The following abbreviations have been used. Readers are urged to recite the full salutations when reading the book:
sas sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, meaning ‘may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’ is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas).
as ‘alaihis-salam, meaning ‘may peace be upon him’ is written after the name of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas).
ra radiyallahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum, meaning ‘may Allah be pleased with him/her/them’ is written after the names of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas) or of the Promised Messiah (as).
rta rahmatullah ‘alaihi/‘alaiha/‘alaihim, meaning ‘may Allah shower His mercy upon him/her/them’ is written after the names of deceased pious Muslims who are not Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas) or of the Promised Messiah (as).
This book uses the system of transliteration adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.