If any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translators for the purpose of clarification, they are marked [Publisher]. Similarly, Arabic words used in the book are generally italicized.
According to our system of counting Qur’anic verses, the verse Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful) is counted as the first verse of the chapter (Surah) that it precedes. The Arabic text quoted from the Qur’an is immediately followed by the name of the chapter, the chapter number, and the verse number in parentheses.
The English translation of the verses of the Qur’an has been taken from Maulawi Sher ‘Ali’s translation revised under the auspices of Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the Fourth Successor of the Promised Messiah (as).
The name of Muhammad (sas), the Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the superscript letters [sas] which is an abbreviation for the salutation Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other prophets and messengers are followed by the superscript [as], an abbreviation for ‘Alaihis-salam (On whom be peace). The actual salutations have not generally been set out in full, but they should nevertheless be understood as being repeated in full in each case. The superscript [ra] is used with the name of the companions of Muhammad (sas). It stands for Radiallahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/her/them).
In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.