ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are very grateful to many people and institutions for the valu-
able help we have received, without which the completion of this
book would have been more difficult than it has already been. Of
those, we wish to highlight the following in particular.
We have received valuable help from the Institute of Middle
Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham University, United Kingdom
during the various stages of completing this work. To the Institute
and the University we are very grateful.
At Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, we are grateful to the
President of the university, Associate Professor Dr Boonsom Siribum-
rungsukha. We are particularly thankful for his support and encour-
agement in his continuous effort to make the university a national
and international centre of excellence in research and teaching. To
Dean of Faculty of Management Sciences, Director of College of
Islamic Studies and Head of Department of Islamic Studies at the
same college, we owe special thanks for their enthusiasm and encour-
agement and for providing the logistical support and study leave
needed for the completion of this work.
The assistance from library staffproved invaluable. To the library
staffat the University of Paisley, Scotland, the former place of work
of one of the authors, Durham University and the Prince of Songkla
University, at both Pattani and Hat Yai campuses, Thailand, we
extend a big thank you.
Our list of acknowledgement would not be complete without giv-
ing special thanks to Arthur Probsthain, Oriental bookseller and pub-
lisher, London, for their valuable help and assistance in coping with
our requests and in advising us on source material.