The list of those who have helped me during the writing of this book and after it was finished is long. But their memories are printed on my heart with loving care.
At different stages, different people were involved. Most of them could do no more than make an effort to faithfully translate the original Urdu version. Their labour was not altogether lost. Every time I critically examined any translation, invariably new ideas were born to be incorporated in the book. Also, after every critical examination of their translations, I decided to change the sequence of the discussions to a better one. Thus I journeyed from version to version which was a climbing spiral like the path of evolution. Hopefully, with this final version, I have reached the summit.
During all these stages, there were so many scholars and technocrats who were involved, not for the work of translation, but in things which I could not have handled alone. For instance, I needed to retrieve certain passages from books or articles I had read during the last forty years of my life. They were so varied that they belonged to all the subjects discussed in my work, which the reader can realize are not a mere few. Libraries had to be combed by scholars belonging to different continents and cities.
From Rabwah, the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, many learned scholars were involved in retracing the religious references.
From America, it was Professor Malik Masood Ahmad and his team who were required to trace many references which belonged mainly to Scientific American and American Scientist of the last twenty years or so. His team was selected from Ahmadi scholars from all over America whose names are difficult to produce in this short acknowledgement. But he was specifically helped by Dr Salahuddin and Jawad Malik, his son.
Dr Salahuddin in particular did a great job in finding lost references. I had not remembered the titles of the articles or the years of their publication. All he had to work with was a general idea of the subject matter I had retained in my memory. Amazingly, he retrieved everything and to my pleasant surprise, my memory of what had been said was precise.
In London, it was Mrs Saleha Safi who performed the major role of reference hunting. Assisted by her daughter, Sophia Safi Mahmood, she performed amazing feats of retracing various books which contained the desired references. Then there were those girls and boys and women and men in London, who volunteered themselves for various tasks and did the job with dedicated diligence. It is impossible to mention them all, but I should be excused if I produce a list of just some names which I specially remember.
At the top of the list I must mention Farina Qureshi and her peerless contribution in organizing and directing a scholarly team to help her detect and pinpoint the areas needing my special attention. In this respect, Farida Ghazi’s participation outshone every other member of her team, except for Farina of course. Farina has been extremely humble in this service she rendered. As a rule she refrained from suggesting specific amendments or improvements which a passage required. It was rarely that I wanted her and her team members to suggest amendments in some specific place; they humbly complied but their suggestions were not always accepted. I must pay compliment to the largeness of their heart that they always accepted my decision with good grace. It was during this exercise of trying alternative suggestions that they also realized, like I had so often done, how difficult it was to change an expression without altering the entire chain of links leading up to it. We immensely enjoyed this game which proved a much welcome diversion. In short, no appreciation on my part can do justice to their contribution to help me improve the quality of my work. A full mention of this team is made in the preface which follows.
Of those who have helped me with this book, many are listed below. My memory may have failed me in remembering them all. To them I render my loving apologies.
Munir Ahmad Javed, Private Secretary, London.
Munir-ud-Din Shams, London.
Farina Qureshi, London.
Mansoora Hyder, London.
Farida Ghazi, London.
Mahmood Ahmad Malik, Islamabad, UK.
Professor Amatul Majid Chaudhary, Islamabad, UK.
Basit Ahmad, London.
Fowzia Shah, London.
Musarrat Bhatti, Northampton.
The above list has been specifically chosen from a longer list of many who helped at different stages of this work. But the participation of those who are named above has been so persistent and important in its nature that I cannot feel at rest without specially mentioning them. Munir Javed, number one on the list, played a pivotal role in implementing my plan to allocate different roles to different scholars. Munir-ud-Din Shams has earned a special place because of his persistent hard labour which amazed me at how much he could take. Many mentioned above worked for days and nights without any rest, and without informing me of their amazing sacrifices. I had to keep an eye on them somehow, peeping across the screen which they had built to hide their labour from my eyes. However, I had my own ways of knowing what was happening. At times I had to specially order them to have a little rest and a little food before they could drop exhausted, having reached the tether of their tolerance.
Muzaffar Ahmad Malik, Islamabad, UK.
Muzaffar Malik requires special mention because it was he who was entrusted with the job of the final printing and to negotiate with various presses to strike the best bargain. In the final preparation of the camera ready copy, his work has been conspicuous.
Bashir Ahmad, Private Secretary’s Office London.
Pir Muhammad Alam, Private Secretary’s Office London.
