WikiIslam:Writing Style Guide
It is often difficult for new editors at WikiIslam to understand what is or is not appropriate within articles. This page expands on the site's policies and guidelines concerning style, tone and content of its articles by providing a visual guide for editors.
Standardized Spellings
There are many acceptable phonetic spellings for different words that are translated or transliterated into English. However, WikiIslam editors should standardize spelling to use throughout the wiki. The following is a list of required spelling standardizations. Note: You should not standardize spelling in quotations, leave the quoted text as originally written. This table is subject to change to accommodate new words.
WikiIslam Standard | Proper Noun | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Allah | Yes | God of the Quran |
Quran | Yes | Central religious text (Holy book) of Islam |
Hadith | No | Notable collections of words, actions, approvals and disapprovals of Muhammad during his life |
Muhammad | Yes | Prophet of Islam |
Abu Bakr | Yes | First caliph and best friend of Muhammad |
Umar (ibn al-Khattab) | Yes | Second caliph and senior companion of Muhammad |
Uthman (ibn Affan) | Yes | Third caliph, second cousin, and son-in-law of the Muhammad |
Ali (ibn-Abi Talib) | Yes | Fourth caliph and Muhammad’s son-in-law |
Tafsir | No | Exegesis – scholarly commentary on the Quran and hadith |
Mufassir | No | Author of a Tafsir |
Sunni | Yes | One of the two main branches of Islam |
Shia | Yes | One of the two main branches of Islam |
Aisha (bint Abu Bakr) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives, daughter of Abu Bakr |
Khadijah (bint Khuwaylid) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Sawda (bint Zam’a) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Hafsa (bint Umar) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Zaynab (bint Khuzayma) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Hind (bint Abi Umayya) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Rayhana (bint Zayd) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Zaynab (bint Jahsh) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Juwayriyya (bint al-Harith) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Safiyya (bint Huyeiy) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Ramla (bint Abi Sufyan) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Maria al-Qibtiyya | Yes | One of Muhammad’s sex slaves / concubines |
Maymuna (bint al-Harith) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Juwayriyya (bint al-Harith) | Yes | One of Muhammad’s wives |
Fatimah | Yes | Muhammad’s youngest daughter, wife of Ali ibn-Abi Talib |
Ahmadiyya | Yes | Islamic revival sect founded in Punjab |
al-Bukhari | Yes | Islamic scholar who authored what is considered to be the most authentic hadith collection |
al-Tabari | Yes | Islamic foremost Mufassir |
al-Jalalayn | Yes | Classical tafsir of the Quran composed by Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli |
al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah | Yes | Biography of Muhammad |
Jannah | No | Heaven |
Jahanam | No | Hell |
Huri | No | Heavenly virgins |
Istishhad | No | Martyrdom |
Shahid | No | Muslim martyr |
Mecca | Yes | Holy city of Islam |
Hajj | No | Greater holy pilgrimage in Islam |
Umrah | No | Lesser holy pilgrimage in Islam |
Kaaba | Yes | Building at the center of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Direction of Muslim prayers and destination of pilgrimage |
Khitan | No | Circumcision |
Najis | No | Ritually unclean or impure physically or spiritually |
Fiqh | No | Islamic jurisprudence |
Sahih | No | The denotation of a hadith is “authentic” |
Hasan | No | The denotation of a hadith as “good” |
Da’if | No | The denotation of a hadith as “weak” |
Mutawatir | No | Hadith with multiple narrators |
Ahaad | No | Non-Mutawatir hadith, usually narrated by one narrator |
Sharia | No | Islamic canonical law based on Islamic scriptures |
Hanafi | Yes | One of four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence |
Maliki | Yes | One of four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence |
Shafi’i | Yes | One of four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence |
Ja’fari | Yes | The religious Shia Islamic school of jurisprudence |
Fatwa | No | Non-binding but authoritative legal ruling issued by qualified jurist |
Sheikh | No | Honorific title for knowledgeable Islamic clergyman. |
Imam | No | Someone who leads prayer |
Mufti | No | Someone who can give jurisprudence judgements on religious matters |
Ayatollah | No | Honorific title of Shia religious leader |
Halal | No | Permissible in Islam |
Haram | No | Impermissible in Islam |
Makruh | No | Religiously disliked |
Kafir | No | Infidel |
Shirk | No | Idolatry or polytheism |
Mushrik | No | Someone who commits shirk |
Mulhid | No | Apostate, heretic, or atheist |
Murtad | No | Denier (of Islam) |
Aqidah | No | Creed |
Zakat | No | Obligatory charity based on % wealth |
Dawah | No | Islamic proselytizing |
Examples
The following tables provide examples of correct and incorrect style, tone and content. All of these examples are genuine edits that were either reverted or amended. Note that there may be some overlap in examples, and a sentence having an issue corrected does not mean the remaining sentence is free from error (it may have multiple issues).
Style & Tone
Content
Presentation of Facts
Honorifics
This page explains polices concerning honorifics
Prophet, Christ or Lord
When discussing the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the first mention in an article and its conclusion should begin with the capitalized qualifier, Prophet, i.e. "The Prophet Muhammad". The same applies to any personal noun such as Jesus or Ganesha, (i.e. Jesus Christ" or "Lord Ganesha). This is because we need to be clear that we are discussing the religious figures named Muhammad, Jesus or Ganesha, and not another individual. Referring to Jesus as "Jesus Christ" does not make one a Christian, nor does referring to Muhammad as "Prophet Muhammad" make one a Muslim.
Shaykh, Imam, Saint or Doctor
Due to similar reasons, at least the first mention in an article should include the individual's religious title. For example, "Imam Bukhari" or "Shaykh Qaradawi". This is no different than referring to a saint or doctor as "Saint Patrick" or "Dr. Phil".
SAW, SWT, He, Him or Her
WikiIslam aims to be an objective platform, therefore additional religious honorifics such as "Muhammad (saw)" or "Allah (swt)" are not permitted in articles. The same applies to using an uppercase "H" in words such as "he", "him" or "her" in reference to deities of any religion. An exception to this rule would be the talk pages where users are free to use whatever form they feel comfortable with.
See Also
External Links
- Guidelines for Effective Professional and Academic Writing - University of Florida, Reviewed January 2013 (archived), http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc063