Al-Kutub al-Sittah

Further reading
• Islamic Awareness, Issues Concerning Hadith (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
islamic-awareness.
 
org/
 
Hadith/
 
)
• Musa, A. Y. Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam. Palgrave, 2008;
ISBN 0-230-60535-4
Notes

Muhammad al-Bukhari
7
Muhammad al-Bukhari
Muhammad ibn Ismail
al-Bukhari
Born
194 AH [1]
Bukhara
Died
256 AH
Khartank, near Samarqand
Ethnicity
Persian[2] or Tajik
School tradition Ijtihad
Influences
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ali ibn al-Madini
Yahya ibn Ma'in
Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh[3]
Influenced
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
Ibn Abi Asim
Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari (Persian: ﻦﺑ ﻞﻴﻋﺎﻤﺳﺍ ﻦﺑ ﺪﻤﺤﻣ
ﯼﺭﺎﺨﺑ ﻪﺑﺯﺩﺮﺑ ﻦﺑ ﻩﺮﻴﻐﻣ ﻦﺑ ﻢﻴﻫﺍﺮﺑﺍ
), popularly known as Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, (196-256AH / 810-870AD), was a
Sunni Islamic scholar of Persia.
[4][5] 
He authored the hadith collection named Sahih Bukhari, a collection which
Sunni Muslims regard as the most authentic of all hadith compilations.
Biography
Early life
He was born in 810/194 in the city of Bukhara in Khorasan (now in Uzbekistan). His father, Ismail Ibn Ibrahim, was
a known hadith scholar who died while he was young
The historian al-Dhahabi described his early academic life:
He began studying hadith in the year 205 (A.H.). He memorized the works of [‘Abdullah] ibn al-Mubaarak
while still a child. He was raised by his mother because his father died when he was an infant. He traveled
with his mother and brother in the year 210 after having heard the narrations of his region. He began authoring
books and narrating hadith while still an adolescent. He said, “When I turned eighteen years old, I began
writing about the Companions and the Followers and their statements. This was during the time of ‘Ubaid
Allah ibn Musa (one of his teachers). At that time I also authored a book of history at the grave of the Prophet
at night during a full moon.
[6]

Muhammad al-Bukhari
8
Travels
At age of sixteen, he, together with his brother and widowed mother made the pilgrimage to Makkah. From there he
made a series of travels in order to increase his knowledge of hadith. He went through all the important centres of
Islamic learning of his time, talked to scholars and exchanged information on hadith. It is said that he heard from
over 1,000 men, and learned over 700,000 traditions.
After sixteen years' absence he returned to Bukhara, and there drew up his al-Jami' as-Sahih, a collection of 7,275
tested traditions, arranged in chapters so as to afford bases for a complete system of jurisprudence without the use of
speculative law.
His book is highly regarded among Sunni Muslims, and considered the most authentic collection of hadith (a
minority of Sunni scholars consider Sahih Muslim, compiled by Bukhari's student Imam Muslim, more authentic).
Most Sunni scholars consider it second only to the Qur'an in terms of authenticity. He also composed other books,
including al-Adab al-Mufrad, which is a collection of hadiths on ethics and manners, as well as two books
containing biographies of hadith narrators (see isnad).
Muhammad al-Bukhari mausoleum near
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Last years
In the year 864/250, he settled in Nishapur. It was in Neyshābūr that he
met Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. He would be considered his student, and
eventually collector and organiser of hadith collection Sahih Muslim
which is considered second only to that of al-Bukhari. Political
problems led him to move to Khartank, a village near Samarkand
where he died in the year 870/256
Writings
Below is a summary of the discussion of Bukhari's available works in Fihrist Muṣannafāt al-Bukhāri by Umm
'Abdullāh bint Maḥrūs, Muḥammad ibn Ḥamza and Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad.
[7]
Works describing narrators of hadith
Bukhari wrote three works discussing narrators of hadith with respect to their ability in conveying their material: the
"brief compendium of hadith narrators," "the medium compendium" and the "large compendium" (al-Tarikh
al-Kabīr, al-Tarīkh al-Ṣaghīr, and al-Tarīkh al-Awsaţ). The large compendium is published and well-identified. The
medium compendium was thought to be the brief collection and was published as such. The brief compendium has
yet to be found.
[8] 
Another work, al-Kunā, is on patronymics: identifying people who are commonly known as
"Father of so-and-so". Then there is a brief work on weak narrators: al-Ḍu'afā al-Ṣaghīr.

