Translator’s Foreword

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and benedictions upon the Messenger of Allah and his Purified Progeny.

By the Grace of the Almighty, the English translation of “Life of the last successor, Imam Mahdi (a.s)” is complete.

The esteemed author, Baqir Sharif Qarashi, has to his credit detailed biographies of the Holy Imams (a.s) and he covers almost all aspects of the respective Imam in the particular book.

This book is the biography of the Twelfth Imam, Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (a.s), also referred to as the Qaim of Aale Muhammad, the Awaited Imam and the Last of the Successors.

The book also covers major objections that the opponents of Shias aim against belief in Imam Mahdi (a.s), which the respected author, Baqir Sharif Qarashi has refuted in a convincing way.

I have translated the Arabic term, ‘Hazrat’ as ‘his or her eminence’ and also used the same titles and honorifics that the original author has employed, though English readers may find this a little unusual, especially when the same personality is referred to by different appellations in a single sentence. For example the same Twelfth Imam is called as the Qaim, the Awaited Imam, the Promised Mahdi and the Imam of the Time, the Remnant of Allah…etc.

Since the English equivalents of Islamic terminology do not convey the exact meaning, I have sometimes used the original Arabic terms with the English meaning in parentheses. However those who are not conversant with Arabic words may refer to the “Glossary of Islamic Terms” at the end of the book.

Wassalaam

Sayed Athar Husain S.H.Rizvi
Al-Qalam Translators & Writers Bureau,
Vasai, (India)
Email: sayedathar@hotmail.com