The name of Muhammad (sas), the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol (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 (as) and messengers are followed by the symbol (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 symbol (ra) is used with the name of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (sas) and those of the Promised Messiah (as). It stands for radiyallahu ‘anhu/‘anha/ ‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/her/them). (rta) stands for rahmatullah ‘alaihi/‘alaiha/‘alaihim (may Allah shower His mercy upon him/her/them). (aba) stands for ayyadahullahu Ta‘ala binasrihil-‘Aziz (may Allah the Almighty help him with His powerful support).
In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.
We have not transliterated Arabic words which have become part of English language, e.g., Islam, Mahdi, Quran1, Hijra, Ramadan, Hadith, ulama, umma, sunna, kafir, pukka etc.
The Publishers
1 Concise Oxford Dictionary records Quran in three forms—Quran, Qur’an and Koran. [Publisher]