The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page xiii
PUBLISHER'S NOTE This current edition is the English translation of the original Urdu and Arabic composition. For the Arabic portions, we have additionally provided a reference to the page numbers for the source Arabic text in Rūḥānī Khazā’in. However, for poetry we have retained the original source language text along with its translation below it. The translators' primary objective was to adhere to the original text of the Promised Messiah as as strictly as possible. Contemporary nineteenth century lexicons were utilized to precisely define Urdu, Arabic, and Persian words and phrases. To preserve the author's writ- ing style, and particularly his points of emphasis, where possible we have retained his original underlined, varying font sizes, and bold text styling. However, to facilitate readability for an English speaking audi- ence, punctuation and pauses were inserted as considered necessary, and lengthy paragraphs and sentences were broken into smaller ones. Grammatical rules, literary conventions, and presentation were gener- ally applied in conformity to the Oxford Guide to Style. Please note that, in the translation that follows, words given in parentheses ( ) are the words of the Promised Messiah (as). If any explan- atory words, translations of Arabic or Persian text, or phrases are added by the translators for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets]. Footnotes given by the publisher are marked [Publisher]. The Promised Messiah as has reproduced numerous pieces of corre- spondence by others in this book. To ensure that readers can easily dis- tinguish between the Promised Messiah's words and these documents, we have inserted grey sidebars and side notes alongside the latter, and in some cases, separated out the text or footnote.