Tasnif Style Guide

Tasnif Style Guide — Page xxi

QUICK TIPS xxi ISLAMIC TERMS should be spelled, transliterated, and defined according to current Tașnif guidelines, which in certain cases are determined directly by Hadrat Khalifatul-Masīḥ aba • The decision to transliterate (rather than translate) a term is contingent upon the nature of the term's meaning. If the word or term carries a unique Islamic context or significance that cannot be conveyed by the generic English translation of the term—e. g. ṣaḥiḥ [authentic]-then it should be preserved via transliteration in addition to the generic translation of ‘authentic. These are cases where the generic translation alone may hamper the reader's comprehension of the subject matter. That said, do not transliterate unnecessarily. Certain books will require heavy transliteration, whereas others will have hardly any. Markaz has transliteration guidance on all the books of the Promised Messiah (as). Terms that are now common in English and found in the dic- tionary―e. g. hadith, imam, and Quran-should be spelled without italics or diacritical marks. Words that are titles-e. g. Hadrat and Maulawi—should be transliterated but not italicized, as they often precede a spe- cific name that is not italicized and may or may not carry dia- critical marks (e. g. Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba). If used generically, italicize (e. g. 'a maulawi came to me. . . '). Transliterate Islamic terms according to the language of the original book (Arabic, Urdu, Persian, etc. ). So, for example, نفس اماره and, خلافت جماعت terms from an Urdu book such as would be rendered as Khilafat, Jama'at, and nafs-e-ammārah, respectively, whereas from an Arabic book (or when given in