It is by the sheer grace and mercy of Allah Almighty, and the blessings and guidance of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper) that the third volume of Malfuzat—Sayings & Discourses of the Promised Messiah (as) is being published in English. This translation is based on the new ten-volume typed edition of Malfuzat prepared and published by Nazarat-e-Isha’at Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya in 2016; and the present volume in English spans from September 1900 to August 1901
A collection of sayings and discourses of the Promised Messiah (as) was first published in the form of a complete set by Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah in ten volumes. Subsequently, Nazarat-e-Isha’at published the content of this ten-volume set in five volumes.
Following this, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper) instructed that a computerised typeset edition of Malfuzat be prepared. He stated that the books in the five-volume set of Malfuzat were heavy and uneasy to handle; therefore, the five-volume Malfuzat should be printed in ten volumes again. In light of these instructions, a new typeset edition of Malfuzat was prepared and published in ten volumes.
In the preparation of this most recent typeset edition, the original sources from Al-Hakam and Al-Badr Qadian were studied and every effort was made to include any spoken words of the Promised Messiah, on whom be peace, which had been missed from inclusion previously. Hence, due to this effort there were certain sayings and discourses of the Promised Messiah, which had not previously been included in the collection known as Malfuzat; and so they have now been added to this new edition.
In view of the guidance of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper), wherever there are differences in the reports of Al-Hakam and Al-Badr, these have been recorded in footnotes. The relevant words have been recorded as footnotes in a manner that the context of the respective text is clear. Therefore, in view of this, footnotes have been added in the new edition as required.
In the earlier edition of Malfuzat there were certain sayings of the Promised Messiah (as) which had not been placed correctly in terms of chronological order. All such sections have been appropriately rearranged. In certain instances, notes from the Editor had been misplaced; this has been corrected as well.
This English translation is a rendering of pp. 1-277 (or the first half) of volume 2, from the new 2016 edition of Malfuzat prepared by Nazarat-e-Isha’at. In accordance with the instructions of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper), this was done so that the size of the English volume could be kept lightweight and as easy to read as possible.
In various sections throughout the Urdu text, it was found that there were misprints or errors in reporting, which had followed through since the old edition of Malfuzat, and in fact, even existed in the original sources as recorded by Al-Hakam. All such instances were presented with detailed reports to Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper), and after his approval, were corrected in the English translation within the main text. No footnotes stating the original misprint and the correction were given in light of guidance from Huzoor-e-Anwar (may Allah be his Helper).
Ayyaz Mahmood Khan was blessed with the good fortune of rendering this English translation from the Urdu. The tireless efforts of Abdul Quddus Arif are also worthy of mention, who worked with the translator to check the English work against the original source text. The valuable contribution of Faisal Mahmood Khan is also worthy of mention who assisted in checking the final translation. The selfless devotion of Syed Muhammad Tahir Nasser and Nadia Mahmood must also be highlighted, both of whom edited the final manuscript and offered invaluable improvements to the overall style and readability of the translation. Immense gratitude is also due to Farhan Naseer who designed the layout of the book and prepared it for print.
Additionally, we are grateful to Syed Muhammad Umar Nasser, Syeda Sadaf Nasir Shah, Sadia Rana, and Fatima Amatullah Naseer for assisting in proofreading various sections of the manuscript.
Hafiz Muzaffar Ahmad also assisted in researching difficult passages and Abdul Ghany Jahangeer Khan also provided unrelenting assistance whenever he was called upon.
The Central Arabic Desk also offered their full assistance in various capacities. Throughout the course of this project, Malik Khalid Masood, Nazir Isha’at, offered constant and invaluable support in addressing any queries that were directed to him. From India, if ever any research was required Mamoon Rasheed Tabrez of Qadian, offered his full cooperation.
May Allah the Exalted reward all those who assisted—in any capacity—to bring this work to fruition; may He shower His mercy and grace upon their families and accept their services. Ameen, and again, ameen.
Publisher
20 February 2021