Introduction to Mishkat Al-Masabih

Mishkat al Masābīh is, in effect, part and parcel of the vast literary works in the field of Hadith. From the time of it's appearance in 737/1336, it captured the interest of Muslim scholars. Several commentaries were written on it. It was subsequently translated into Persian, Urdu and English. these translations contributed in widenning its readership among the non-Arabic speaking people. As early as the fourteenth century C.E., Mishkat al Masābīh was incorporated into the syllabus of the various Islamic Religious Educational Institutions (Dar al 'Ulūms) in India. Today, even in South Africa, Mishkat al Masābīh forms an integral part of the syllabus of all the local Dar al 'Ulūms within the country.

Maulānā Yunoos Osman's Mishkat al Masābīh: a standard source book for Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence, is a study undertaken with the aim of investigating the reasons for the popularity of Mishkat al Masābīh and explaining its academic value and indispensability as a source work on Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence. He had presented this work originally as a master's dissertation to the Department of Islamic Studies, University of Durban Westville. He was awarded the degree cum laude.