About The Book

In the Presence of the Beloved is a translation of two authoritative treatises on the act of ziyārah, namely, visiting the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Both texts meticulously examine the legal status, manifold virtues and etiquettes of this blessed visit.

They also address issues, some of which have become controversial in contemporary Islamic discourse, such as the permissibility of tawassul (supplicating Allah through the Prophet), the practice of tabarruk (seeking blessings from his relics), the distinctive merits of the Rawḍah and Medina and the significance of visiting other revered historical sites within the Prophet’s city.

About The Authors

Imam Aḥmad al-Qasṭallānī (d. 923/1517) was a prominent Egyptian Shāfiʿī scholar, a distinguished jurist, a qārī (master reciter of the Qur’an) and a renowned transmitter of hadith. He travelled extensively and was a prolific author; his works continue to benefit the ummah today.

Shaykh ʿAbd-Allāh Sirāj al-Dīn (d. 1422/2002) was a leading scholarly authority in Syria, a prominent exegete, a hadith scholar who had committed over eighty thousand hadiths to memory and an author of over twenty works on a wide range of subjects, such as Islamic ethics, spirituality, Qur’anic exegesis, tenets of faith and the prophetic characteristics.