part deals with the sources from which the teachings of Islām are drawn, and which can serve the purpose of guiding the Muslim world in its present and future needs; the second describes the creed of Islām or the fundamental doctrines of the religion; while the third treats of the laws and regulations of Islām which govern not only a Muslim’s domestic, social and international relations but also his relations with God, which are the mainspring of the development of his faculties. An introduction has been added dealing with some questions relating to religion in general and Islām in particular.
A work of this nature would have carried little weight if it did not give full references to original authorities, and this had made the work laborious, for it contains over 2,500 references and quotations. The Holy Qur’ān, being the original source on which all principles and laws of Islām are based, occupies the first place in this list, and next to it comes Bukhārī, the most reliable book of Ḥadīth. It is on these two authorities that the present work is chiefly based, but others, besides these, have been freely quoted and referred to where necessary.
MUḤAMMAD ‘ALĪ
PRESIDENT
Aḥmadiyyah Anjuman Isha‘āt Islām
Lahore
LAHORE
Ahmadiyyah Buildings
21st November, 1935.