WEB BASED DATA ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS INFORMATION

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1 International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 9, Issue 8, August 2018, pp , Article ID: IJCIET_09_08_100 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed WEB BASED DATA ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS INFORMATION Mesbahul Hoque (USIM) Zohdi Amin MZM Adnan Mohamed Yusoff Associate Professor, Faculty of Quranic and Sunnah Studies, Mohamed Akhiruddin B Ibrahim Ahmad Sanusi Azmi Sayed Najihuddin Sayed ABSTRACT This study examines the credibility of hadith (Islam s prophetic tradition) - information based on web pages. It focuses on the utilization, concerns, perceptions and opinions of a majority of Muslim scholars and academicians concerning the credibility of hadith available on websites. The interesting finding of this study is that the majority of the participants lack trust and confidence in the hadith found on websites. They agreed that reliable criteria are needed to ensure that the hadith information found on websites is accurate and reliable. This study suggests important criteria for ascertaining the credibility of hadith information such as verifying its authenticity, determining the reliability of the web host, proper citation of the primary sources and support from hadith scholars. Key words: Information. Technology. Data analysis. Web pages editor@iaeme.com

2 Web Based Data Analysis: A Case Study of Religious Information Cite this Article: Mesbahul Hoque, Zohdi Amin MZM, Adnan Mohamed Yusoff, Mohamed Akhiruddin B Ibrahim, Ahmad Sanusi Azmi and Sayed Najihuddin Sayed, Web Based Data Analysis: A Case Study of Religious Information. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 9(8), 2018, pp INTRODUCTION Hadith refers to the sayings, actions and consents of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be upon Him). It is considered the second source of Islam after the Holy Quran [1]. In early Islamic scholarship, there was a rapid development of compilations of hadith which eventually resulted in producing the premiere collection of hadith books like Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Sunan An-Nasai, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Imam Malik and Sunan Ad-Darimi, etc. In recent years, due to the revolution of information technology, an enormous number of hadith information has been transformed into various digital formats and mediums such as CD, DVD, software and websites [2]. Consequently, there has been an increasing interest among many web users to obtain their Islamic knowledge related to hadith from digital Sources. However, some of the information of the hadith available widely on websites is questionable in terms of its quality, authenticity and reliability [3]. Therefore, it is important to investigate how Muslim scholars treat such information especially in regards to the credibility of hadith websites. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Though there is a tremendous amount of studies on the credibility of online information, it seems such studies in the field of hadith are limited. Among the efforts that aim to authenticate online hadith is M. Aliyu, M. Mahmud, A. Md Tap and R. Nassr (2013) who explored the degree of user satisfaction with Islamic web-info [5] M. Najeeb (2014) tried to present an innovative system for hadith isnad (succession of the narrators) processing based on an artificial intelligence technique called Associative Classification (AC). It helps in grading hadiths and distinguishes between the accepted and rejected [6]. R. Nassr, M. Mahmud and M. Aliyu (2015) presented a software prototype which automates and processes the reliability evaluation through the inspection of references [7]. R. Baru, S.H. Omar, B. Ibrahim & T. M. Sapuan (2017) focused on identifying falsified hadith [9]. The major challenge is determining the reliability criteria and quantifying hadith information online because it is difficult to automate the process of reliability evaluation based on online information without human intervention. A.G. Saleh and M. Mai (2015) provided a general guide for assessing the quality of hadith information on the Internet [8]. This includes the reliability and integrity of the web host and identifying the contribution of hadith scholars[9]. The present study introduces other criteria for credibility such as comparing with the primary sources and verifying the content through proper citation of the original source. 3. CASE STUDY To identify the credibility of Islamic information online, especially the credibility of hadith (Islam s prophetic tradition), a case study has been conducted among Muslim scholars and academicians. The respondents of this survey were selected Muslim scholars from different countries. A total of eighty scholars participated in this survey. The ratio of males and females' participants is 83.75% and 16.25% respectively. Among the respondents, 41.25% are Malaysian % of the participants are between the ages of 30 and 45 indicating that this age bracket forms the majority users of online hadith. Table 1 shows the demographic details of the participants editor@iaeme.com

