A Manual of Hadith: Preface

*A Manual of Hadīth* is a scholarly religious compendium by Muhammad Ali, a prominent figure in the Ahmadiyyah movement, intended as an accessible English-language guide to Islamic prophetic tradition for converts and the broader English-speaking Muslim world. The work draws primarily from Sahīh Bukhārī — the most authoritative of the six canonical Hadīth collections — supplemented by other collections including the Mishkāt, selecting 690 hadīth focused specifically on the practical dimensions of Muslim life while omitting historical and prophetical material. Each chapter opens with relevant Qur'ānic verses, a structure the author borrows from Bukhārī himself to underscore that Hadīth serves as an explication of the Qur'ān rather than an independent source. A distinctive editorial feature is the addition of brief head-notes summarizing each chapter's content, allowing readers to quickly locate specific guidance without reading entire sections. The author explicitly positions this work against a prior partial English translation of Bukhārī by Muhammad Asad, which was prohibitively expensive and never completed, arguing that the full Bukhārī is every Muslim's practical need and deserves an affordable, usable form. Written during wartime paper shortages that forced the manuscript to be cut by roughly a third, the book reflects both the logistical constraints of its moment and a deliberate missionary and pedagogical purpose.

A Manual of Hadith: Preface

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