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If anything is unclear, or if you need instructions for a specific guideline, please do not hesitate to email the editors

at editors.islamica@gmail.com

Editing Process ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Standardized Spellings ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

Standardized Translations ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Capitalization .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Suffixes of Reverence ............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Dating ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Formatting Guidelines ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

References (Using the Chicago Manual of Style) .................................................................................................................. 6

Writing Tips ........................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Common Writing Issues and Errors ...................................................................................................................................... 9

Proofreading ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10

Transliteration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Transliteration Guidelines ................................................................................................................................................... 12

Troublesome Letters ........................................................................................................................................................... 13

Inserting Shortcut Keys ....................................................................................................................................................... 14

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Beginning in Stage 2, all changes should be tracked using the “Tracking Changes” feature in MS Word.

For common terms, no transliteration is necessary. Please use the spellings as outlined below. For any cities or

countries, please use standardized spellings as well, even if they are not listed below (like Kashan, Najaf, Tehran, Isfahan,

etc.)

*Note: To make things easier, please open this document and add all words to your dictionary in MS Word

Mullah Allamah Muhammad (s)

Fatimah (a) Ali ibn Abi Talib (a) Hasan ibn Ali (a)

Husayn ibn Ali (a) Zayn al-Abideen (a) Muhammad al-Baqir (a)

Jafar al-Sadiq (a) Musa al-Kadhim (a) Ali al-Ridha (a)

Muhammad al-Taqi (a) Ali al-Naqi (a) Hasan al-Askari (a)

! (a) Responding to comments and concerns of editors

(b) Approving all changes and ensuring that no misunderstandings have occured and that all changes have maintained your intended meaning

(c) Crucial in ensuring validity and a good article: Your co-operation in responding is vital.

Primarily for writing style and focusing on the authors' writing technique.

Primarily for English mistakes, grammar, formatting and transliateration

Self-Editing and Proofreading

* Most CRUCIAL stage to a good article! *

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These words will have standardized spellings and also standardized translations. These will also link to another page

with more information on each term.

Standardized Term Standardized Translation marja al-taqlid scholar of reference darse-kharij advanced level of studies in jurisprudence Fiqh jurisprudence

Usul principles of jurisprudence Tafsir Qur’anic exegesis madressa or maktab school wilayat al-faqih the rule of the jurisprudent Ahl al-Bayt the family of the Prophet Muhammad (s), revered

by Shias.

Shahadat martyrdom

Hajj Islamic pilgrimage

Ziyarat religious visitation

dua supplication

Kalam theology

shahid martyr

Ulama scholars

Surah Chapter

Ayah Verse or sign (depending on context)

hadith tradition

wilayat guardianship

Imamate leadership

Muhammad al-Mahdi (a) Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeini

Khamenei Sayyid Agha

Islam Islamic Qur’an

Qur’anic Shia/s Shiism

Sunni Ahl al-Bayt Muharram

Safar Rabi al-Awwal Rabi al-Thani

Jamadi al-Awwal Jamadi al-Thani Rajab

Shaban Ramadhan Shawwal

Dhu al-Qa’dah Dhu al-Hijjah Imam

Shaykh Shahid

Please note: Terms that are not listed here will not have a translation, and will remain italicized and will link to

another page for explanation. This is for terms like taqlid and ijtihad. Please highlight these terms.

Only include the translations once under each section/subheader, not every time the word is mentioned. For

italicizing the terms, only do so the first few times under each section.

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Prophets

(s)

• The names of the Prophets will be followed by (s).

• Ex. Prophet Muhammad (s), Prophet Yunus (s), the Prophet (s)

Imams and Lady Fatimah

(a)

• The names of the Imams (a) and Lady Fatimah (a) will be followed by (a).

• Ex. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a), Lady Fatimah (a)

Other Ulama

• No suffixes of reverance will be used for ulama

Please note that academic subjects and areas of study should NOT be capitalized, only subjects with proper nouns

(the name of a language, person, place etc.) should be capitalized. So usul al-fiqh will be translated as “principles of

jurisprudence” etc. with no capitalization.

