The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page xiii
Publishers’ Note In this text, references to verses of the Holy Qur’ān have been footnoted and are given in the modern numerical system. In these references, we have counted Bismillāhir raḥmānir raḥīm as the first verse, except for Sūrah Taubah (that is Chapter 9 of the Holy Qur’ān). In these footnotes, the name of the Sūrah (chapter) has been mentioned, and then the numerical reference has been provided in brackets, whereas the first number refers to the Sūrah (chapter) and the second number refers to the Āyah (verse). The translation of verses of the Holy Qur’ān, Aḥādīth and other Arabic or Persian quotations have been rendered into English from the idiomatic Urdu translation of Ḥaḍrat Mirz ā Bashīr Aḥmad Ṣāḥib ra himself, as found in the original Urdu work. The names of Islāmic months have been used in their original form. In the field of Islāmic history, there are two famous eras in the life of the Holy Prophet sa : prior to migration and after migration. Years spent by the Holy Prophet sa in Makkah, prior to the Migration are referred to as Nabawī years, and those following the migration are referred to as Hijrī years. In this text, Nabawī years have been clearly specified, for they have been followed by the term ‘ Nabawī’ in italics. Hijrī years have been specified by the abbreviation A. H. (i. e. , After Hijrah ). Throughout the course of this work, various Arabic terms and Islāmic phraseology have been transliterated and used in their original form. Wherever such terms are used in the text, a footnote has been provided upon the first instance of their appearance. A more elaborate explanation of such terms and phraseology has been given in the ‘Glossary of Terms’. Please note that wherever reference is made to ‘Life of Mahomet [sa] ’ written by Sir William Muir throughout this book, the Reprint of the 1984 Edition, published by Voice of India, New Delhi, has been quoted herein. The following abbreviations have been used in this book; Readers are requested to recite the full salutations when reading the book: SA: An abbreviation for Ṣallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam , meaning, “May peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him,” is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muḥammad sa. AS: An abbreviation for ‘Alaihissalām / ‘Alaihassalām , meaning, “May peace be upon him / her,” is written after the name of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muḥammad sa , and pious women prior to the era of the Holy Prophet Muḥammad sa. RA: An abbreviation for Raḍiallāhu ‘anhu / ‘anhā / ‘anhum , meaning, “May Allāh be pleased with him/her/them,” is written after the names of Companions of