Two voluntary workers, Bashir Ahmad and Pir Muhammad Alam, played a highly essential role of taking care of all the scholars who helped me during their presence in the office. When they worked the whole night, both Bashir Sahib and Pir Sahib did the same to fulfil their odd requirements during their work. Occasionally they also took care in serving them food despite their complete silence of how hungry they were at times.
Following is the list of some scholars in Rabwah who were contacted from time to time by Munir Ahmad Javed whenever some material was required to which these scholars had access:
Maulvi Dost Mohammad, Rabwah.
Syed Abdul Haye, Rabwah.
Hafiz Muzaffar Ahmad, Rabwah.
Habibur Rehman Zirvi, Asst. Librarian, Rabwah.
Professor Ch. Mohammad Ali, Rabwah.
There is one who did not participate in the work, yet I owe him so much for the service he rendered. I am speaking of Professor Raja Ghalib Ahmad of Lahore who insisted that a final chapter may please be added on the issue of the finality of prophethood. This chapter virtually pays him a standing ovation: ‘How right you were Raja Sahib!’
Mansoora Hyder has performed an additional task which was highly essential but at the same time, extremely painstaking. All the references given in this book have been checked by her with minute attention so that every dot, comma, word and spelling is exactly the same as in the original excerpt. This required the collection of a mini library which only deals with our references. This she has done to perfection. To my knowledge she had to chase some original books to which reference was given in certain articles. She did not abandon the pursuit till she actually got the required book in her hand. For this stupendous task she must be applauded here, a compliment due to her.
During references to original Chinese works and their available translations the irreplaceable services of Usman M. Chou had to be acquired. He is a great scholar whose translation of the Holy Quran has found great acclaim from a large number of Chinese scholars. Without his help we could not have ascertained the exact meaning of many Chinese expressions which are slightly mistranslated in old classical literature.
I must also express my profound acknowledgement to Uzma Aftab Ahmad Khan. She is a professionally trained lady for examining literary works in search of small flaws and errors which often find their way undetected into them. She excels in this task of critically examining them before they are finally approved for publication. My team and I were pleased to notice that she has really an extraordinarily sharp eye. Without her assistance and diligent work we may not have noticed that many expressions had to be further elaborated and many a sequence had to be reordered. Her professional services which she offered completely voluntarily have left me particularly obliged.
In the last chance for bug detection given to us by the press, it was Fowzia Shah who performed an excellent work. It seems she is a born bug detector. How can I thank her enough!
The index for this book was painstakingly prepared by Munawar Ahmed Saeed of Washington DC. His team of dedicated assistants include his son Ahmed Muneeb Saeed, Fouzan Pal, Jawad A. Malik, Mazher Ahmad and Fizan Abdullah. Considering the magnitude of the task and the very little time they had at their disposal, they have done an excellent job, Masha Allah.
The Artists
As for the cover design, Noma Saeed from America made many attempts to pictorially display the contents. Unfortunately, her long laborious task was declined by the professionals from the press. They strongly advised the cover images to be an artist’s impression of the contents, portrayed by his brush instead of a computer. This wise counsel was finally adopted. The services of many artists from London were incorporated, the chief among them being Hadi Ali Chaudhary and Ch. Abdul Rashid, a prominent architect who excels in giving pictorial expression to abstract ideas, and Syed Fahim Zakria of Birmingham. They were assisted by a team of artists of their choice.
Many artists were involved in various artistic projections contained within the book, but Safdar Hussain Abbasi and Hadi Ali Chaudhary have particularly rendered invaluable services, excelling above all others in the fine quality of the work they have produced. The other artists are Musarrat Bhatti, Farida Ghazi, Fahrija Avdit and Tahira Osman.
One person must also be mentioned without naming him, that is what he himself desired, when he offered me a large amount of money to be spent on the preparatory expenses. All he requested was that he and his parents, and his family should be remembered by me in my prayers. I have decided to mention this so that all others who would like to join me in my prayers, may do so.
Also, my daughter Faiza Luqman deserves my special gratitude. Throughout the writing of this book, she has always wholeheartedly and untiringly taken care of such helpers who worked odd hours and needed meals. For her silent, but dearly appreciated service, I especially owe her my thanks.
Allah bless all whose names are mentioned above, and also those whose names have not been mentioned but their participation is remembered by me with personal gratitude – Ameen.
Mirza Tahir Ahmad