I need the name of a book that has not been distorted and is
trustworthy, about the stories of all the Prophets.
Praise be to Allah.
In the Book of Allah, mayHe be exalted, you will find the truest, most
beautiful and most trustworthy of stories, because it is the word
ofAllah, may He be exalted,which illuminated the world with its
lessons and rulings. Reading the stories of the Messengersand Prophets
in the verses of the Qur'aan is one of the greatest waysof bringing
benefits and good to the Muslim, let alone the immense reward that is
attained by the one who ponders the Book of Allah, may He be exalted.
Hence we advise you to be keen to pursue this way of goodness, for the
Muslimcan never do without the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, no
matter what other books he reads.
With regard to the books of the scholars about the stories of the
Prophets, the best of them – as it appears to us – are the following:
1.
Qasas al-Anbiya' (Stories of the Prophets) by al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer
(may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 774 AH). This is perhaps the best of
the books of the early scholars on this topic, as it is distinguished
by compiling all of the verses having to do withthe story of each
Prophet in one place, and making connectionsbetween them by commenting
on them and quoting hadeeths and reports that have to do with them. It
is an encyclopaedic and well organised book that discusses the lives
of the Prophets, although it quotes rather too many reports that are
not proven and some reports from Jewish sources (Israa'eeliyyaat).
However for the most part he points out the origin of these reports,
and he states that he only quotes for the purpose of studying them and
highlighting their status. So we recommend you to read this book and
study it. The one who wants to study these stories with the best
annotation should read the book al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah (Dar Hajar
edn., published under the supervision ofDr. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd
al-Muhsin at-Turki), because Qasas al-Anbiya'is taken from the first
chapters of al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah.
2.
al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah min Akhbaar wa Qasas al-Anbiya' (The saheeh
hadeeths that speak of the lives and stories of the Prophets) was
compiled and their isnaads evaluated by Ibraaheem Muhammad al-'Ali
(publ. by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and Dar ash-Shaamiyyahin Beirut,
276 pages). It is a very useful book thatis distinguished by the fact
that it includes many hadeeths that speak of the stories of the
Messengers and Prophets, and the material is organised with comments
in a manner that complements these stories. The author (may Allah have
mercy on him) put a great deal of effort into selecting saheeh and
hasan hadeeths and reports, and avoiding weak and fabricated material.
This may be the best contemporary book on this topic.
3.
Qasas al-Anbiya' by al-'Allaamah 'Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa'di (d. 1376
AH). This is a short book that is taken from his book Tayseer
al-Lateef al-Mannaan fi Khilaasat Tafseer al-Qur'an, in which he
recounts the stories of the Prophets as they were narrated in the Holy
Qur'aan, in sequence, and he follows each story with abrief discussion
of what we learn from it.
And Allah knows best.
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