Is the translation of Umdat as-Salik by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller a good book.

The Reliance of the Traveller is a translation of 'Umdat as-Salik by Ibn Naqib, a student of Imam Taqiyy ad-Din as-Subki. It presents the mu'tamad views of the Shafi'i madhhab. It was translated by Shaykh Nuh Hamim Keller. The translation is excellent, and the translator has added several appendices which enhance the value of the book.

On the whole, the book is an orthodox presentation of Shafi'i fiqh, while the appendices might contain material that does not strictly fall under the aegis of fiqh.

Besides this book, there is also my father's translation of Tuhfatul Ikhwan, an Orientalist's translation of Imam Nawawi's Minhaj at-Talibin, and a translation of the matn of Abu huja' entitled A Sunni Shafi'i Law Code. The Tuhfatul Ikhwan is a good book, but contains some masa'il at variance with the mu'tamad position of the madhhab. The translation of the Minhaj is a terrible one, being translated not from the original Arabic, but from an earlier French translation. The last books is very brief.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Shaykh Taha Karaan

Shaafi'ee Madhab - DARUL ULOOM AL-ARABIYYA AL-ISLAAMIYYA