Muhammad al-Bukhari
9
Hadith Works
Two of Bukhari's hadith works have reached us: al-Adab al-mufrad ("the book devoted to matters of respect and
propriety") and al-Jāmi’ al-Musnad al-Sahīh al-Mukhtaṣar min umūr Rasûl Allāh wa sunnanihi wa ayyāmihi – The
abridged collection of sound reports with chains of narration going back all the way to the Prophet regarding
matters pertaining to the Prophet, his practices and his times. – also known as Sahih Bukhari
School of thought
Bukhari was claimed by followers of the Shafi'i school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence as being from the
Shafi school of thought,
[9] 
though members of both the Hanbali and Zahiri schools both levy this claim as well.
He is recorded as being both anti-Mu'tazili and anti-Rafidhi. In one of his books on creed, he wrote: “I don’t see any
difference between praying Salah behind a Jahmi or a Rafidhi and a Christian or a Jew. They (Jahmiyyah/Rāfida) are
not to be greeted,, nor are they to be visited, nor are they to be married, nor is their testimony to be accepted, nor are
their sacrifices to be eaten abc.”.
[10]
References
[1] S. 'Abdul-Maujood, "The Biography of Imam Bukharee", Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2005, p. 13.
[2] Revival of Real Pure Islam, Distinction between Real-Pure Islam and Persian-Brand of Prevailing Islam (book) (https:/
 
/
 
sites.
 
google.
 
com/
site/
 
socratesenerprise/
 
distinction-between-real-pure-islam-and-persian-brand-of-prevailing-islam). Page 1.
[3] Ibn Rāhwayh, Isḥāq (1990), Balūshī, ʻAbd al-Ghafūr ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥusayn, ed., Musnad Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh (1st ed.), Tawzīʻ Maktabat
al-Īmān, pp. 150–165
[4] Encyclopedia of World Biography ... – Google Books (http:/
 
/
 
books.
 
google.
 
com/
 
books?id=bpAYAAAAIAAJ&
 
q=sahih+
 
bukhari+
persian+
 
origin&
 
dq=sahih+
 
bukhari+
 
persian+
 
origin&
 
cd=2). 2006-12-28. . Retrieved 2010-02-03.
[5] A guide to Eastern literatures – Google Books (http:/
 
/
 
books.
 
google.
 
com/
 
books?id=CsZiAAAAMAAJ&
 
q=bukhari+
 
persian+
 
origin&
dq=bukhari+
 
persian+
 
origin&
 
cd=11). 2008-05-01. . Retrieved 2010-02-03.
[6] Tathkirah al-Huffath, vol. 2, pg. 104-5, al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah edition
[7]
[7] Fihris Muṣannafāt al-Bukhāri, pp. 9-61, Dār al-'Āṣimah, Riyaḍ: 1410.
[8]
[8] Fihris Musannafāt al-Bukhāri, pp. 28-30.
[9]
[9] Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256/870; Tabaqat al-Shafi'iya, 2.212-14 [6])
[10] Khalq Af’ālul-’Ibād, p.14
Further reading
• Abdul-Jabbar, Ghassan. Bukhari. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007.
External links
• Biography of Imam Bukhari (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
haqislam.
 
org/
 
imam-bukhari/
 
)
• http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
islaam.
 
net/
 
main/
 
display.
 
php?id=1126&
 
category=13
• Biography of Muhammad al-Bukhari (http:/
 
/
 
replay.
 
waybackmachine.
 
org/
 
20090501191138/
 
http:/
 
/
 
www.
theclearpath.
 
com/
 
viewtopic.
 
php?t=6)

