From the excerpt
The Sayings That Shape Us
A saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is not a proverb to be quoted at convenience. It is a report that has been transmitted, examined and understood within a discipline. Learning a little about that discipline protects us from both careless rejection and careless repetition.
This book does not attempt to cover the whole tradition. It selects a small number of themes and follows them through a handful of well-attested reports. The aim is to show how a teaching moves from an occasion in the past into a decision in the present, without pretending that the movement is always simple.
Readers will meet technical terms, but only when a term earns its place. The glossary at the end of each chapter can be read first or returned to later. What matters most is that the sayings are allowed to challenge the reader, not merely decorate an argument.
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