First and foremost all praise belongs to Allah Who, despite all our faults and weaknesses, has enabled us to contribute to this worthy project.
I wish to acknowledge the debt owed to all the members of the Fazle Umar Foundation English Desk without whose efforts this work would not have come to fruition. I am thankful to Mirza Usman Ahmad and Awais Rabbani for their translation of these short essays, as well as Arsalan Qamar and Haseeb Ahmad for their constant advice and support. Mention must also be made of Syed Tanwir Mujtaba and Syed Talib Mehmood for all their technical help and Dr Mirza Sultan Ahmad, Dr Hammad Ahmad Khan, Dr Fariha Ahmad Khan and Abdul Quddus Arif for their valuable editorial input.
Nasir Ahmad Shams
Secretary Fazle Umar Foundation