It is extremely mustahab to include terms of reverence for the Ahl al-Bayt and the Prophets. Even though we want

the Islamica to be academic to some degree, it is nevertheless important to include these suffixes of reverence.

We will only be referring to Common Era (C.E.) and After Hijrah (A.H.) dates. We will not be referring to the Iranian

calendar. If citing both dates, insert the Hijri date into brackets. Please include the relevant abbreviations after every

date.

Ex. In 1543 C.E. (92 A.H.), the men went to war.

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Please conform to the following formatting standards:

Spelling Standards:

* Transliteration Guidelines for Arabic and foreign words (as dictated by Br. Asim)

* English U.S. standard

* Follow exceptions noted above.

Default Formatting:

* Times New Roman

* Size 11

* Double-spaced. (No spacing before and after paragraphs).

Main Title Formatting:

* Size 14

* Bolded

* Leave one blank line underneath

Subheaders:

* Size 11

* Bolded

* Leave one blank line before and after each subheader/section

Italicization:

* Names of Books: Ex. Tafsir al-Mizan is a good book.

* Foreign (Arabic or Farsi) words: Ex. The science of tafsir is important.

Quotations:

* Short quotations (less than 4 lines) can be put into regular quotation marks. Ex. "..."

* Long quotations (longer than 4 lines) can be put into block quotation format:

- single-spaced

- 0.5 in indent on each side

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We will be using the Chicago Manual of Style format in order to format our references, which will be included in

manually inserted footnotes. Do not use the MS Word feature for footnotes.

General Notes:

- The first line of each reference should be indented (i.e. press tab, a space of 0.5 in).

- Omit the word “The” from Journals and Newspapers

- All reference dates should be C.E.

Reference Footnote/Endnote

Book (with one author) 1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of

publication), page number. 2. Allamah Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan (Qom: Maaref Publications, 2000), 4567.

Book (with two authors) 1. Firstname Lastname and Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place

of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.

Insert the reference to your footnote inside square brackets, inside the sentence.

Ex.: He said that the sky was beautiful [1].

Insert your footnote at the bottom of the document (NOT in a footer), under the header "Endnotes" with correct formatting, and the first line indented. This section

is single-spaced.

Ex.:

1. The Qur’an, trans. Ali Quli Qara’i (London: ICAS Press, 2004), http://www.al-quran.info .

General Book Model

1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page

number.

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2. Scott Lash and John Urry, Economies of Signs & Space (London: SAGE

Publications, 1994), 241-51.

Book (with three or more authors)

1. Firstname Lastname et al., Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of

publication), page number. 2. Scott Lash et al., Economies of Signs & Space (London: SAGE Publications, 1994),

241-51.

Website/ Web page 1. Firstname Lastname, “Title of Web Page,” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics, publication date and/or access date if available, URL.

2. Sayyid Ali Khamenei, "Practical Laws of Islam: Shaving the Beard," The Office of the Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei, accessed June 2, 2012, http://www.leader.ir/tree/index.php?catid=23.

Books in several volumes

1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book, Volume # (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.

2. Allamah Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 5 (Qom: Maaref Publications, 2000),

4567.

Books published/accessed online

1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book, (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), URL.

1. Grant Ian Thrall, Land Use and Urban Form (New York: Methuen, 1987),

http://www.rri.wvu.edu/WebBook/Thrallbook/Land%20Use%20and%20Urban%20Form.pdf.

Books accessed with software/CD-ROM/DVD

1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book, (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number, ___ Software.

2. Allamah Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 5 (Qom: Maaref Publications, 2000),

4567, Noor Software CD-ROM.

Journal 1. Firstname Lastname, “Title of Article,” Name of Journal Volume #, Issue no. 4 (Year): Page #.

2. Susan Peck MacDonald, “The Erasure of Language,” College Composition and

Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 619.

