The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page xii
to earth. Hadrat Ahmadas claimed to be that man. For Muslims, the claim of Hadrat Ahmadas is important, because the Holy Prophetsa had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah and Mahdī to rejuvenate Islām; indeed, he admonished the Muslims: "Even if you have to crawl on ice to reach him, go to him and convey my greetings of peace (salām) to him. " For non-Muslims, the writings of the Promised Messiahas provide a wake up call to all those who believe that the revelation and signs of God are a matter of old forgotten history. His writings are replete with the themes of estab- lishing a living relationship with Allah, the role of revelation in achieving that purpose, and the critical im- portance of following the Holy Prophets and acting upon the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. This volume sets out, in the words of Hadrat Mirzā Ghulam Ahmadas himself, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics, namely, ISLĀM; ALLAH, THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET; and THE HOLY QUR'AN. The original compilation, in Urdū, Arabic and Persian, from which these extracts have been rendered into Eng- lish, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Dawud Ahmad, may Allah reward him for his great la- bour of love. He published his selection in the form of a book, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, alaihis- salāto wassalām, apnī tehrīrūn kī rū sey, or 'Hadrat Mirzā Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian, according to his writings'. The original English translation was done by Hadrat Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullāh Khāna, a companion of