ভূমিকা

Be now and at all times for your representative Hazrat Hojjat-Ibnil-Hasan (may your blessings be upon him and his ancestors), a mastr, protector, guide, helper, proof, and guard, until he resides peacefully on the earth, and let him enjoy (your bounties) for a long time (to come)." ***** In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful The current book is the English translation of Muntakhab al-athar, which is probably the largest single collection of traditions about the Mahdi, peace be on him.

The text used for this translation is the printed edition of Salmān Fārsī publications, 1422 AH. The following notes should be considered regarding this translation: All verses of the Quran appear in boldface. The words between square brackets are usually additions added by the translator/editor to make the translation of the traditions more expressive. Sometimes, square brackets have been used for the purpose of showing differences in different manuscripts.

Some small sections from the original book have been omitted in the translation. These were mostly explanations by the author about not-so-common Arabic words used in the traditions. The results of these explanations have been incorporated in the translated text and have been used to select suitable equivalent English words. Other sections that have been omitted were mostly minor variations in the wordings of the traditions that the author had pointed to in the footnotes.

Since these variations usually had the same meaning in English they have not been mentioned. Occasionally, the authors explanations have been slightly altered or shortened to make them more fluent in English. Verses of the Quran have mostly been translated by the editor (unless otherwise mentioned). All instances of ‘ibn’ (meaning son of) have been written as ‘b.’ except in places where ‘ibn’ is not preceded by a proper noun, e.g. ibn Qutayba.