s Hadramawt Valley, where sacred knowledge has flowed unbroken for a thousand years. A direct descendant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through Imam al-Husayn, he memorised the Quran as a boy and took knowledge from the great scholars of the valley, beginning with his father, Habib Muhammad, who disappeared under Yemen’s socialist regime when his son was only nine.
In 1994 he returned from exile to his home city and founded Dar al-Mustafa, today among the most influential centres of traditional Islamic learning in the world, followed by Dar al-Zahra for women. His students serve communities on every continent, millions have met the Prophetic path ﷺ through his voice, and his call carries the very gentleness this book teaches. He remains, above all, a caller to Allah in the way of his fathers.
Begin with fifty-nine. Let the first words your heart carries be his ﷺ.
Paperback · ISBN 978-1-966329-54-1 · Imam Ghazali Publishing