The
Breviario Sunni
A Brief Guide to Islamic Faith and Practice by
Don 'Isa de Segovia
English Interpretation by Abdessamade
ﺑﺴﻢﺍﷲ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ
ﻭ ﺍﻟﺼﻠﻮ ﺓ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﻌﻠﻰ ﺳﻴﺤﻧﺎ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﻭ ﻌﻠﻰ ﺍﻠﻪ ﻭ ﺻﺤﺒﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ
Por FGZ y MSH(ق)
In the Name of the only Creator, Who is without beginning, nor middle, nor end, Who created the world from nothing, and out of His Great Beneficence sent His Prophets in succession, the last being His chosen and blessed Prophet Muhammad (ص), for whose sake we were created.
Said the honored and wise mufti and alfaqui of the Moorish quarter of the noble and loyal city of Segovia, Don 'Isa:
Compendious causes moved me to interpret the Divine Grace of the Alcorán of the Arabic language into Aljamía (Arabo-Castillian), regarding which certain individuals wrote to me that we kept it hidden away and a thing we dare not share with outsiders; For it was not without great cause that I left my homeland for a time to go to parts of the East, for which I set about the task of rendering it in this Castilian tongue, inspired by that high authority that commands us and tells us that all creatures who know something of the the Law ought to instruct all of the creatures of the world in it, if possible, in a language that they can understand, and this in order to avoid the doubts and difficulties which we face. I beseeched Allah in His Immense Mercy to grant me the grace of His Assistance, having the commentary of the Alcorán in front of me, that I might be able to do this as a guide to those who are ignorant of Arabic amongst ourselves as well as foreigners. In order to improve the mode of expression I will make a copy of the articles which which are in our Holy Alcorán and other summaries of the most important sentences and purposes and deeds contained in it, under whose guidance and governance so many and such great princes and kings and such innumerable people live in liberty and openness in the promised lands, and the holy houses of Mecca and other diverse parts of the world where truth and justice are maintained.
Due to the fact that the Muslims of Spain have been placed under such great subjugation and compulsion and so much toil and burdensome tributes their wealth has declined and they have lost their schools of Arabic; In order to repair those damages many of my friends have enjoined upon me, especially the noble Repartidores whom with great clemency asked me if I would want to set about the task of compiling and translating into Castilian such distinguished Scripture as our Holy Law and Sunnah, that which every good Muslim ought to know and make use of, regarding which I could not excuse myself from attempting to fulfill their request. Trusting, then, in the Sovereign Lord Who is the Aid of good desires and knowing the difficulty in bringing to fruition good intentions, I exerted myself and thought of how to provide direction for those who are coming and our successors in this compilation, bringing to mind the brevity of this life and the end of this present age, and arranging in a series of chapters how we ought fulfill the commandments of our Law and Sunnah, in the most very basic amount that is needed, that the complexity should not become an excuse and turn away those who would listen, nor should it exhaust the three faculties of the soul, for grandiose writings are for those who possess security of resources, and those days have come to an end here amongst the Muslims of Castile. And in order that I could be as brief as possible I had thought about listing in this prologue the books upon which this work will be based in order to avoid citing them all the time; in them noble scholars will find the authorities for what will be said in this book, and they are the following: thirteen books of our Law and Sunnah from which I gathered together and compiled sixty chapters in which I summarized the Faith and the works which every man or woman ought to observe, following that which was revealed to our blessed Prophet Muhammad(ص); the name of which I have considered giving to this work being Breviario Sunni where I shall sign my name, in order that I shall be blamed where there is fault to be found, as I am nothing more than rubbish when compared to the Masters of our Holy Law and Sunnah, to whom I would implore to correct my work where it is found to be necessary, under the conditions that it remain yet a brief compendium, and to Our Lord I pray that He will bless me and give me time in which I may finish the other works in His holy service and that I may guided straightly to the everlasting glory, Amen, O Lord of the Worlds.
