Three Questions by a Christian and their Answers — Page viii
sa The name of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol which is an abbreviation for the salu- tation Şallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other Prophets and Messen- gers are followed by the symbol as, an abbreviation for 'Alaihissalām (on whom be peace). 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. The symbol ra is used with the name of the companions of the Holy Prophetsa and those of the Promised Messiahas. It stands for Radi Allāhu 'anhu/'anha/'anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). th stands for Rahimahullāhu Taʻālā (may Allah have mercy on him). at stands for Ayyadahullāhu Taʻālā (May Allah, the Mighty help him). In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the following system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society. 1 ح خ ذ ص ض ط ظ 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'. 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'. s, strongly articulated s. d, similar to the English th in 'this'. 1, strongly articulated palatal t. 2, strongly articulated z. viii