The Bride's Boon (Tuhfat al-Arus)

Shaykh Mahmud Mahdi al-Istambuli was a Syrian Islamic scholar, author, and prolific writer in the genres of Islamic family life, marriage guidance, the lives of the Companions, and the principles of da'wah, whose works have been continuously reprinted across the Arab world and translated into English, Urdu, and other languages over more than half a century. Born in Damascus in 1352 AH / 1933 CE, he received his Islamic education in the traditional Syrian scholarly circles of his city and pursued advanced studies in Arabic literature and Islamic studies, building a long career as an Arabic teacher, da'i, and author.

Al-Istambuli's most internationally recognized work is Tuhfat al-'Arus ('The Bride's Boon'), a comprehensive Islamic guide to marriage, wedding etiquette, and the early years of married life that has been one of the most consistently distributed Islamic marriage manuals in Arabic and English for several decades; the English translation The Muslim Marriage Guide and the more recent The Wedding Night and Beyond have circulated widely. Other major titles include Manhaj al-Da'wah fi Hayat al-Rasul ('The Methodology of Da'wah in the Life of the Messenger ﷺ'), several popular biographies of the Companions, and a long list of practical Islamic-life manuals on subjects including child-rearing, the Muslim woman's role, and youth.

Al-Istambuli wrote in an accessible, source-grounded Sunni register that combined Qur'anic and hadith citation with practical guidance calibrated to twentieth-century Arab Muslim life. He died in 1422 AH / 2001 CE. His marriage and family-life manuals, in particular, have remained continuously in print and in translation, securing him an enduring readership across generations of newly married couples and families in the Sunni Arabic-speaking world and the broader Muslim diaspora.

Dr. Abdel-Hamid Eliwa is a professor at Al-Azhar University and a specialist in Qur’anic studies and Islamic history. He has co-authored and translated numerous works aimed at youth and general readers, focusing on the lives of the Companions and the moral lessons embedded in their stories. His work is characterized by scholarly rigor and pedagogical clarity, making him a trusted contributor to Islamic educational publishing.