Preface

Preface

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

To praise and laud the King of Kings[1] of both worlds, the Creator of all being and of the world[2], is a duty, because praise[3] is the confession that we are His servants[4]; but who can fulfil this duty in full[5]? "If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord were finished, even if We brought the like of it to add to it."[6] To praise and extol the Seal of the Prophets[7], the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds[8], is incumbent, because it is the declaration of our devotion[9]; but who can perform it as it deserves? "If men and jinn joined together to bring the like of this Qur'an, they could not bring the like of it, even if they helped one another."[10] [TN: Both quotations are in Arabic in the original: Qur'an 18:109 ("law kana al-bahru midadan li-kalimati rabbi ...") and Qur'an 17:88 ("la'in ijtama'ati al-insu wa al-jinnu ...").]

It is now the third year since *Mirat-ul-Uroos*[11] was first printed, and as far as I know some eight or nine, or rather ten, thousand copies of it have been sold in these two years or a little more; requests come from every direction and orders from every side. A Babu is translating it[12] into his Bengali, and a Pandit-ji Maharaj into Bhakha, not at my request[13] or bidding but of their own wish and desire. What greater proof could there be that it has been liked and accepted?

This book is the second part of that same *Mirat-ul-Uroos*. It is the same language and the same manner. The aim of *Mirat-ul-Uroos* was to teach good conduct and housekeeping[14]; this book does that too, but by the way[15], and its special purpose[16] is to give knowledge of the sciences. One subject remains: the teaching of religion. If this borrowed life[17] lasts, and if the business of earning my bread, that is, the duties of my service[18], leave me even as little leisure as I now get in the hot weather and the rains, then, God willing and all being well, that too will be presented to readers[21] by next year in the form[20] of a book[19]. "My success is only through God; in Him I trust, and to Him I turn."[22]

The servant of God,
Nazir Ahmad, may God grant him success for tomorrow[23]

Notes

[1] *Shahanshah*: "king of kings".

[2] *Khaliq-e kaun o makan*: "the creator of the world and of all that is in the world".

[3] *Hamd*, *sana*, *madh* and *na't*: "all four have the same meaning: praise".

[4] *Iqrar-e 'ubudiyat*: "the confession that we are Your servants".

[5] *Ba-tamamihi*: "in full".

[6] "If I wished to write the praises of my Lord and made the sea into ink, the sea would be used up before the praises were finished, even if help were taken from another sea like it."

[7] *Khatm-ul-mursalin*: "he with whom prophethood came to an end".

[8] *Mahbub-e Rabb-il-'alamin*: "of the Lord of the worlds".

[9] *Izhar-e iradat*: "the declaration of devotion".

[10] "If men and jinn together wished to produce a Qur'an like this, they could not produce it, even if they helped one another."

[11] "*Mirat-ul-Uroos* was written in 1869, and it is now 1888; in this time more than a hundred thousand copies have been published." [TN: This note was added in a later edition, in 1888.]

[12] "Besides Bengali and Bhakha, it has also been translated into Kashmiri, Panjabi and Gujarati."

[13] *Istid'a*: "request".

[14] *Ta'lim-e akhlaq o khanadari*: "teaching good habits and the art of running a home".

[15] *Zimnan*: "that is, as a *raunghan*" (a small extra thrown in with a purchase).

[16] *Khassatan*: "especially".

[17] *Hayat-e musta'ar*: "borrowed life".

[18] *Mashaghil-e khidmat*: "the work of my employment".

[19] "The book *Taubat-un-Nasuh* was both written and published, and it became so popular that it surpassed all the author's other works; it is set for the Civil Service examination." [TN: Another note from the 1888 or a later edition. *Taubat-un-Nasuh* ("The Repentance of Nasuh") appeared in 1874.]

[20] *Pairaya*: "form".

[21] *Pesh-kash-e nazirin*: "will be presented to those who look at and read it".

[22] "I have only God to rely on; in Him is my trust, and to Him I turn." [TN: Arabic in the original, Qur'an 11:88, "wa ma taufiqi illa billah ...".]

[23] "May God Almighty grant him the grace to prepare for tomorrow (that is, the Day of Judgement). Amen."