NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND TERMINOLOGY

To ensure phonetic accuracy and academic consistency when rendering Arabic and Ottoman Turkish terms into English, the following transliteration scheme has been adopted:

1. Long Vowels (Maddeh)

The circumflex accent (ˆ) is utilised to denote long vowels:

• â (long 'a'): e.g., aqṭâb (أَقْطَاب )
• î (long 'i'): e.g., ‘azîz (عَزِيز )
• û (long 'u'): e.g., wujûb (وُجُوب )

2. Consonants and Diacritics

• ‘ (Apostrophe/Turned Comma): Represents the Arabic letter ‘Ayn (ع ). e.g., ‘A / ‘a (عَ ), ‘I / ‘i (عِ ), ‘U / ‘u (عُ )

• th: Represents the letter thā’ (ث ). e.g., athîr (أَثِير )
• kh: Represents the letter khā’ (خ ). e.g., khawass (خَوَاصّ )
• dh: Represents the letters dhāl (ذ ) and ẓā’ (ظ ). e.g., dhulm (ظُلْم )
• gh: Represents the letter ghayn (غ ). e.g., ghaflah (غَفْلَة )
• q: Represents the letter qāf (ق ). e.g., quwwah (قُوَّة )
• sh: Represents the letter shīn (ش ). e.g., shirk (شِرْك )
• ch: Represents the Ottoman Turkish letter çîm (چ / Ç). e.g., charshaf (چَارْشَف )
• ss: Represents the letter ṣād (ص ). e.g., khawass (خَوَاصّ )

3. Plural Forms

Regarding the pluralisation of Islamic terminology, a hybrid approach has been employed depending on contextual usage:

• Classical Arabic Plurals: Certain terms retain their original broken or sound Arabic plurals. (e.g., ‘âlim - ‘ulamâ; ‘aqîdah - ‘aqâ’id)
• Anglicised Plurals: Other terms are pluralised using the English suffix “-s” to facilitate readability. (e.g., âyah - âyahs; du‘â - du‘âs; hikmah - hikmahs)

 

 

Given the inherent complexities of bridging the Islamic theological tradition with the structural nuances of the English language, any inadvertent shortcomings or oversight in this translation are entirely our own, for which we seek indulgence.

May Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla accept this humble effort, overlook our deficiencies and graciously grant us steadfastness in our ikhlas.

اَللّٰهُمَّ بِحَقِّ سُورَةِ اْلاِخْلاَصِ اِجْعَلْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِكَ الْمُخْلِصِينَ الْمُخْلَصِينَ آمِينَ آمِينَ