The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page xiv
them. Serious scholars and sincere followers of the Promised Messiahas need to study this treasure chest in its original beauty. We sincerely hope and pray that this presentation will acquaint the reader with these works so that a zest for reading the original may be developed (Āmīn). Every effort has been made to compare the translation with the original works in an effort to keep the transla- tion as close as possible to the original. We have added headings within the text and an Index at the end. Except for the Ishtihārāt (announcements), the headings are gen- erally not included in the writings of the Promised Messiahas. However, every effort has been made to use wordings from within the original text. Translation of Urdū, Arabic and Persian couplets and poems have been added in this volume. Poems in Arabic were translated after consulting several translations made previously by Ahmadī scholars and those in Persian were translated with the help of Durr-e-Thamīn Fārsī (transla- tion by Hadrat Mīr Muhammad Isma'ilta. Several scholars assisted in translating Persian couplets and in checking references. The publishers would like to express their gratitude to Mr. Munawar Ahmad Saeed, for the revision of the trans- lation and greatly appreciate the help and support provided by Maulānā Munīr-ud-Din Shams, Additional Vakil-ut-Taşnīf, who provided the vital link with Hudūrrta and was himself a great source of encouragement and inspiration in carrying out this task. In Rabwah, Vakālat-i-Taşnīf, headed by Professor Chaudhry Muhammad 'Alī Şahib, helped finalize the manuscript by revising the manuscript, comparing it with