Sahih Muslim
10
Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim (Arabic: ﻢﻠﺴﻣ ﺢﻴﺤﺻ, ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, full title Al-Musnadu Al-Sahihu bi Naklil Adli) is one of the
al-Kutub al-Sittah (six major hadiths) of the hadith in Sunni Islam. It is the second most authentic hadith collection
after Sahih Al-Bukhari, and is highly acclaimed by Sunni Muslims. It was collected by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, also
known as Imam Muslim. Sahih translates as authentic or correct.
[1]
Collection
Imam Muslim (Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj) was born in 202 AH (817/18 CE) in Naysabur, Iran into a Persian family and
died in 261 AH (874/75 CE) also in Nishapur. He traveled widely to gather his collection of ahadith (plural of
hadith), including to Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Egypt. Out of 300,000 hadith which he evaluated,
approximately 4,000 were extracted for inclusion into his collection based on stringent acceptance criteria. Each
report in his collection was checked and the veracity of the chain of reporters was painstakingly established. Sunni
Muslims consider it the second most authentic hadith collection, after Sahih Bukhari.Sahih Muslim is divided into 43
books,containing a total of 7190 narrations. However, it is important to realize that Imam Muslim never claimed to
collect all authentic traditions as his goal was to collect only traditions that all Muslims should agree on about
accuracy.
According to Munthiri, there are a total of 2200 hadiths (without repetition) in Sahih Muslim. According to
Muhammad Amin,
[2] 
there are 1400 authentic hadiths that are reported in other books, mainly the Six major Hadith
collections.
Views
Muslims regard this collection as the second most authentic of the Six major Hadith collections,
[3] 
containing only
sahih hadith, an honor it shares only with Sahih Bukhari, both being referred to as the Two Sahihs. Shia Muslims
dismiss many parts of it as fabrications or untrustworthy
Distinctive Features
Amin Ahsan Islahi, the noted Islamic scholar, has summarized some unique features of Sahih Muslim
[4]
:
•• Imam Muslim recorded only such narratives as were reported by two reliable successors from two Companions
which subsequently travelled through two independent unbroken isnāds consisting of sound narrators. Imām
Bukhārī has not followed such a strict criterion.
•• Scientific arrangement of themes and chapters. The author, for example, selects a proper place for the narrative
and, next to it, puts all its versions. Imām Bukhārī has not followed this method (he scatters different versions of a
narrative and the related material in different chapters). Consequently, in the exercise of understanding ahādīth,
Sahīh of Imām Muslim offers the best material to the students.
• The Imam informs us whose wordings among the narrators he has used. For example he says: haddathanā fulān
wa fulān wallafz lifulān (A and B has narrated this hadīth to us and the wording used here is by A). Similarly he
mentions whether, in a particular hadīth, the narrators have differed over the wordings even over a single letter of
zero semantic significance. He also informs the readers if narrators have differed over a specific quality, surname,
relation or any other fact about a narrator in the chain.

Sahih Muslim
11
Commentaries and translations
1. Siyanah Sahih Muslim by Ibn al-Salah, of which only the beginning segment remains
2. Al Minhaj Be Sharh Sahih Muslim by Yahiya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi
3.
3. Fath al-Mulhim
4.
4. Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim
5. Sahih Muslim (Siddiqui) translated by Islamic scholar Abd-al-Hamid Siddiqui. The text is used in the USC-MSA
Compendium of Muslim Texts
6.
6. Summarized Sahih Muslim
7. Sharh Sahih Muslim by Allama Ghulam Rasool Saeedi
References
[1] islamic-dictionary (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
islamic-dictionary.
 
com/
 
index.
 
php?word=sahih) retrieved 10:06, 26 April 2010
[2] The number of authentic hadiths (Arabic) (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
ibnamin.
 
com/
 
num_hadith.
 
htm), Muhammad Amin, retrieved May 22, 2006
[3] Various Issues About Hadiths (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
abc.
 
se/
 
~m9783/
 
n/
 
vih_e.
 
html)
[4] Mabadi Tadabbur-i-Hadith, Amin Ahsan Islahi, 1989
Further reading
• The Canonization of Al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (http:/
 
/
www.
 
scribd.
 
com/
 
doc/
 
17926706/
 
The-Canonization-of-AlBukhari-and-Muslim-by-Jonathan-Brown) by
Jonathan Brown, BRILL, 2007
External links
• English translation (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
usc.
 
edu/
 
dept/
 
MSA/
 
fundamentals/
 
hadithsunnah/
 
muslim/
 
)
• English Translation of the Introduction to Sahih Muslim (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
kalamullah.
 
com/
muqaddimah-sahih-muslim.
 
html)

