The popular and well-known book 'Bahishti Zewar' of Hakim al-Ummat Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi, needs no introduction. It contains all the necessary rules and regulations (according to the Hanafi math-hab) needed for a Muslim from birth till death. It gained such popularity and acceptance that approximately, 100,000 copies were printed in the authors lifetime (early 1900's)!

The book was originally written for women. However, it has proved extremely beneficial for men as well. Bearing this in mind, the compilers of this particular edition undertook the task of removing those rules and regulations which were applicable [solely] to women, while maintaining those applicable to men.

Other peculiarities of the book include:

• The language of the book has been simplified for easy understanding
• The female tense used in the original work has been replaced with the male tense
• The chapters have been re-arranged according to the Juridical chapters found in books of fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)
• A brief exercise is added at the end of almost every chapter so that teachers may guage the students' understanding of the text. Those who undertake self-study may also benefit from the exercises.

English translation by Mawlana Muhammad Mahomedy.