Alhamdulillah,
I have always wondered why the Subcontinenters of Asia, mainly the Deobandis, refrained from translating Sunan At-Tirmidhi. They translated Sunan Abu Dawud (Prof. Ahmad Hasan), Sunan An-Nasa’i As-Sughra (the smaller version translated by Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqi), Sahih Muslim and Mishkat Al-Masabih (at least a few volumes of it) by Abdul Hameed Siddiqi, Sunan Ibn Majah (Translated by M. Tufail Ansari) , Muwatta of Imam Malik (Translated by Muhammad Rahimuddin) and other smaller texts such as Riyad us Salihin and the 40 of Imam An-Nawawi. Yet, for some odd reason, no one ever took it upon themselves, at least to my knowledge, to translate one of the most valuable canonical works of hadith, Sunan At-Tirmidhi. For years I wondered as to why this fantastic tome, full of fiqh and hadith gradings would be ignored by the translators. I always made the excuse that it was simply because it was such a daunting task, though I never really beleived such an excuse.
Dar-us-Salam, an organization representing the darkside of heterodoxy – the najdi pseudo-salafi persuasion - well known to mistranslate and manipulate the texts, has recently translated the Sunan of Ibn Majah, An-Nasa’i As-Sughra, and At-Tirmidhi. Such a massive effort is quite an accomplishment indeed. All three prints have been referenced by the living Pakistani Shaykh Abu Tahir Zubair Ali Za’i of Maktabat Al-Hadith. I looked through the pdfs for Ibn Majah and An-Nasa’i and saw that the takhrij seems to be thorough. The commentary has benefit. Good lessons can be learned for the beginner.
However, I have already seen a bit of akwardness in the takhrij and translated grading. In their translation of the Sunan of Ibn Majah hadith #11, we find the following:
Those who have experience with the pseudo-salafis and their ego-centrism, as well as their vociferous displays of ignorance, know very good and well that such a takhrij is like giving a child a loaded gun. To tell a pseudo-salafi a hadith is da’if, when there is valid disagreement concerning it, is outrageously irresponsible. I want to make very clear that this is simply one hadith I saw from the pdf offered by Dar-us-Salam regarding their print of Sunan ibn Majah. These translations and editions are laced with the ills and poisons of the cultic pseudo-salafi movement. They have, once again, poisoned our canon in the name of reviving the Sunnah. I can only advise that if anyone purchases these editions, that they do so with caution and contempt. I would doubt every grading of “weak” I see, and attempt to seek clarification from the trustworthy Sunni scholars, those who have no “agenda” other than objectivity. Unfortunately, I do not see any Sunni organizations translating such repositories of knowledge, as they are underfunded (they don’t have the oil) and working on defending the true Sunni fundamentals, example: Sunnipubs.
So what does all of this mean? It means that if you purchase their translations, be weary of their propoganda. It means that the pseudo-salafis are able to continue their dark propoganda by manipulating sacred texts. It means they will continue making money off of the lay Muslim by using the rich texts of the salaf us salih, while hiding beneath a cover printed with the golden names of the righteous forefathers, proclamations of falsehood.
Oh Allah 
, bless our beloved Sayyid An Nabi 
Muhammad, his family and followers! Amin!
As salaam aleikum!
What you could do is contact the publishers with all the mistakes and get them to correct them. If you do it with adaab and don’t let on your ummm antagonism towards them, they will listen. Make it public too if you have to and it doesn’t work–it’s all for Allah
right?
And maybe what you could do is make a little companion text so that the non-Arabic readers can decipher what the Arabic text says, like if they can identify the words “Sahih” or “Al-Hakim” etc. they can figure out for themselves. This sorta Hadith study should involve more thinking and contemplation so this would be a nice exercise for you and others who would use that system.
Baraka Allahu feek. :)
Wa’Alaykum Salam,
Firstly, I try my utmost to have no dealings with the pseudo-salafis. From past experience and constant debates and run-ins in the community, I have learned to avoid their plague at all costs. Even speaking with their type decreases my eemaan.
Secondly, regarding contacting the pseudo-salafi publishers, I believe such would be a waste of time and energy. Primarily because pseudo-salafis enjoy blindly-following their “shaykhs” – an interesting show of hypocrisy if you ask me, and anyone who questions their judgment is “off the manhaj” lol. Do I really want to waste my time writing to a bunch of worthless najdi-agenda pushing wahhabis?
