WikiIslam:Citing, Linking, and Quoting

This protocol will explain where, when, and why editors must cite, link, and quote their sources. For source editing and how to use related templates please go to the WikiIslam:Formatting page.

Citing

Any claim or material that is likely to be challenged must be cited. All claims must be supported by scholarly sources and not reliant solely on reasoning provided by editors. We should strive to be as objective, and fact-centered as possible.

All sources must be third-party published sources, and must avoid tabloid and unreliable sources. Sources must verify the claim being made, and must not be copy-pasted from it unless it is being quoted. Cite in MLA or APA format when possible unless you are citing direct Islamic scriptures.

The standard method of citing in Wikiislam is with a footnote at the end of the sentence and after the punctuation where the claim it supports appears. More than one citation may be necessary if the claim is heavily disputed or controversial.

Example of weak citing:

"Leaving his wife and children behind during the month of Ramadan, the now wealthy Muhammad would often fall back to a cave located at the summit of Mount Hira, just outside Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz, where he fasted and prayed. According to Islamic belief, when he was about forty years old (610 AD) he was visited by the Angel Gabriel (جبريل Jibreel) and commanded to recite verses sent by Allah. These verses would later become what is believed to be the first part of Sura 96. This experience frightened him, and originally thinking he was possessed by a demon, he became suicidal. According to Sahih Bukhari:"

Amended version:

"The begginings of the Qur'an were conceived as Muhammad began to leave his wife and children to pray alone in a cave several weeks each year.^[1]^[2] According to Islamic belief, when he was about forty years old (610 AD) he was visited by the Angel Gabriel (جبريل Jibreel) and commanded to recite verses sent by Allah.^[3] These verses would later become what is believed to be the first part of Sura 96.^[4] This experience frightened him, and originally thinking he was possessed by a demon, he became suicidal. According to Sahih Bukhari^[5] After this first 'revelation' no new ones came for a time, but then after a long period they started up again and continued at a steady rate till his death. The collection of these verses is known as the Qur'an.^[6]"

Citing Formats

Quran

Full Verse(s) in English - Only use the translations of Pickthall, Yusuf Ali, or Sahih International. Generally, you should use the most accurate translation of the relevant Arabic words.
Using Quran templates will cite and link automatically (See here and here)
Chapter (A) and verse (B) numbers will appear in “Quran A:B” format
Example: Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar Qur’an 108:1

Hadith:

Using hadith templates for appropriate collection will cite and link automatically (See here)
Quote the full Hadith in English
Where applicable Use USC-MSA web (English) reference

For certain hadith collections where USC-MSA is unavailable use the reference system suggested for each collection here (or one of the listed alternatives if necessary). These correspond to the reference systems selected by default for each collection on QuranX.
Some hadiths may be long - it is acceptable to bold the relevant information to the claim within the hadith. If the hadith is very long, it may be acceptable to place [...] at the beginning and end of an extract.
Always test generated links. If there is a problem read the relevant template page. Use the reference numbers as found on QuranX if they differ from sunnah.com. The latter has many numbering mistakes, corrected on QuranX.
Example: Narrated 'Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death). Sahih Bukhari 7:62:64

Citing in Relevant Quotations Section

Do not cite in the “Relevant Quotations” section of any article. This section is only for quotes from direct Islamic scriptures. When a single source makes more than one claim they should be listed as separate citations. If two sources make the same claim you should pick the more reliable source.

Mediums

Book

Lane’s Lexicon (For Terms)

Word being termed in both original and English language
“Lane’s Lexicon” linked to appropriate pdf page file on (http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/)
page number (not pdf file number)
Example: مَهْدً mahdan - Lane's Lexicon, p.2739

Other Books - In APA or MLA format

Name of author(s) (mandatory)
Title of book in italics (mandatory)
Translated title of book in square brackets after the title if not in English (optional)
Volume when appropriate
Name of publisher (mandatory)
City of publication, e.g. London: Routledge (optional)
Year of publication of the edition you are citing
Original year of publication in square brackets, e.g. 2017 [1972] (optional)
Chapter or page numbers cited, if appropriate
Edition, if not the first edition
ISBN (optional)

Article

Name of the author(s) (mandatory)
Title of the article within quotation marks (mandatory)
Year
Name of the journal in italics (mandatory)
Volume number, issue number, and page numbers

Web page

URL (mandatory)
Name of the author(s) (mandatory)
Title of the article within quotation marks (mandatory)
Title or domain name of the website
Publisher, if known
Date of publication
Page number(s) (if applicable)
Date retrieved (or accessed) the web page (required if the publication date is unknown)

Video

Director (mandatory)
Producer, if relevant (mandatory)
Names of major performers
Title of the episode in quotation marks (mandatory)
Title of the film or TV series in italics
Name of the studio (mandatory)
Year of release
Medium (for example: film, videocassette, DVD)
Approximate time at which event or point of interest occurs, where appropriate

Music/Sound

Composer(s), songwriter(s), script writer(s), etc… (mandatory)
Performer(s) (mandatory)
Title of the song or individual track in quotation marks (mandatory)
Title of the album in italics (if applicable)
Name of the record label
Year of release
Medium (for example: LP, audio cassette, CD, MP3 file)
Approximate time at which event or point of interest occurs, where appropriate

Linking

Linking is a way to connect Wikiislam pages within the text. If there exists a page on a subject that is brought up within an article it is encouraged to link the page within the text. However, over-linking can be distracting. By rule of thumb only link the first occurrence of the subject being mentioned in the article.

You can link a subject by enclosing it in double brackets [[X]]

Quoting

Using the quote template can provide useful information from primary sources in a direct manner. However too many of them will cause unnecessary clutter in the page. Unless absolutely necessary to keep the flow of the article, do not use the quote template outside the “Relevant Quotations” section. (See Structure Protocol for more details)

The “Relevant Quotations” section will contain the direct relevant quotations from primary scriptures such as Qur’an and hadith. These will only be in quotation template format.

If you must reference something to support a claim, cite it in a footnote. If you must quote a published work outside of the “Relevant Quotations” section use quotation marks and incorporate the quote into the text and include a footnote citation at the end. It may also be justifiable, to highlight a certain quote within the main text if, for instance, the quote is lengthy or includes a bulleted list - if so please use the “Quote” template. Include a footnote citation at the end either way, and remember that incorporating a quote into the text directly (as shown below) is preferred when possible.

Example of cluttered formatting:

Shaykh Gibril Haddad says that the evidence Amjad provided above is false.

Al-Tabari nowhere reports that "Abu Bakr's four children were all born in Jahiliyya" but only that Abu Bakr married both their mothers in Jahiliyya, Qutayla bint Sa`d and Umm Ruman, who bore him four children in all, two each, `A'isha being the daughter of Umm Ruman.

Gibril Haddad