3 Mesbahul Hoque, Zohdi Amin MZM, Adnan Mohamed Yusoff, Mohamed Akhiruddin B Ibrahim, Ahmad Sanusi Azmi and Sayed Najihuddin Sayed Table 1 The demography of the participants Gender No % Male Female Origin Malaysia Non-Malaysia Age or older METHOD OF STUDY The questionnaire is divided into four sections. The first section covers the respondents background information. The next section investigates the respondents experience of using online hadith. The third part focuses on respondents choice of website for hadith information. The final section highlights the participants practice of verifying the quality of hadith information on their oft-visited web pages. All the questions contain multiple choices except for the last part where respondents offered suggestions based on their experience of using hadith websites. 4. RESULTS 4.1. Using Experience All the respondents used hadith websites at some point. Sixty-four out of eighty (80%) participants used the hadith websites on a daily basis whereas all other participants referred to the website two or three times a week % of the participants have very good experience in using the websites, while the experience of other participants ranged between good and fair. The most striking observation to emerge from the data is that the duration of experience among 27.50% of the participants was more than ten years Websites are Commonly Used Many websites are designed to assist in teaching, research, thesis writing, and writing assignments related to Islamic knowledge, especially hadith[10]. Muslim scholars commonly used several websites to access information related to hadith[11]. Among the seven websites given to the participants, the "Shamela" website ( was considered to be the most widely used based on their usage. 51 participants reported their experience visiting the site followed by with 44 participants. Figure1 shows a list of websites commonly visited by the respondents editor@iaeme.com

4 Web Based Data Analysis: A Case Study of Religious Information Websites commonly visited Figure 1 Websites commonly visited 4.3. Quality of Information The majority of those who responded (Muslim scholars) to this study agreed that most of the websites are very useful, easy to access and free. It helps them acquire information related to hadith quickly and conveniently. According to the quality of information, most of the participants are not fully satisfied with the information provided on the websites due to the fear of inaccurate information because the information may not be properly arranged and its authenticity uncertain due to the web host being unknown. Other reasons may be due to some technical complications arising from the use of the Internet technology. They have collectively agreed that certain criteria need to be applied to ensure that the information acquired is accurate and reliable. Figure 2 shows a summary of the reasons of unsatisfactory perceptions expressed by the participant Reasons of unsatisfactory Figure 2 Shows reasons of unsatisfactory expressed by participant 4.4. Authentication Process Participants used different processes for identifying the authenticity of hadith, such as searching in software that authenticates hadith; referring to famous books such as Sahih Al- Bukhari and Sahih Muslim; searching the status of hadith in other websites; asking friends about its authenticity and finally referring to experts. Figure3 details the hadith authentication process among the participants editor@iaeme.com

