Translation of the at-taufiq embroidery by Sheikh Abdullah Ba'alawi

The full name of this book is "Sullamu At-Taufiq Ila Mahabbatillah‘ Ala At-Tahqiq "(سلم التوفيق إلى محبة الله على التحقيق). The meaning of "sullam" is "ladder", lafaz "taufiq" means "help". "Mahabbah" means "love", while "‘ ala at-tahqiq "means" haqqon / yaqinan "(conclusively). So the free translation of the title of this book is "The ladder (to get) help (Allah) towards the love of God with certainty / convincing". As if the author hopes that anyone who practices the contents of this book well, then his good deeds will deliver it to the love of God without doubt.

The author is Abdullah Ba'alawi or, more briefly, Ba'alawi. The name Ba'alawi is a famous clan in Hadhromaut as a descendant of the prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Usually they are called by the title "Habib" or "Sayyid". His full name is Abdullah bin Husain bin Thohir Ba'alawi At-Tarimi Al-Hadhromi. He was born in 1191 AH in Tarim, Hadhromaut province in Yemen. According to Sibthu Al-Jilani the writing of the book Sullam At-Taufiq was completed at the beginning of Rajab in 1241 H.

Ba'alawi wrote the book "Sullam At-Taufiq" in the form of "mukhtashor". It includes a brief discussion of the creed and laws. This book is suitable for people who want to study religion but have a lot of work.

Besides discussing faith and law, Ba'alawi also wrote a topic on "tazkiyatun nufus" (cleansing the soul). This topic is sometimes called people with the knowledge of "takhliyah" (التخلية) and "tahliyah" (التحلية). The meaning of "takhliyah" is "leaving" while the meaning of "tahliyah" is "adorn". What is meant by these two terms is "at-takholli" an al-aushof adz-dzamimah "(leaving despicable qualities) and" at-tahalli bi al-aushof al-hamidah "(adorning oneself with commendable qualities).

The chapters in the book "Sullam At-Taufiq" are usululuddin, thoharoh, salat, zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, muamalat, tazkiyatun nafsi, and bayanul ma’ashi. So, like the book "Safinatu An-Najah", the book "Sullam At-Taufiq" is not a book of pure Jurisprudence but a book that contains a discussion of faith, law and cleansing the soul. Nevertheless, the content is only limited to the sciences that are punished by fardhu ain which must be studied every mukallaf. That said, this book is a "book of mentoring" for ordinary Muslims. The knowledge contained in this book is estimated to be enough to form a salih Muslim person who is able to carry out the main obligations in the deen.