Please note that, in the translation that follows, words given in parentheses ( ) are the words of the Promised Messiah(as). If any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translators for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets [ ]. Footnotes given by the publisher are marked ‘[Publisher]’.
References to the Holy Quran contain the name of the surah [i.e. chapter] followed by a chapter:verse citation, e.g. Surah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:4, and count Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim [‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful’] as the first verse in every chapter that begins with it.
The following abbreviations have been used:
sas sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, meaning ‘peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’, is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sas).
as ‘alaihis-salam, meaning ‘peace be on him’, is written after the names of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sas).
ra radiyallahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum, meaning ‘may Allah be pleased with him/her/them’, is written after the names of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sas) or of the Promised Messiah(as).
rta rahmatullah ‘alaihi/‘alaiha/‘alaihim, meaning ‘may Allah shower His mercy upon him/her/them’, is written after the names of those deceased pious Muslims who are not Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sas) or of the Promised Messiah(as).
aba ayyadahullahu Ta‘ala binasrihil-‘Aziz, meaning ‘may Allah the Almighty help him with His powerful support’, is written after the name of the present head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad(aba), Khalifatul-Masih V.
Readers are urged to recite the full salutations when reading the book. In general, we have adopted the system established by the Royal Asiatic Society for our transliteration.
We have not transliterated some Arabic words which have become part of the English language, e.g. Islam, Quran, Mahdi, jihad, Ramadan, and ummah. The Royal Asiatic Society’s rules of transliteration for names of persons, places, and other terms, are not followed throughout the book as many of the names contain non-Arabic characters and carry a local transliteration and pronunciation style.