Produced by Turgut Dincer, Michael Ciesielski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) NOTES ON ISLAM BY SIR AHMED HUSSAIN, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. (NAWAB AMIN JUNG BAHADUR) Collected and Edited by Khan Bahadur Hajee Khaja Muhammad Hussain "_The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge._"--_Proverb_ HYDERABAD, DECCAN GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS 1922 _ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_ TO THE MEMORY OF K. AMJUD HUSSAIN. _One of the four for whom these Notes were first written, in 1917._ +---------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's note: | | Bold characters are shown with "+" signs. | | Arabic names are kept as in the original | | text. Arabic transliterations are according | | to ISO 233 system in most cases and from the| | version by the CANADIAN SOCIETY OF MUSLIMS | | with their kind permission. | +---------------------------------------------+ [Printer's mark] FOREWORD The following Notes were enclosed by the author in his weekly letters to his brother and sons who were students in the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Birmingham. I persuaded him to allow me to have them printed, as I thought they were suggestive and useful. He has however desired me to say that they should not be regarded as anything but concise memoranda jotted down (at short intervals between the busy hours of his official life) as general answers to questions put to him. They contain some passages which are too concise or abstract, if not vague or enigmatic. But, the author says, he left them designedly so in order to induce his readers to try to understand them or at least to seek explanation and illustration. Numerous foot-notes have been added for the same purpose. He frankly admits that his view of Islam is neither quite orthodox nor quite heterodox but something midway between the two. It was put forward in order to make his boys think for themselves and argue with him. The first three Notes may be 'skipped' at the first reading. Sincere acknowledgments are due to Nawab Imad-ul-Mulk Bahadur Bilgrami, C.S.I., Mr. J.C. Molony, I.C.S., Khan Bahadur Abdur Rahim, B.A., B.L., Mr. Syed Ross Masood, M.A., and others who very kindly read the proofs and favoured the author with valuable suggestions. Banganapalle, } _11th August 1922_. } K.M.H. Duty is Deity Work is Worship.--_Sanskrit Proverb_ CONTENTS PAGE FOREWORD 7 MUSLIM PRAYER 9 NOTE 1. INTRODUCTION 11 " 2. THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE QUR'AN 15 " 3. WHAT IS RELIGION? 20 " 4. WHAT IS TRUE ISLAM? 25