Verbal Similarity of Hadiths

Verbal (Lexical) Similarity of Hadiths

Background and Necessity

In the structure of Hadith expression, many Hadiths appear in different sources with minor or major verbal changes. The field of "Muqaranah al-Hadith" (Comparative Hadith) has long dealt with the semantic and verbal similarity of Hadiths.

Machine-based identification of these similarities, even if only verbal, can be a significant step in more accurately identifying sources and the similarities and differences between Hadiths.

System Functionality

In this system, the user enters the full text, a portion of a narration, or a text similar to a narration. The system then extracts all narrations that are verbally similar to this narration and also displays the percentage of similarity to the input text.

Features and Capabilities

• This capability is available in the Jamia al-Ahadith 3.5 desktop software and Ahadith Fariqain

• Grouping of roughly similar Hadiths to summarize search results

Applications

• Finding different sources of a single Hadith across various references
• Studying verbal changes in Hadiths over time and between different sources
• Assisting Hadith researchers in comparing and analyzing similar narrations
• Summarizing search results through grouping similar Hadiths