-may Allah bless him and grant him peace-: "I have been given the concise expressions of speech, and speech has been abridged for me concisely (37)." Among that also are the "shortcuts" of the path (38). In a hadith, it is said: "Jihad is a shortcut to the path of Paradise (39)." It has been forbidden to perform "abridgment" of prostration (sajdah), the meaning of which is to combine the verses of prostration and recite them at one time (40). It is also said that it means to omit the verse that contains the prostration and not recite it. The benefit of abridgment is the simplification and facilitation for the one who desires to learn and memorize it; for speech is abridged so that it may be memorized, and it is expanded so that it may be understood.
He, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned his intent for this abridgment, saying: (So that it may be close to its learner), meaning that it becomes easy for him and his effort in learning it is reduced.
His saying: (According to the school of Abu Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him [and grant him satisfaction] (41)), refers to the Imam (42) Abu Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ibn Hilal ibn Asad ibn Idris ibn Abd Allah ibn Hayyan ibn Abd Allah ibn Duhl ibn Shayban ibn Tha'labah ibn 'Ukabah ibn Sa'b ibn Ali ibn Bakr ibn Wa'il ibn Qasit ibn Hinb ibn Afsa ibn Du'mi ibn Jadilah ibn Asad ibn Rabi'ah ibn Nizar ibn Ma'add ibn 'Adnan. His lineage and the lineage of the Messenger of
(37) Extracted by al-Daraqutni in al-Nawadir with the wording: "I have been given the concise expressions of speech, and the hadith has been abridged for me concisely." Sunan al-Daraqutni 4/144-145. Also by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman. See: al-Jami' al-Kabir by al-Suyuti 1/120, and al-Jami' al-Saghir (al-Fath al-Kabir) 1/199. The beginning of it was extracted by al-Bukhari in the Chapter of the Saying of the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace-: "I have been granted victory through awe for a distance of a month's journey," from the Book of the Virtues of Jihad and Expeditions; in the Chapter of Keys in the Hand, from the Book of Interpretation of Dreams; and in the Chapter of the Saying of the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace-: "I have been sent with the concise expressions of speech," from the Book of Holding Fast to the Sunnah. Sahih al-Bukhari 4/65, 9/47, 113. It is narrated with the wordings: "I have been given," "I have been sent," and "I have been granted." (38) In MS M: "al-turuq" (the paths). (39) We did not find it. (40) It will be discussed in the prostration of recitation (sujud al-tilawah). (41) Omitted from the original (MS A). (42) See: Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad by Ibn al-Jawzi, Tabaqat al-Hanabilah by Ibn Abi Ya'la 1/4-20, al-Manhaj al-Ahmad by al-'Ulaymi 1/5-54, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyyah al-Kubra 2/27-63, along with the references cited in its footnotes, and the biography of Imam Ahmad in Tarikh al-Islam by al-Dhahabi, and Siyar A'lam al-Nubala by him 11/177-358.
