It so happened that in the year 2007, I was in the city of the
Prophet . It has been my old habit that whenever I travel to
a city, I always make it a point to visit all its bookstores. When
it comes to books, the city of Madinah is in its own league. In
the bookstores of Madinah, one is bound to come across all
the newly published literature − and shopping for books is, of
course, my favourite pastime. The staff who work at most of the
bookstores near the Prophet’s Mosque know me on a personal
basis, as a large number of Darussalam’s publications are available
at these stores.
One day, when I was visiting one of these bookstores, I looked
at the shelves and noticed a book called, ‘Enjoy Your Life’. Just as
I was about to pick it up, Abu ‘Abdullah greeted me, hugged me,
and asked, ‘When did you arrive? How long are you here for?’
Meanwhile, I reached out for the book… Abu ‘Abdullah, who is
originally from Yemen, has been involved in the book market for
a long time. He is one of the many Darussalam distributors. He
noticed the book in my hand and said, ‘This book is excellent.
If you were to publish its translation, it would be considered a
valuable addition to the international Islamic book collection.’
He continued as he held my hand, ‘This book has made a record
number of sales.’
Some time later, in my hotel room, I began reading the book.
As I continued reading, I became more and more captivated by
it. There is no doubt that the subject of the book itself was the
thing that most interested me.
Solutions to all the problems of the Muslim nation are present
in the life of Allah’s Messenger . His life is certainly an example
for us to follow and a model for us to refer to at all times. No
matter what problem arises in our lives, if we look to the Prophet’s
Seerah for a solution, we will surely find it.What makes this
book outstanding is that it deals with our social problems in light
of the Prophetic lifestyle. The work is filled with incidents from
the Seerah, Islamic history, and the author’s own experiences.
By reading this book and implementing it practically, all of us can
make our lives more enjoyable and more tranquil.
This book includes remedies for despondency and numerous
tips on how to keep worries and stress at bay. The author of
this book, Dr. Muhammad bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-‘Arifi is a well
known scholar and lecturer from Saudi Arabia. His audiences are
left mesmerised during his lectures as he has such a unique way
of speaking that even us, the non-Arabs, are enchanted by his
words. A visit to any of the Islamic audiocassette shops in this
land gives proof to the popularity of this talented lecturer, and a
single hearing of any of his lectures guarantees addiction!
When I returned to Riyadh from Madinah, I requested one of
our Egyptian Darussalam associates, Muhammad Shakir Qadhi,
to establish contact with Dr. Al-‘Arifi and to request permission
for the translation of his book. After a few days, we managed to
establish contact with Dr. Al-‘Arifi. Fortunately, for us, he was
already familiar with Darussalam. As he said himself, most of the
books he takes on his international travels are of Darussalam
publications. It is always easier to work towards an agreement
if there is preceding familiarity. We invited Dr. Al-‘Arifi over to
Darussalam’s headquarters for a visit, and he gladly accepted the
invitation. Thus, we had the pleasure of his company.
I found him to be just as handsome and immaculate as are
his works and lectures. He has a unique and charming character
and a very humble personality. I know from my experience
with people in the Islamic world, that the more famous and well
respected a person becomes, the more modest and noble is his
behaviour. Dr. Al-‘Arifi signed the contract with Darussalam and
then excused himself, saying he was in a hurry and that he would
return soon to discuss further details.
After a couple of weeks or so, as I was travelling once again to
Madinah, I coincidently noticed Dr. Al-‘Arifi seated on the same
plane. As the seat besides him was empty, we had the opportunity
to sit together and familiarise ourselves with each other
even more. We spoke at length and felt closer to one another. A
few days later, he returned to Darussalam and gave us a number
of new suggestions. We introduced him to some of our projects,
and it was then decided that Darussalam would translate his
books into various languages.
He explained how his book, ‘Enjoy Your Life’ is in reality a
summary of his entire life experience. He spent a considerable
amount of time authoring this book. There is no doubt that he
wrote this work from the very depths of his heart, and one really
must read it to realise and acknowledge the beauty of it. This
book was published in Arabic in Sha’ban 1428AH, corresponding
to August 2007, and within the span of one year, it had sold
100,000 copies.
