An Introduction to the Hidden Treasures of Islam — Page xxi
xxi by the symbol as , an abbreviation for ( / ) ‘ Alaihis-sal a m/ ‘ Alaihimus-sal a m (on whom be peace). The actual prayers 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 sa and those of the Promised Messiah as. It stands for ( / / ) Ra di All a hu ‘anhu/‘anh a /‘anhum (may Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). rta stands for ( ) Ra h matull a h ‘alaih (may Allah have mercy on him). at stands for ( ) Ayyadahull a hu Ta‘ a l a (may Allah, the Almighty help him). In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the following system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society: ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a , i , u preceded by a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word honour. ث th , pronounced like th in the English word thing. ح h , a guttural aspirate, stronger than h. خ kh , pronounced like the Scotch ch in loch. ذ dh , pronounced like the English th in that. ص s , strongly articulated s. ض d , similar to the English th in this. ط t , strongly articulated palatal t. ظ z , strongly articulated z. ع ‘, a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear. غ gh , a sound approached very nearly in the r grasseye in French, and in the German r. It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the ‘gargling’ position whilst pronouncing it. ق q , a deep guttural k sound. ئ ’, a sort of catch in the voice. Short vowels are represented by: a for (like u in bud )