WikiIslam:Citing, Linking, and Quoting

Inline Citations

All the information on WikiIslam, especially any statements which are likely to be challenged, must be appropriately referenced, and these references must be provided via inline citations. A general list of references at the bottom of a page is no use to readers because it does not tell them which particular statement they support.

Single Citation

An example of a reference being made on a page:

I'm about to give a reference.[1]

(article text)

(more article text)

References


  1. This is the Reference text at the bottom. Links can also be made here.

Here is what has to be typed:

I'm about to give a reference.<ref>This is the Reference text at the bottom. [http://links.sourceforge.net/ Links can also made here.]</ref>

Then at the end of the article, give a "References" heading and below that, write:

{{reflist}}

The wiki will automatically do everything else for you to make the reference. To edit the reference section produced at the bottom, edit the <ref> tags.

Multiple Citations

For multiple citations of the same reference or footnote, you can also use the name attribute by using:

<ref name="name here">details of the citation</ref>

Thereafter, the same footnote may be used multiple times by adding:

<ref name="name here"></ref>

Linking to External websites

Link rot is a commonly occurring phenomena where a working external website link becomes unavailable after some time. Link rot happens frequently. According to Wikipedia:

The 404 "Not Found" response is familiar to even the occasional Web user. A number of studies have examined the prevalence of link rot on the Web, in academic literature, and in digital libraries. In a 2003 experiment, Fetterly et al. discovered that about one link out of every 200 disappeared each week from the internet. McCown et al. (2005) discovered that half of the URLs cited in D-Lib Magazine articles were no longer accessible 10 years after publication, and other studies have shown link rot in academic literature to be even worse (Spinellis, 2003, Lawrence et al., 2001). Nelson and Allen (2002) examined link rot in digital libraries and found that about 3% of the objects were no longer accessible after one year.

Many of our sources are links to external websites so the preservation of the sources is important.

Also when citing references, it is important not to leave naked URLs. This is due to the nature of the Internet. Once a link becomes "broken" and is no longer available to view, it is essential that we have a record of what that link was referencing. For example, this link:

http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/Health/Article.aspx?id=184112

Should be referenced like this:

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich - Beduin doctor: Migraines common during Ramadan fast - The Jerusalem Post, August 9, 2010

Give it a try in the WikiIslam:Sandbox. If you want to make other kinds of references using this method, see the related WikiMedia page.

Multi-columned References

For ease of reading, when a page includes many citations, the standard {{reflist}} template should be replaced by {{Reflist|30em}} (for 20+ citations).

Islamic References

Templates make it easy to cite Islamic sources. For example, instead of finding the exact USC-MSA URL of a Qur'an verse or hadith, all that is needed is to type {{Muslim|7|88}} and the reference and link is automatically created.

The following are a list of templates that are available for use:

Referencing the Qur'an

Not all Qur'an-related templates are covered here. Refer to the Q section in Category:Templates for the full list.

Single Verse

To reference a verse from the Qur'an type: {{Quran|###|###}}

The first parameter is the chapter/surah number, while the second parameter is the verse number.

Multiple Verses

To reference multiple verses from the Qur'an type: {{Quran-range|###|###|###}}

The first parameter is the chapter/surah number, while the second parameter is the starting verse number, and the third parameter is the ending verse number.

Verse and Transliteration

To reference a verse from the Qur'an along with its Romanized transliteration type: {{Qtt|###|###}}

The first parameter is the chapter/surah number, while the second parameter is the verse number.

Referencing Bukhari

To reference a hadith from Bukhari type: {{Bukhari|###|###|###}} The first parameter is the volume number, the second parameter is the book number and the third parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Muslim

To reference a hadith from Muslim type: {{Muslim|###|###}}

The first parameter is the book number and the second parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Dawud

To reference a hadith from Dawud type: {{Abudawud|###|####}}

The first parameter is the book number and the second parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Muwatta

To reference a hadith from Malik's Muwatta type: {{Muwatta|###|###|###|}}

The first parameter is the book number, the second parameter is the section number and the third parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Tirmidhi

To reference a hadith from Tirmidhi type: {{Al Tirmidhi|###|###|###|###}}

The first parameter is the URL ending (book number), the second parameter is the volume number, the third parameter is the book number, and the forth parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Nasai

To reference a hadith from Nasai type: {{Al Nasai|###|###|###|###}}

The first parameter is the URL ending (book number), the second parameter is the volume number, the third parameter is the book number, and the forth parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Majah

To reference a hadith from Majah type: {{Ibn Majah|###|###|###|###}}

The first parameter is the URL ending (book number), the second parameter is the volume number, the third parameter is the book number, and the forth parameter is the narration number.

Referencing Tabari

To reference text from Tabari type: {{Tabari|###|###}}

The first parameter is the volume number and the second parameter is the page or page range. "p." or "pp." (whichever is applicable) will have to be typed in manually. For example, {{Tabari|4|p. 220}} or {{Tabari|4|pp. 220-221}}.

Examples

What is typed What it looks like
{{Quran|2|35}} Quran 2:35
{{Quran-range|2|35|36}} Quran 2:35-36
{{Qtt|2|35}} Qur'an Text/Transliteration 2:35
{{Bukhari|1|1|5}} Sahih Bukhari 1:1:5
{{Muslim|1|5}} Sahih Muslim 1:5
{{Abudawud|1|7}} Sunan Abu Dawud 1:7
{{Muwatta|1|1|5|}}

Al-Muwatta 1:5

In-Quote References

When quoting a source, type {{Quote|###|###}}

The first parameter is the reference for the text being quoted (this parameters can be left empty if references are being cited via ref tags). The second parameter is where the actual text is placed.

Islamic Texts

To quote an Islamic text, the relevant template for that particular text must be placed within the first parameter of the Quote box template.

Bold or italic emphasis may be added to quotations, but underlining and ALLCAPS should be avoided.

Examples

What is typed What it looks like
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|256}}|Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error...}}
Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error...
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|7|62|33}}|Narrated Usama bin Zaid: The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women."}}
Narrated Usama bin Zaid: The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women."


Use the Wiki Sandbox for testing it out.

See Also