The
Encyclopaedia of the Quran is one of UCI library publishings. It contains a five volume set
with Index (Online: http://uclibs.org/PID/113653 and print: LL Ref BP133 E64 2001). There are over 1000 entries alphabetically listed having to do with Quranic Studies which include: terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis. Included are even terms having to do with Linguistical aspects of the Quran. Many of the entries have lengthy articles which make this a good resource for students and those starting research on the Quran and various aspects of Islam (e.g. Hadith (Sayings of Muhammad), 21p. and Prayer, 17 p.). Good bibliographies are provided that give both Primary and Secondary sources). A list of abbreviations, authors, and a short title list are provided in each volume in the print version. In the online version each of these lists is combined with their corresponding lists in all the volumes to produce 1 set of 3 lists. The print index has an Author list (lists entries written by the author), Article List, Index of Proper Names. When one searches a term in this
encyclopedia in the online version one sometimes gets a higher number of results than in the print Index of Proper Names. One can search occurrences of Arabic words by typing them into the search box (es) or by using the print Index of Arabic Words and Phrases. The print version has an Index of the Quran Citations that are in this encyclopedia. Getting Started: This resource can be found in the ANTPAC catalog, on the Religious Studies Subject Guide, and on the EResources Locator page.
Online Version: Cross Searching available on the Brill interface for the “Encyclopedia of the Quran”, “Encyclopedia of Islam”, and the “Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures”. Articles can be searched in a list A-Z or in a browse list by term. One can browse all three of the encyclopedias at the same time. A Simple Search box is provided on the front page to search this title only or all three of the above encyclopedias. Simple
Boolean searches can be conducted here. If you search using the root of a word all forms will be retrieved. The number of hits for each encyclopedia is listed. But when opening an entry all links within are linked only to the product that the entry resides in. The word count for articles is listed. The term searched will be in a yellow box wherever it occurs in an article. The terms in blue in the articles link to other entries which is useful. Articles had a table of contents so one can jump to a desired section.
Links to all related articles are listed on the left. Each article provides a citation to the online version.
Some problems with reproducing the spelling of terms, transliteration and diacritics in the online version. To solve this one has to have one of the following fonts installed e.g. Gentium, Arial Unicode MS, and Lucida Sans Unicode. Terms can be searched with or without accents. Standard search functions work for this encyclopedia including Boolean. Truncation, and Phrase. Proximity searches use the symbol ~ (e.g. the query "adam eve"~3 will match the two terms within 3 words of each other). Fuzzy searches use the symbol ~ (e.g. grammer~ will match grammar, and Jeddah~ will match Jedda.). The Advanced Search has the option to input Greek, Standard, or Cyrillic characters and there is a virtual keyboard
that has the needed symbols. Required = And, Optional = Or, Exclude = Not When searching parts of the Quran one can search by Sura and Verse such as “1:1” (The first verse in Chapter 1 of the, Quran;
Surat Al-Fatiha). In the advanced search one can pick the Quranic Citation search in the dropdown menu.
Need Help: There is a help link at the top of the page. Print: Regular printing methods work. Good Use: Defining terms, can search using Arabic or English, can find major authors in the field, find related terms
on topics that can be in English or Arabic, and can find basic explanations of major Quranic verses etc.
When finished using this Encyclopedia one can expand a search in the ATLA Religion Database or the Index Islamicus. If one finds good sources/authors in this resource then search them in the ANTPAC catalog. A Good example searching all three products: Humanities Core Q about the “Eid” (festivity or celebration) having to do with Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca). The festival is Eid al-Adha or Id al-Adha.
Sheila Smyth, Research Librarian for German, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Logic & Philosophy of Science.