About the Scientific Encyclopedia Project
The importance of the project and the void in the educational arena:
Towards greater awareness through more reading, our goal is to deliver scholarly references and research papers to every researcher and writer.
Our story
Beginning of the idea:
The direct reason for the emergence of this encyclopedia idea and its collection is my presence in the European diaspora, away from Arabic publishing houses and libraries, which have always been my destinations and sanctuaries in my life and travels. It is well known that the student's capital is his books, and his growth and development are tied to them, hanging on them. The fact is that I have distanced myself from them, and they have scattered from me, cut off from me and stranded between me and them is estrangement and its remnants. My situation is like that of many of our sheikhs and brothers, so I needed to access the Internet as a researcher, searching for books and references. This serves to fulfill the reasons and prevent what troubles the soul of sadness and clamor, so I did not find then what could alleviate anything from it except reading, searching, and navigating among the pages of electronic libraries of Arabic language publications available for free on this network. I used to move among its sides here and there, taking a lot of time to download a book from its libraries or a volume from its volumes, so I started spontaneously collecting my personal electronic library, and here was the beginning.
The development of the idea and its growth:
After a period of time, I accumulated a considerable number of PDF files of Arabic language printed publications, about 14,000 volumes, and I shared them with those who asked me about some titles and books. I remained in this condition until tens of thousands of books and titles were lost from it, so I collected most of what is available on this network of PDF files of Arabic language printed books, and I also added to that what is available to me from many files from specialized scientific research centers in Cairo and Istanbul. At that point, the idea of producing this collection of PDF books arose with a massive scientific work and a new, useful, and beautiful format for those who need and deserve it among Muslims and researchers in general, so that this work would be a brick in supporting the Arabic language and demonstrating its position in the field of research and scientific writings in contemporary times.
After a period of time, I accumulated a considerable number of PDF files of Arabic language printed publications, about 14,000 volumes, and I shared them with those who asked me about some titles and books. I remained in this condition until tens of thousands of books and titles were lost from it, so I collected most of what is available on this network of PDF files of Arabic language printed books, and I also added to that what is available to me from many files from specialized scientific research centers in Cairo and Istanbul. At that point, the idea of producing this collection of PDF books arose with a massive scientific work and a new, useful, and beautiful format for those who need and deserve it among Muslims and researchers in general, so that this work would be a brick in supporting the Arabic language and demonstrating its position in the field of research and scientific writings in contemporary times.
Vision:
Currently, we aspire and strive to develop this scholarly encyclopedia into a leading scientific research platform, akin to renowned academic research platforms like Academia.edu. Our aim is to enable users to search within book files and their written content, not just their titles and authors as is currently the case.
We hope and desire to make this comprehensive encyclopedia, encompassing all these books and sciences, accessible to diligent Muslim scholars, especially those who are impoverished. Many scholars across the world, whether in the East or West, lack the financial means to sustain their lives, let alone purchase diverse and extensive scholarly references. Even those who can afford books often end up buying poor-quality editions due to their lack of awareness of better alternatives available in the market.
This situation similarly affects educational institutions and religious schools, which are generally financially constrained. Rarely do these institutions have more than half or a third of this encyclopedia's quantity, let alone its quality and diversity. Therefore, our goal is to place this encyclopedia into the hands of deserving students of knowledge and to facilitate access through the support of donors and benefactors primarily from institutional libraries, schools, and religious colleges.
Primary Supporter:
When we started this work, we realized the immense challenge of producing this extensive encyclopedia with our modest resources. Hence, we sought support by presenting the project and its concept to several Arab scientific and governmental institutions. Some of these entities and generous individuals stepped forward with financial support and moral encouragement, playing a crucial role in bringing this blessed scientific project to fruition. They deserve our gratitude and praise for their generosity and dedication, despite their many obligations and expenses.
Benefits of the Encyclopedia:
As we offer this comprehensive encyclopedia to readers, researchers, writers, and authors, we have endeavored to make it a pioneering and invaluable resource. Here are some of the beneficial features enabled by the encyclopedia:
- Access to numerous names of scholars, researchers, authors, and editors across various fields of knowledge, thus honoring their contributions and expertise.
- Intellectual access to many books, research papers, and titles printed in various sciences and arts. We are confident that our esteemed readers will find titles and books that they never knew existed or were printed.
- Access to printed books in specific scientific research, avoiding duplication of writing if the research plan was already considered, or at least benefiting from what was written and then adding to it.
- The possibility of selecting the best books and titles and then purchasing them for the personal library after viewing their electronic content. Thus, saving money in acquiring useful books and new publications.
- Facilitating the purchase of the book printed on paper, after knowing the printing and publishing house, and after the person compares between the best copies and editions available for this book in the markets.
- Access to the names of publishing houses and institutions that have printed the books, thereby highlighting their status, excellence, and efforts in serving Arabic books. Their rights are not to be underestimated, and their efforts should not be reduced or neglected.
- Access to the distinctive and detailed scientific indexing, which is universally distributed across various sciences and includes:
- The section and type of science under which the book falls
- Book title.
- Author's name.
- Editor's or presenter's name.
- Number of book pages.
- Printing and publishing house.
- Printing date.
- Edition number.
These features collectively contribute to making this encyclopedia a valuable tool for contemporary Arabic-language scientific research and writing, addressing a pressing need felt by all those involved in knowledge, research, reading, writing, and authoring.