No! I’d rather spend that time studying or memorizing, or better yet, starting a new research series on SI.
Thirdly, I do not have $300 american to spend on their books, and if I did have such an amount, I would be buying works that I need more than their agenda-pushing wahhabified publications. So the answer is an absolute No way Jose!
I do think it is a good idea to go over their edition and take some critical notes, but that would entail me purchasing their product. Wait…hold it…let me think…Naw! I could spend such an amount of money on a much needed edition of Fat-hul Baari or tafsir at-tabari etc.
LOLOL…classic Abul Layth.
Give em time bro–in my experience time heals and makes people realize they need to get off their high horse and do something REAL for Islam. They are getting their and the neo-Salafis are dying down and I know of some Saudi Salafi shuyookh who are more keenly aware of this problem as at times the zealous neo-Salafis pose a threat to their very lives.
You’re a convert so you may not realize that from a practicing Muslims point of view (Sufi/Salafi/whatever) we see converts to be very zealous and just bursting with energy. Usually this a good thing but sometimes its too much and sooner or later it creates fitnah. It happens in every group. Don’t take this offensively bro (I don’t pick sides and bash) but ask yourself from time to time, “What have Allah
and His Messenger SAAWS commanded me to do–and how much of that have I accomplished?”
Sincere nasiha, no qualms. Ad-din un-Nasiha: The religion is Nasiha.
Take it easy, Fi Amanillah. :)
I just want to add what Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo wrote in his introduction to his excellent translation of al-Adab al-Mufrad of Imam al-Bukhari رحيمه الله تعالى, after discussing the requirements for students at a madrasah to begin the study of the Imam’s Jami’ al-Sahih: “This being the case, it is no wonder why traditional teachers, and my shaykh was no exception, were so thoroughly opposed to the notion of translating Sahih al Bukhari. The majority of the shuyukh (traditional Islamic scholars) had no difficulty in accepting the translation of the text of the Qur’an into local languages. But not Sahih al Bukhari! And not, for that matter, any of the other hadith collections. The meanings of the Qur’an are clear, and no one who reads them with an open mind will go astray. Simply put, the Qur’an is a book of revelation and guidance. If people cannot have access to it through the original Arabic, it is good that they have at least a translation of its meanings. But the hadith literature is a very different story. The word i recall the shaykh using to describe what results when the unprepared non-scholar attempts to read the hadith literature was fitnah, or a trial, in the sense that the person would be so confused and overcome after undertaking such an uninformed and one-dimensional reading of that literature (i.e., in translation and without the presence of a shaykh to guide him/her through the obstacles) that he or she would face a crisis in their religion, a trial of spiritual proportions. If this is the case in regard to a work such as Sahih al Bukhari, the most authentic of all the hadith collections[...]”
I think the fitnah described can easily be seen happening with some of Dar-us-Salam’s translations.
Salamu ‘Alaykum,
Wonderful observation!
Deobandi translation:
The Translation of the Meanings of Jami’ Tirmidhi with explanatory notes and brief biographical sketches of major narrators. In 2 Volumes.
The Jami’ of Imam Al-Tirmidhi ranks third among the sihah sittah (the six authentic books of Hadith).
Darul Isha’at present its first English rendering.
English translation by Rafique Abdur Rehman
Footnotes by Dr. Maulana Fazal Ahmad (Professor of Islamic Learning, Karachi University. M.A Islamic Learning, M.A Islamic History).
http://www.azharacademy.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1864
It looks very nice, strange for Darul Ishaat.
When was this edition published? Is it recent?
And by “strange” I meant that Darul Isha’at usually has low quality publications, but this translation looks nicely published, alhamdulillah, at least from the picture.
Awesome! Well, Dar ul Ishaat’s translation prints have gotten better over the years. If I can find this is the states I’ll buy it. I think this is a rather new print though.
Yes, that’s true, some of the recent translations have been better.
I think I will purchase this as well. I haven’t seen it at any sites that ship from within the US, though.
Yes, Dar ul Ishaat is turning out to be one of the better publishers from the subcontinent compared to some of the other publishers ::Shudders::
Haha… Islamic Book Service (IBS) books scare me.
