Bidāyat al-ʿĀbid wa Kifāyat al-Zāhid/Commencement of the Worshiper & Sufficiency of the Ascetic is the first rung on the ladder to mastering the science of Islamic Jurisprudence.  This concise juristic manual, by the great scholar ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Baʿli, introduces the fledgling disciple to the illustrious school of the great Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal.  This text, largely based on several primary references of the official canon—as so deemed by the latter era of Hanbalite scholars—including the monumental book Muntaha al-Irādāt by Ibn al-Najjār, presents the most common issues pertaining to the rites and rituals of worship i.e. purification, prayer, funeral proceedings, alms-giving, fasting, pilgrimage, and briefly touches on legal rulings and ethics of military service.  Upon completing a thorough study of this text, the student will have become familiar with the scholarly style and classic approach of leading jurists and is certain to have developed a yearning to learn more.