Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
This is an opuscule of forty hadiths by Imam Ibn Hajar which he narrates from forty different Companions through forty shuyukh in a myriad of places; from the old Salihiyya quarter of Damascus to the Riyad al-Jannah in the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) mosque. The book is a joy (al-Imta) to read since not only the subject matter is interesting but the actual isnads of the hadith with their special features. Writing forty hadith collections has been an old scholarly tradition tracing its origins to Abdullah ibn Mubarak and its justification going as far back as to the Prophet. In this respect, the reader becomes a part of this blessed historical tradition, especially with Ibn Hajars intiation of the book with the hadith al-musalsal bi al-awwaliyya.