بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Introduction Some time before Ramaḍān, while walking to the masjid, a thought came to my mind as I reflected upon the saying of Allāh تعالى: {وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۖ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا ۖ وَحَمْلُهُۥ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ ثَلَـٰثُونَ شَهْرًا ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ} “We have commanded people to honour their parents. Their mothers bore them in hardship and delivered them in hardship. Their ˹period of˺ bearing and weaning is thirty months. In time, when the child reaches their prime at the age of forty, they pray, ‘My Lord! Inspire me to always be thankful for Your favours which You bestowed upon me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You. And make my offspring righteous. I truly repent to You, and I truly submit to Your Will.’” [Sūrah al-Aḥqāf: 15] As I reflected upon this Ayah and the mention of the age of forty, an idea began to form in my mind. At that time I had already started compiling 'Forty on Oddities and Wonders' [https://t.me/madrasatuna/5582], so it occurred to me: why not gather together a collection of textual evidences in which the number forty is mentioned? The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became of the idea. Initially, I intended to take my time with this project, giving myself a couple of years to complete it, with the plan of publishing it after reaching the age of forty myself. However, upon further reflection, I thought to myself: I may not live long enough to see such plans fulfilled. For that reason, during this blessed month I rolled up my sleeves and set to work on this compilation, hoping to present it as a humble gift to the Muslims in forty days from the time of this introduction. I have entitled it: الأربعون في ذكر الأربعين “Forty (Evidences) Concerning the Mention of Forty.” Abu Ishaq Muhammad 26/09/1447 #الأربعون_في_ذكر_الأربعين https://t.me/madrasatuna/6014