Al | Maktaba Shamela

Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela (The Comprehensive Library), or "Shamela," is a free, digital Arabic library software widely used by students and researchers of Islamic sciences. It provides access to thousands of digitized primary and secondary texts, ranging from Quranic sciences and Hadith to Arabic history and poetry. Getting Started

Legal & Licensing

• Access: Freely accessible; content provenance varies. Some texts are public domain, others may be scanned from modern prints — check each work’s copyright status if reusing or republishing.
• Attribution: Properly cite original authors and editions when known.

• Hadith (Prophetic traditions) – Including all six major canonical collections (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, etc.) with multiple commentaries.
• Tafsir (Quranic exegesis) – From Al-Tabari’s 30-volume Jami al-Bayan to modern works.
• Fiqh (Jurisprudence) – Covering all four major Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali) as well as comparative fiqh.
• Arabic Language (Grammar, morphology, lexicons) – Including Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur.
• History and Biographies (Tarikh and Siyar) – Such as Ibn Kathir’s Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya and Al-Dhahabi’s Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’.
• Aqidah (Creed) and other theological works.

A Word of Caution (The "Don’ts")

While Shamela is a miracle of technology, it is not a substitute for a teacher. The software cannot distinguish between a Sahih (authentic) Hadith and a Mawdu’ (fabricated) one unless you know how to read the chain. Likewise, it won’t tell you if a fatwa has been abrogated or is specific to a certain context. al maktaba shamela

Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) across various schools of thought. Access: Freely accessible; content provenance varies

2. Semantic Search & Wildcard Complex Queries

Beyond simple word search, Shamela supports: Hadith (Prophetic traditions) – Including all six major

2. Hyperlinked Chains (Asanid)

For Hadith students, Shamela allows you to click on a narrator’s name and see a pop-up of their biographical entry from Taqrib al-Tahdhib or other rijāl (narrator-criticism) works. This turns reading into a dynamic research experience.

Official Endorsement: While it started independently, the project eventually came under the formal supervision of the Al-Rawdah Center for Islamic Da'wah in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which helped standardize the library and ensure its continued growth. Evolution to the Web and Mobile