All translations in the book are my own, unless otherwise indicated. Dates in the text are given according to the Common Era date. Hijri dates followed by a slash precede the Common Era dates.
All titles of works cited, non-English words and phrases, and transcribed words in the text appear in italics. In my transliteration, I have adhered to the South Asian usage of the spoken and written Persian and Urdu words. I have not italicised or transliterated words, such as Sufi. For example, I use Ḥaẓrat and not Ḥaḍrat, zikr and not Dhikr; similarly, in this text it is bidʿat and not bidʿa, and baiʿat and not baiʿah. However, I have retained the spelling of Ḥadīth. Brackets [ ] are used to indicate this author’s additions not found in the original text.
Note: Passages from the Qurʾān are identified by chapter and verse in the brackets within the text. Translations of the Qurʾānic verses are cited from Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s interpretation, unless otherwise specified.
Urdu Vowels
For diacritical marks and Romanized versions, I have used the following dictionaries:
A Dictionary of Urdū Classical Hindī and English, by John Platts. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal (1993).
A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, by F. Steingass. Lahore: Sange-e-Meel Publications (2000).