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The word Alim as used as a name for this software program is a misnomer. An Alim is someone with considerable insight and knowledge of the Divine Sciences of Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah, etc. who can extract answers to questions or problems faced by Muslims. This program obviously cannot fulfill these duties.
As the latest version of Alim (6.0) is a collection of various translations of the Holy Qur'an, Hadith, and other Islamic books and articles, it would better live up to a name like the Hafiz, which refers to a person who has memorized the Holy Qur'an and/or Hadith such as Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqalani or Hafiz Zahbi.
The Alim's powerful array of four different English translations of the Qur'an include Abdullah Yusuf Ali's, Muhammad Asad's, and Faruq Azam Malik's most recent and much easier to read versions. In addition, it has the Roman transliteration of the Arabic, Maududi Surah Introductions, a comprehensive subject index, and a word search in Arabic. The entire Qur'an is recited by several people, including Shaykh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad and Muhammad Ayub.
The Hadith collection contains four out of the six Sahih Sittah - namely, Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Muslim, and Tirmidhi. As well, it contains the Muwatta of Imam Malik and Hadith Qudsi. The Alim also contains a useful (although incomplete) index of the narrators of Hadith. This software collection of Hadith is indeed useful, as the book volumes would otherwise take up a lot of space on your bookshelves. The index is very helpful in finding references quickly.
The Fiqh section, however, contains only one book - Fiqh-us-Sunnah. Notable exceptions include Al Hedaya of the Hanafis and Reliance of the Traveler of the Shafiites.
The program also provides a built-in Arabic keyboard, an Islamic Terms dictionary, Daily Dua's, biographies of the Prophet (SAW) and his companions, and Discover Islam posters.
Although it sounds impressive, the Alim's multimedia section delivers little. For example, under the topic "Muslim Population," you would expect a presentation providing at least an overview of the Muslim World. Instead, there is only a short clip of Imam Abdul Hakeem Quick saying that more Muslims live in Indonesia than in the whole Arab world combined. The Kaaba walkthrough is very fast, and provides little information about the Kaaba and its environs.
Internet links that are provided are both skimpy and sometimes useless. Out of thousands of well-developed and well-maintained sites, only 11 are included in its general Islamic information and special interest section. The media section of the Alim provides no links to Muslim publications whatsoever.
Apart from its flaws, however, the Alim is a good resource material for the layperson. It won't make you an Alim, but it can certainly help you to become a better Muslim and to more fully appreciate the essence of Islam. It is quite possibly the best Islamic software program available in the English language. However, its bold claim of being "the world's most useful and popular Islamic Multimedia Software" is simply exaggerated. The Alim does not come near Arabic programs like Al Muhaddith and Al Mausuathul Zahabiyah, each of which provides hundreds of authentic books. |
