By God — Page 7
7 PUBLISHER’S NOTE According to our system of counting Quranic verses, the verse Bismillāhhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Ever Merciful) is counted as the first verse of the chapter, which it precedes. Some publishers of the Holy Quran however, begin counting following Bismillāhhir-Raḥmānir- Raḥīm. Should the reader not find the relevent verse under the number mentioned in this book, he or she is advised to deduct 1 from the number. For example, if this book quotes Ch. 35: al- Fāir : 25, then some copies of the Holy Quran will list the same verse under Ch. 35: al-Fāir : 24. Where necessary, translation of the Arabic text has been elaborated by additional words to explain the meaning. The name of Muhammad sa , the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol sa or saw, which is an abbreviation for the prayer ( ) ṣallallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam (my peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other Prophets as and messengers are followed by the symbol as , an abbreviation for ( / ) ‘alaihissalām/’alaihimussalām (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 ( / / ) raḍi allāhu ‘anhu/'an- hā/'anhum (may allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). rh stands for ( ٰی ل اع ل الہل ل ہم ل ر ل ) rahimahullāh ta'ālā (may Allah's blessings be on him), aa stands for ( ٰی ل اع ل الہل ل ہ ل د ل ا ل ) ayyadahullāhu ta'ālā binaṣrihil-azīz (may Allah, the Almighty help him).