Newspaper 1. Firstname Lastname, “Title of Article,” Name of Newspaper (City Name), Date. 1. Nisha Deo, “Visiting Professor Lectures on Photographer,” Exponent (West

Lafayette, IN), Feb. 13, 2009.

For references not here, please visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/1/

Repeated References

If you are citing the same source right after one another, you can use the word “Ibid.” along with the page number. If the page number is also the same, just write “Ibid.”

Example:

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1. Allamah Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 5 (Qom: Maaref Publications, 2000), 4567, Noor Software CD-ROM.

2. Ibid, 45. 3. Ibid.

If you cite the same article more than once, you can shorten subsequent references to the following:

o Last name, Title, page number.

o Ex. Tabatabai, Al-Mizan, 589.

1. Try to create an outline before writing- this means having subsections and using as many bullet points as

possible so that they can be transformed into paragraphs. It is good to have structure to the article, so that

people can find what they are looking for easily and so that it’s not overwhelming to read.

2. Use transitions: referring back to the sentence before will really help to provide structure to your writing and

make it easier to follow and read. Try to make this a reality throughout your writing.

3. Avoid using archaic terms that only translations use. They make the article painful to read, as it sounds as though

it is from the 1800s.

4. Do NOT directly translate: make sure you paraphrase and change the way your references have written their

pieces. The style and form of writing in Farsi does NOT translate well into English… it actually doesn’t transfer at

all.

5. Always try to use more than three sources. If you don’t have references… FIND them. It’s not a research article

or research if you have used one book. Look through the bibliography of the book you’re reading to find more

resources. (Please check with the team leader or whoever to make sure they are good resources).

6. References: Everything needs to be referenced and footnoted- everything, including any and all quotes and

main points. Links should be provided to online works where relevant. Anything not referenced should be

deleted (especially quotes).

7. Don’t use more words than necessary. This is a huge problem (that many of us have) but try to make your

writing as concise as possible. It makes it easier and more pleasant to read. Beware of redundancy!

8. Use different sentence structures. Not “He was born, He did, He left, He studied etc.”. It’s not the most

interesting material to read if presented in that way. Also, don’t use too many pronouns. Make sure to repeat

the name of the scholar or subject and use that interchangeably with ‘he’.

9. Try to reference your information and be as detailed as possible.

10. While the writing should be simple enough for a generally uneducated audience, it should also be to some level

professional and academic. Try to read various news sites in English (originally English, not translated) and good

academic articles (Not sure how many people have access to JSTOR and Academic Journals), but they are

excellent to read. Reading academic and good writing will allow you to improve your writing. Living in Iran

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causes us to lose our English, and therefore, it is incredibly important to work on maintaining and improving it.

Please do not read horrible translations, as this will not improve your English, and instead, will make it worse.

You can also read news articles (Counterpunch and Al Jazeera English often have good contributors, though I

know they are not the best politically). Unfortunately, Press TV (the website and written articles) does not have

the best English.

11. If you’re serious about your writing and improving it, you should go through the OWL Purdue website. There is

an Online Writing Lab that is excellent and goes through writing techniques and common errors. Reading,

understanding, and implementing these will improve your writing exponentially. This is the link:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/

• This includes helpful tips on which tense to write in, how to fix awkward structures, and misusing a few different types of words:

• http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/newsat/chapter7section5.rhtml

• Especially read section 5 on wordiness.

Various Writing Tips

• Ex. Than/then, theirs/they’re, it’s/its, except/accept, etc.

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/660/01/

Words that sound the same

•The comma is often used incorrectly. This is a powerpoint presentation going through the usage of the comma: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/692/01/

•We will be using the Oxford Comma (this can be explained later to those who don’t know) Commas

•Cohesion means to get some sort of flow in your writing. There are a few simple strategies that can be used in sentences in order to achieve this. This is a good compilation of a few of them: http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp1/coherent.htm

•General tips on cohesion: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/04/

Achieving Cohesion

•Tips on proofreading: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/2/ Proofreading

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- Proofreading (self-editing) can be a long and tiresome process, especially after you’ve spent so long writing

the actual article. However, it’s necessary. Try to take a two-day break from the article—48 hours in which

you do not even LOOK at the article. Come back to the article with a fresh perspective, and be as critical as

possible.

