PRESS RECEPTION & DINNER LAUNCHES HADITH ENCYCLOPEDIA, CELEBRATES REVIVAL OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARSHIP & PRINTING ARTS

Cairo, October 24: A major accomplishment in the revival of Islamic scholarship and printing production was unveiled here at a launch of the 19-volume first collection of the Hadith Encyclopedia of the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation. The collection, a beautifully bound edition exquisitely typeset with digitally elaborated fonts based on those of the King Fu'ad Quran, recalls the splendor of authentic Arabic calligraphy.

This publication is the fruit of 15 years of editing, revision and research by a team of scholars supervised by Shaykh Dr. Ali Jum'a in his capacity as Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence at Azhar University. The Islamic Research Academy of Al Azhar has studied, approved and certified the entire work, which includes the seven great collections of hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Daud, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasa'i, Sunan Ibn Maja and the Muwatta' Malik) and a reprint of the one hundred year old Sultaniyya edition of Sahih al-Bukhari with its valuable marginal commentary. This is only the beginning; four new collections will be printed in 2002 and thereafter.

Shaykh Ali told a large gathering of diplomats, scholars, and journalists at the Cleopatra Ballroom of the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel that "every Muslim has always wanted to have everything that exists on earth about the Prophet." That is because the Sunna—the Traditions of the Prophet—are second only to the Quran as the core source of Islam. "Our effort is to gather all that material into one place," Shaykh Ali said, "with relatively easy access using modern technologies, in order to make that dream come true at a time when it is so very needed." Shaykh Ali demonstrated this with an on-screen presentation of the Foundation's revolutionary CD-ROM hadith database, with its various search capabilities, which is the 19th volume of the encyclopedia set.

Mr. Faarid Gouverneur, the chairman of Thesaurus Islamicus, noted that the Foundation is "reviving the relationship between the Living Tradition and the great number of manuscripts which in recent years has lain dormant, gathering dust and deteriorating in libraries throughout the Muslim world. These manuscripts represent the real wealth—the intellectual heritage—of the Islamic world. Our task is to disinter and resuscitate those many manuscripts which have reference to the field of Sunna."

"We hope our effort can be used as a model both in the East and West," Mr. Gouverneur said, "for reviving the authentic Islamic tradition in all fields."
Cambridge scholar and lecturer in Islamic Studies Dr.T.J. Winter said that scholars in both the West and East have been waiting for this moment. He noted that Cambridge University has committed to placing several sets of the Hadith Encyclopedia in its various libraries and has named the Foundation's chairman, Mr. Gouverneur, a Visiting Scholar, "in order to keep a direct relationship with this amazing and important project."

Shaykh Dr. Ahmed Ma'abed, Professor of Hadith Studies, Azhar University who is considered one of the world's greatest experts of Hadith, testified in his remarks to the accuracy of this "most painstaking and finely edited collection."
Also at the launch was Mr. Hermann Hoerl, director of Tradigital Stuttgart, who has worked closely with the Foundation and its corps of classical calligraphers to develop the final form of the digitalized typeface, based upon the fonts used for the King Fu'ad Edition of the Quran, which is generally acclaimed as the summit of Arabic calligraphy in typeface form. Mr. Hoerl demonstrated, using examples from the Tradigital website, the development of new designs based on ancient manuscripts.
In recognition of the historic importance of this event for Arabic publishing as well as Islamic heritage, Mr. Hani Tolba, managing director of Al Ahram Distribution Agency, which will be distributing the collection in Egypt; Mr. Ayman Al Sayyad, managing editor of Wijhat Nathar magazine; and Mr. Ibrahim al-Mouallam, head of the Arab Publishers Association and managing director of Dar al Shorouk Publishing participated in the launch.
 
•  Press Conference: Launching the Hadith Encyclopedia – October 24th 2001