If you shall hold fast to them you shall not go astray after me...

If you shall hold fast to them you shall not go astray after me; They ( Qur’an and ‘ Itrat ) shall not be separated from each other, till they reach Hauz-i-Kauthar (fount of Kauthar) untidily.” [^2]2 It will not be without interest, I am sure, to read this Hadith which shows the liberality of their teachings and proves the existence of One God so vividly.

As it is admitted on all hands that belief in God, Who is the Creator of this universe and to whom every man is responsible for his actions in this world, essential for the moral and material progress of man, I hope this Hadith will supply him, much food for reflection, and lead him to the right path. The arguments are so perfect, so simple and logical. Besides, there is absolutely nothing to injure the susceptibilities of any man belonging to any caste or creed.

It is equally edifying to the Muslims as well as non-Muslims. As the God preached it, it is not the God of only one nation, but is the, God of all worlds ( Rabb-ul-Aalamin ). Perhaps the modern reader will find some of the arguments forwarded by the Imam in some contrast to the present day science, but it must be understood that the Imam intended to teach “God”, and not the science.

The Imam, as far as science was concerned, simply followed the conceptions prevalent in the age to which he belonged. Now I must admit that I have translated this Hadith from “Tauhid-ul-Aimma” by Molvi Syed Mohammed Haroon Saheb who has not only rendered this work into Urdu from Arabic but translated and written many other valuable works and thereby rendered a substantial service to the cause of Islam. I must not also forget to thank my learned friend Mr. Alam Khan, G. B. V. C.

for all the help he has given me in translating this Hadith and for many other valuable suggestions And last but not the least; I have to tender my most cordial thanks to Mohammad Ja’far Haji Sharif Devjee and Ghulam Husein Saleh Hasan (Hami-e-Islam) of their most generous pecuniary help for the publication of this book.

I cannot but appreciate their kind feelings towards me, their zealous love for the diffusion of the teachings of the Imams, and the unostentatious services to the cause of religion; and pray that they may long be spared to the community. Wali Muhammad C. Momin 25th April , 1918 Ahmadabad (Gujarat) India [^1]: he Spirit of Islam. [^2]: Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim Previous…