The Islamic Trilogy of the Koran, the Sira and the Hadith is the basis for the doctrine and Sharia law.
The Koran is considered to be the words of Allah, given to the angel Gabriel who gave them to Mohammed.
The Hadith are collections of stories that tell what he said and did. There are various approved versions of the Hadith. CSPII uses the Hadith of Bukhari, favored by the Sunni branch of Islam.
The Sira is Mohammed’s biography, also written many years after his death.
The Koran has approximately 152,006 words. Note: this count will differ with each translation.
The Hadith of Bukhari has 645,745 words.
The section of the Sira that starts from Mohammed’s self-proclamation as a “messenger” has 274,838 words.
The total of word count of the Koran, the Sira (without Hisham’s end notes) and Hadith of Bukhari has 1,072,589 words.
| Reference | Koran | Sira | Hadith of Bukhari |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word Count | 152,006 | 274,838 | 645,745 |
| Fraction of Total 1,072,589 words | 14% | 26% | 60% |