The Need for the Imam — Page ix
ix Publishers’ Note Please note that the words in the text in normal brackets ( ) and in between the long dashes—are the words of the Promised Messiah as and if any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translator for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets [ ]. The name of Muhammad sa , the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol sa , which is an abbreviation for the salutation S allall a hu ‘Alaihi Wasallam (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other Prophets and Messengers are followed by the symbol as , an abbreviation for ‘ Alaihissal a m (on whom be peace). The actual salutations have not generally been set out in full, but they should never- theless, 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/‘anha/‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). Symbol rh stands for Ra h ima- hull a hu Ta‘ a l a (may Allah have mercy on him). Symbol at stands for Ayyadahull a hu Ta‘ a l a (May Allah, the Mighty help him). In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the fol- lowing system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society. ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a , i , u pre- ceded 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'.