As mentioned previously, Dr. Muhammad al-‘Arifi is indigenously
from Saudi Arabia. He is from the famous Arab tribe
known as Banu Khalid (Banu Makhzum) − it goes without mentioning
that Banu Khalid are the descendants of the famous soldier,
Mujahid and Companion of the Prophet, Khalid bin al-Walid
– may Allah be pleased with him. Dr. Muhammad bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman
al-‘Arifi was born in the year 1970. He graduated from Saudi
universities where he acquired his PhD. The title of his PhD research
thesis was “Ara’ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya fi al-Sufiyya
– Jam’ wa Dirasah” (The Views of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
on Sufism – a Compilation and Study).
Currently, he is a founding and dignitary member of various
Da’wah organisations, as well as being a member of their advisory
committees. He is also a member of the advisory board for many
international organisations. Aside from being a visiting professor
in various Saudi and foreign universities, he is also a professor
in King Saud University of Riyadh. He has been delivering Friday
sermons for over twenty years in different mosques in Saudi
Arabia. Currently, he delivers his Friday sermons in al-Bawaardi
mosque, which is a major mosque located in the south of Riyadh.
Every Friday, so many people attend, that it is impossible to find
a parking space anywhere in the vicinity of the mosque. Once I
had the opportunity of praying the Friday prayer behind Dr. Al
‘Arifi.We arrived at the mosque very early, but despite that, we
had to park very far away. The ground floor of the mosque was
fully occupied, so we went up to the first floor where we were
able to find a place to sit. Soon afterwards, the first floor also
became congested with worshippers. Dr. Muhammad al-‘Arifi is
an amazing orator. He was fortunate enough to be a student of
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Baz for fifteen to sixteen years, and from
whom he learnt Tafseer and Fiqh. For eight years, he took lessons
from Dr. ‘Abdullah al-Jibrin in Tawheed. His other teachers
include, Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Qu’ud, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman bin
Nasir al-Barrak and various other scholars. His connections with
the scholars of Madinah go back very far. During his days as a student
and thereafter, he learnt Fiqh from those scholars. He has
memorised the Qur’an and is known for his fine recitation. He
takes a special interest in Hadeeth literature and has received
licences for the chains of transmission for various Hadeeth texts
from a number of scholars.
More than twenty of his works in Arabic have been published
and distributed in nearly a million copies. His books, which are
often published in four colours, are attractive and pleasing to
the eye, and available at low-cost. It is because his books deal
with issues affecting the lives of everyday people, that they are
acclaimed and appreciated by all. Many well-wishers make his
books their choice for their donations and free distributions.
The following is a list of some of the works of Dr. Muhammad
al-‘Arifi:
- A work on Tawheed called Irkab Ma’ana, an excellent work
of which 400,000 copies have been published.
- A work on Da’wah to Allah, called Hal Tabhath ‘an Wadhifa,
of which 150,000 copies have been published.
- Innaha Malikah, in 150,000 copies.
- Fi Batn al-Hut, in 150,000 copies.
- A work on the topic of worship in 100,000 copies.
- A work on the topic of Hijaab called Sarkha fi Mat’am al-
Jami’a, in 150,000 copies.
- Rihla Ila al-Sama’ with 150,000 copies published and sold.
- A compilation of counselling to doctors and patients called
‘Ashiq fi Ghurfat al-‘Amaliyat in 70,000 copies.
- A pamphlet called Adhkar al-Muslim al-Yawmiyyah, of which
20 million copies have been published within only three years.
Many of Dr. al-‘Arifi’s lectures are available on the internet
without charge; he also writes columns and essays for various
newspapers and magazines and has appeared on a number of
Arabic satellite television channels.
The administration of Darussalam hopes, in the very near future,
to translate into different languages and publish the various
works of Dr. Al-‘Arifi while maintaining a high literary standard,
Allah willing.
I would like to thank our brothers Saleem Beg and Nasim
Chowdhury for translating and editing this work respectively.
We pray to Allah that He grants the author, the translator and
the editor good health and long life, and that He blesses their
knowledge and actions. We would be extremely delighted to
receive any feedback or suggestions from our readers, and we
hope you remember us in your prayers.
Your loving brother
‘Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Darussalam Publishers
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia August 2008