- Read out loud. It helps to identify awkward sentence structures.

- Try to get a family member or friend to look over it before sending it in as well. Every person that edits

makes the job easier and the writing better. Publishers often go through hundreds of edits before

something gets published. Remember, this is a professional project and we want it to be the BEST that it can

be and something people will be impressed with.

- Ask yourself the following questions about the sentences:

1. Does it make sense? Does it sound a little odd?

2. Does it flow or are the sentences too choppy?

3. Is it boring? Is there a variety of sentence structures?

4. Can the sentence be shorter? Are there too many words?

5. Is anything redundant?

6. If I was a non-Muslim, would this article make sense to me?

7. Do I sound biased?

8. Have I embellished and used too many adjectives?

9. Could I use a quote or reference another source?

10. Could I add more details to explain my point and make it stronger?

11. Is the subject clear? Is it clear who is being talked about in the sentence or have too many pronouns

been used?

12. Is everything in the same tense?

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What is transliteration?

It is taking words from one language and entering them into another without translating them. It ensures that the letters of the new language are set in a manner that the word can be pronounced correctly.

Example: Shahīd , Shāhid, Marja‘, Makrūh, etc.

Why do we need it?

If we want to search the name of a book or name of a person or thing, we need to know how exactly it is spelled. We cannot do that without transliteration. Example: Is

the word Halabi هلبي or حلبي. This is

especially important when we want to check the original Arabic or Farsi sources. Without it, the text or word would have little academic value, and could be confused with other terms.

Where will we use it on The Islamica?

We will not be using it inside the body of an article because people usually do not search on google in transliterated texts. We will however make a list of all the terms used in the article that need transliteration and provide a table at the bottom. If you can create this table for all of the foreign words that you use in your article, that would be ideal.

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Please follow the following transliteration guidelines. A table with the most troublesome letters follow this table.

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Arabic Letter Correct

Uppercase

Correct

Lowercase

Examples Common

Mistake

-- Z z Zayd, Zuhd ز

Dh dh Dhu al-Ḥijjah Often spelt with ذ

Z: Zul Hijjah

Ḍ ḍ Riḍa, Qāḍī, Qaḍa ض

prayers

Often spelt with

Z: Qaza, Reza

Ẓ ẓ Ẓuhr, Ẓuhūr Often spelt with ظ

z (without the

dot)

-- H h Hārūn, Hamzah ه

Ḥ ḥ Ḥayḍ, Ḥāfiẓ Often spelt with ح

h (without the

dot)

-- S s Salīm, Sāriq س

,Ṣ ṣ Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī ص

Ṣādiq, Ṣirāt

Often spelt with s

(without the dot)

,Th th Thaqalayn ث

Thābit

Often spelt with

s, such as

Saqalayn

,Q q Qāsim, Qirā’ah ق

Qiṣas, Qaḍa,

Qum

Often spelt with

Gh (especially in

Iranian circles)

K k Kashf, Insān ك

Kāmil, Malakūt

--

Gh gh Ghadīr, Gharīb Often spelt with غ

Q (especially in

Iranian circles)

Qirā’ah, Often spelt with ’ ’ ء

a and ‘

,Allāmah Ḥillī‘ ‘ ‘ ع

Mi‘rāj al-

Sa‘ādah,

‘Abdullah, ‘Ayn

al-Yaqīn

Often spelt with

a and ’

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1. Click on the insert tab

2. Click on ‘Symbol’

3. Click on ‘More Symbols’

4. Ensure the font chosen is ‘Times New Roman’

5. Scroll down and find the symbol you are search for. Click on it and click on the shortcut key button

at the bottom.

6. I recommend using the Alt + the letter at hand. For example, for ā, use alt+a as the shortcut key.