The name of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet (sas) of Islam, has been followed by the symbol (sas), which is an abbreviation for the salutation, Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other Prophets 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/with her/with them). (rta) stands for Rahimahullahu Ta‘ala (may Allah have mercy on him). (aba) stands for Ayyadahullahu Ta‘ala (may Allah be his Helper).
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, ulema, umma, sunna, kafir, pukka etc. For quotes straight commas (straight quotes) are used to differentiate them from the curved commas used in the system of transliteration, ‘ for ع, ‘ for ء. Commas as punctuation marks are used according to the normal usage. Similarly for apostrophe normal usage is followed.
The Publishers
1 Concise Oxford Dictionary records Quran in three forms—Quran, Qur’an and Koran. [Publishers]