Assalāmu ‘Allaykum,
Abū Layth, why would you criticize the commentator and make this big fuss about salafis. You are well aware of the fact that there is ikhtilāf with regards to the ḥukm of that ḥadith. If the commentator simply chose one of the sides and decided to present that, why are you being so harsh…the way I see is that you just don’t like to give these brothers their due credit. Dāru salām has published many beneficial works which are used by the Muslim masses, and I think they should be thanked for the services they provide. And your claim that they are pushing certain ideology is completely wrong and has no bases whatsoever. Fear Allāh man, stop backbiting the Muslims.
Wa’alaykum Salam,
The hadith I chose was not a good example of weakness. However, I have seen a couple of narrations as Ihave been glancing through the tirmidhi collection that are less controversial in their declarations.
Whatever the case, you are right that I was to harsh on their print. A Translation for the Sunan of Imam At Tirmidhi was much needed, and at least they put the effort forward to translate it properly.
JazākAllāhu Khayr for being honest.
wassalam
this post is useless, like the brother said, every one knows that there is differences of opinions on narrators and the chain of narrators, the commentator took one opinion, its not a “big salafi conspiracy” to brainwash everyone.
The post has relevancy, but the choice of hadith was a poor choice. A better example is here:
http://seekingilm.com/archives/383
The pseudo-salafi conspiracy is very alive in these translations and we will give more examples soon insha’Allah
.
Assalamulaiakum. Can someone please help me with this hadith
Volume 7, Book 64, Number 268:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
“The Prophet said, ‘The best alms is that which is given when one is rich, and a giving hand is better than a taking one, and you should start first to support your dependents.’ A wife says, ‘You should either provide me with food or divorce me.’ A slave says, ‘Give me food and enjoy my service.” A son says, “Give me food; to whom do you leave me?” The people said, “O Abu Huraira! Did you hear that from Allah
’s Apostle ?” He said, “No, it is from my own self.”
it seems as if abu hurairah made up the hadith. please help explain
As-Salamu Al-Aikum
Turath publishing are working on darse Tirmidhi of Mufti Taqi Usmani.
salamu alaikum. I love u Abu Layth! Yeah, I purchased the Dar us Salam’s edition of “Jami at-Tirmidhi” back in my najdi wahhabi super salafi days lol (before being guided to the Truth). And now when I read through, I can just sense the bias in the footnotes. And check this out, you know the famous hadith of the Prophet sal’Allahu alayhi wa salam teaching the blind man Tawwasul? Well I looked for it all night in all 6 volumes, finally I found it under no heading (they did a great job in hiding it, I gotta give that to them!) And I read the hadith, and the words “Ya Muhammad” are completely missing! In the Arabic and English! Yet every single other Tirmidhi book and every other narration of that hadith has “Ya Muhammad” .. its well known! Those buggers removed it! Are they that scared of the truth!? And then right away they put a footnote warning the reader not to make Tawwasul because the Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam is dead and cant do anything for us, and that we must immediately read “Sheikh” Albani’s book on Tawwasul for “clarification”. Haha! Reading Albani’s book only proved Tawwasul to me! It showed me what a joke these guys are and that they have no proof, all they have are verses from the Qur’an taken wayyyy out of context that were revealed about the idol worshipers, and they just throw those verses on Muslims (just like the Kharij did). Then, Albani ADMITS THAT IMAM AHMAD IBN HANBAL HELD THE VIEW THAT TAWWASUL THROUGH Nabi
IS MUSTAHABB! Wahhabism is a complete joke and its a shame that we have to put up with that ridiculous sect, may Allah 
rid us of them.. ameen.
Does Albani really admit that Ahmad ibn Hanbal held that tawassul through the Prophet is mustahabb? Which chapter and page does he say this?
“Imaam Ahmad allowed tawassul by means of the Messenger alone, and others such as Imaam ash-Shawkaanee allowed tawassul by means of him and other Prophets and the Pious. [Note that he omits to mention Imam Malik and Imam Shafi`i as permitting tawassul also.] However we [i.e. Albani and his party], as is the case in all matters where there is disagreement, follow whatever is supported by the proof whatever that is, without blindly sticking to the opinions of men.”
[al-Albani, At-Tawassul p. 38]
From a “salafi” site to! =) I think I’ll take Imam Ahmad over Albani ANYDAY
Abu Huma mentioned that Turath is working on darse Tirmidhi of Mufti Taqi Usmani, but it does not show that on their website. Does anyone have details about that?