Product Information
Year of Publication: 2001
Technical requirements
Windows XP, 2000, or Arabic enabled Windows 95, 98, or ME edition
Pentium processor, 32MB of free RAM memory, 170MB of free hard disk memory
800x600 minimum screen resolution
THE HADITH DATABASE CD-ROM
The Encyclopaedia of Hadith
The Hadith Database is also available as a stand-alone product on
The Introduction is comprised of a description of our project and an abridgement of the Muqaddimah of Ibn Salah which is an introduction to the sciences of hadith.
SPECIAL FEATURES OF
THE HADITH DATABASE CD-ROM
1. Printing
The user of the database may save the data collected either to paper or to word processing files. This data may include lists of references as well as the vocalised texts of the hadiths themselves.
2. The 'Add to favourites' function
This function allows the user at any point in his searching to seamlessly add any hadith or other reference to a favourites list simply by a right-click of the mouse.
At the end of his searching he can print out or save this favourites or reference list for use later or for looking up the references in the printed hadith volumes.
3. Choosing a Search Range
The high-speed search algorithm facilities are rendered more efficient still by selecting the hadith collection or collections in which the search is to be made.
4. Searching the Database
Any word, or series of letters or numbers, can be the basis of a search. The programme displays the number of ‘hits’, and also allows the user to make simultaneous searches for separate items. Double-clicking on the segment of text found brings up the entire vocalised hadith.
The following search types are available in the computer database:
- Quranic Verses
These may be searched for by either sura name or number. - Atraf
Searching by these key phrases is easier than searching the entire database, and also yields information on similar but not identical material. - Hadith Qudsi (hadiths spoken by God)
Rapid searches of the entire Hadith Qudsi content of the Database are possible under this head. - 'Famous Hadiths' (al-ahadith al-musamma)
This index allows a hadith to be located by the name by which it is popularly known. - Poetry
Arabic poetic quotations appearing in the Hadith Database may be located readily by entering part of the poem, or the name of the poet or narrator. - Place Names
Searches may be made for the names of cities, seas, mountains and other geographical features. - Numbers
Any number or fraction appearing in the Database can be accessed using this function. - Peoples and Tribes
- Proper Names
Any individual named in the text, even very briefly, can be located and identified by his full name. Integration of information from the commentaries means that individuals referred to in hadith texts simply as ‘so-and-so’ can also be fully identified.
- Subject Headings
Rapid searches can be made of the names of topics appearing in chapter headings in the hadith collections.
- Historical Events
- Unusual (gharib) Words
The Database allows the user to access information from the commentaries and the dictionaries when encountering unusual Arabic words in a hadith.
- Isnad (chain of transmission)
The Hadith Database makes available a series of operations which facilitate study of this characteristic feature of the literature. For instance, where a single narrator is identified using different forms of his name, these are all identifiable by the system as referring to the same individual. It is also possible to create graphic representations of the relationships between teachers and their pupils.
- Hadith Assessment
Where the compiler of a hadith collection has himself passed judgment on the reliability of a text or an individual narrator, this is indicated in the Database. The system allows several ways of sorting and displaying this information, so that, for instance, all the judgments on or by a named individual may be displayed together.