5 Mesbahul Hoque, Zohdi Amin MZM, Adnan Mohamed Yusoff, Mohamed Akhiruddin B Ibrahim, Ahmad Sanusi Azmi and Sayed Najihuddin Sayed Hadith authentication process Searching in software Referring to famous books Searching in websites Asking friends about authenticity Referring to an expert Figure 3 Details the authentication process 5. ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS The output of the participants opinions indicates a set of criteria for evaluating hadith information online. Among the important criteria for the novice users who have less knowledge in hadith are: a need for regular comparisons and verifications with the primary sources to avoid inaccurate information[12]; a need to verify the reliability and integrity of the web host to avoid the authenticity question; a need to apply modern technology to avoid technical complications; a need to identify the contribution of hadith scholars; a need to verify the content through proper citation of the original source and a need to consult with more knowledgeable people in hadith. 6. CONCLUSIONS This paper discussed how Muslim users could verify the authenticity of the information related to hadith as found on Islamic websites. The results from the case study are significant as it indicated that the verifying the authenticity of hadith is very important. There should be regulations or criteria for information about the hadith on the Internet so that individual users can be assured of the accuracy and reliability of online hadith. All the Muslim scholars who participated in this study were aware of the facilities provided on the hadith websites and the problems of the authenticity of hadith on the Internet. All participants agreed that online hadith need to be assessed properly for their authenticity before their adoption. Many doubted the accuracy of the content and reliability of the web host. The assessment criteria suggested may contribute to reducing the risk of acquiring misinformation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by the PPP (Research Center) at University Science Islam Malaysia (USIM) under research grant reference number PPP/GP/FPQS/30/ REFERENCES [1] M. M A. Najeeb. XML Database for Hadith and Narrators. American Journal of Applied Sciences. Volume 13 No. 1: 55-63, January [2] R. J. Kadhim, N. M. Norwawi, A.M. Abdulaaziz and A. Al_Omoush. "Extraction of Hadith Based on Semantic Annotation". International Journal of Computer Science and Network (IJCSN),.Vol. 4, No 2, April editor@iaeme.com

6 Web Based Data Analysis: A Case Study of Religious Information [3] M. M A. Najeeb. Processing Of Hadith Isnad Based On Hidden Markov Model. International Journal of Engineering and Technology. Vol 6. No. 1: 50-55, January [4] R. Nassr, M. Mahmud, and M. Aliyu "Evaluation of Islamic Websites Content Reliability". ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Vol. 10, No. 23, December P [5] M. Aliyu, M. Mahmud, A. Md Tap and R. Nassr. A preliminary investigation of islamic websites design features that influence use: a proposed model. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC). Vol 58. No [6] M. M A. Najeeb. Towards Innovative System for Hadith Isnad Processing". International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology (IJCTT) Vol18. No Dec [7] R. Nassr, M. Mahmud and M. Aliyu. "Evaluation of Islamic websites content reliability". ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Vol. 10, No. 23, December [8] R. Baru, S. Omar, B. Ibrahim and T. M. Sapuan. Identifying false hadith guidelines ". Malaysian journal for Islamic studies. Vol. 1, no.1, March [9] A.G. Saleh and M. Mai. "Assessment of the Quality of Hadith Information on the Internet". Journal of information and knowledge management.vol.6.no June [10] M Hoque, MA Rab, MM Sahid, Y Mohamed. "Phases in the life of the Malaysian scholar Sheikh Muhammad Idris al-marbawi, and his Contribution of Knowledge". Journal of Hadith StudiesVol. 3No. 1(June 2018) e-issn: [11] MZM Amin, T Islam, S Abas, MY Ismail. "Religio-Scientific Integration of Knowledge: A Study of Islam s Prophetic Traditions Related to the Medical Sciences. Advanced Science Letters, Volume 23, Number 5, May 2017, pp (3). [12] MH Chowdhury, MAA Rab, WM Said, NM Ghazali." Application of Modern Technology in the Study of Hadith and Its Sciences: A Case Study". Advanced Science Letters, Volume 23, Number 5, May 2017, pp (4). [13] M Hoque. "Methods in Interpreting Prophetic Traditions in Bazlul Mazhud and Al- Manhal Al-Azab: A Comparative Study". Ulum Islamiyyah Journal. VOL.18 (DECEMBER) 2016 : pp [14] Azmi, Ahmad Sanusi, Zulhilmi Mohamed Nor, Amiruddin Mohd Sobali, Amran Abdul Halim, and Mohd Yusuf Ismail. "Qur ānic Sīra in the Diplomatic Letter of Ibn Al-Layth to the Byzantine Emperor." Advanced Science Letters 23(5), 2017, [15] Azmi, Ahmad Sanusi. "Narratives of the Prophet s Early Life in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Buḫārī: An Analytical Study of Qurʾānic References in Sīra Nabawiyya." Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur'an and Hadith Studies 15(2), 2017, editor@iaeme.com