The Descent of the Messiah — Page xviii
salutation şallallahu '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 'alaihis-salām (on whom be peace). The symbol ra is used with the name of the companions of the Holy Prophetsas and those of the Promised Messiahas, and it stands for radiyallahu 'anhu/'anha/'anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). The symbol rta stands for rahimatullāhi 'alaihi (may Allah have mercy on him), and aba stands for ayyadahullahu taʻālā binașrihil-azīz (May Allah, the Mighty help him). The actual salutations have not generally been set out in full, but they should nevertheless be understood as being repeated in full in each case. 1 In transliterating Arabic words we have mainly followed the system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society: ث ح خ ذ ص at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a, i, u preceded by a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word 'honour. th, pronounced like th in the English word 'thing. h, a guttural aspirate, stronger than h. kh, pronounced like the Scotch ch in 'loch. dh, pronounced like the English th in 'that'. ş, strongly articulated s. xviii