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri
12
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
Born
204/206 AH [1]
Nishapur, Iran
Died
261 AH /c. 875
Nishapur, Iran
Occupation
scholar
Tradition or
movement
Shafi'i and ijtihad
Main interests Hadith
Notable works Sahih Muslim
Influences
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal
Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh[2]
Muhammad al-Bukhari [3]
Abul Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim ibn Warat al-Qushayri al-Nisaburi (Arabic: ﻦﺑ ﻢﻠﺴﻣ ﻦﻴﺴﺤﻟﺍ ﻮﺑﺃ
ﻱﺭﻮﺑﺎﺴﻴﻨﻟﺍ ﻱﺮﻴﺸﻘﻟﺍ ﺝﺎﺠﺤﻟﺍ
; Persian: ﯼﺭﻮﺑﺎﺸﯿﻧ ﻢﻠﺴﻣ; lived c. 206–261 AH/c.821-875 CE) was the author of the second
authentic sahih collection of hadith in Sunni Islam, Sahih Muslim.
Biography
He was born in the town of Nishapur, in present day northeastern Iran, into the Arab tribe of Qushair.
Among the author's teachers were included Harmala ibn Yahya, Sa'id ibn Mansur, Abd-Allah ibn Maslamah
al-Qa'nabi, al-Dhuhali, al-Bukhari, Ibn Ma'in, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Nishaburi al-Tamimi, and others. Among his
students were al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, and Ibn Khuzaymah, each of which wrote works on hadith as
well. After many studies throughout the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, he settled down in his hometown
of Nishapur where he first met Bukhari, with whom he would have a friendship until his death.
Estimates on how many hadiths are in his books vary from 3,033 to 12,000, depending on whether duplicates are
included, or whether the text only or the isnad is also counted. His Sahih is said to share about 2000 hadiths with
Bukhari's Sahih.
[4]
He died in 875 CE in Nishapur, where he was also buried.
Legacy
The Sunni scholar Ishaq b. Rahwayh was first to recommend Muslim's work.
[5]
Ishaq's contemporaries did not at first accept this. Abu Zur`a al-Razi objected that Muslim had omitted too much
material which Muslim himself recognised as authentic; and that he included transmitters who were weak.
[6]
Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327/938) later accepted Muslim as "trustworthy, one of the hadith masters with knowledge of
hadith"; but this contrasts with much more fulsome praise of Abu Zur`a and also his father Abu Hatim. It is similar
with Ibn al-Nadim.
[7]
Muslim's book gradually increased in stature such that it is considered among Sunni Muslims the most authentic
collections of hadith, second only to Sahih Bukhari.

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri
13
Works
• Sahih Muslim: his collection of authentic hadith
References
[1] An Insider's Guide to Islam (http:/
 
/
 
books.
 
google.
 
co.
 
uk/
 
books?id=6YY2BItDIxsC&
 
pg=PA158&
 
dq=muslim+
 
bin+
 
hajjaj+
 
born+
 
206&
hl=en&
 
ei=9lGXTZaxL4304QbixYSVBA&
 
sa=X&
 
oi=book_result&
 
ct=result&
 
resnum=1&
 
ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&
q=muslim bin hajjaj born 206&
 
f=false) Yushau Sodiq, (2010) - Page 158
[2] Ibn Rāhwayh, Isḥāq (1990), Balūshī, ʻAbd al-Ghafūr ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥusayn, ed., Musnad Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh (1st ed.), Tawzīʻ Maktabat
al-Īmān, pp. 150–165
[3] ﺝﺎﺠﺤﻟﺍ ﻦﺑ ﻢﻠﺴﻣ ﻡﺎﻣﻹﺍ ﺞﻬﻨﻣ (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
ibnamin.
 
com/
 
Manhaj/
 
muslim.
 
htm)
[4]
[4] Lu'lu wal Marjan says 1900; Abi Bakr Muhammad b. 'Abdallah al-Jawzaqi apud Brown, 84 counted 2326.
[5]
[5] mardi keh in bud; al-Hakim, Ma`rifat `ulum al-hadith, 98 apud Jonathan Brown, The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim (Brill, 2007), 86
[6]
[6] Brown, 91-2, 155
[7]
[7] Brown, 88-9
External links
• Short Bio of Imam Muslim (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
haqislam.
 
org/
 
imam-muslim/
 
)
• Biography of Imam Muslim (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
dar-us-salam.
 
com/
 
authors/
 
imam_muslim.
 
htm)
• English translation of Sahih Muslim (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
usc.
 
edu/
 
dept/
 
MSA/
 
fundamentals/
 
hadithsunnah/
 
muslim/
 
)
• Interactive Family tree of Imam Muslim by Happy Books (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
happy-books.
 
co.
 
uk/
muhammad-ibn-abdullah-lineage-and-family-tree/
family-tree-diagram-of-lineage-and-relatives-of-prophets-and-companions-in-muslim-history.
 
php?id=547)
1. Interactive diagram of teachers and students of Imam Muslim by Happy Books (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
happy-books.
 
co.
uk/
 
muhammad-ibn-abdullah-lineage-and-family-tree/
students-sheikhs-and-teachers-of-famous-muslim-imams-and-scholars-in-muslim-history.
 
php?id=548)

Al-Sunan al-Sughra
14
Al-Sunan al-Sughra
as-Sunan as-Sughra (Arabic: ﻯﺮﻐﺼﻟﺍ ﻦﻨﺴﻟﺍ), also known as Sunan an-Nasa'i (Arabic: ﻲﺋﺎﺴﻨﻟﺍ ﻦﻨﺳ) is one of the
Al-Kutub al-Sittah (six major hadiths), and was collected by Al-Nasa'i.
Description
Sunnis regard this collection as third in strength of their Six major Hadith collections.
[1]
 Al-Mujtaba (English: the
selected) has about 5270 hadith, including repeated narrations, which the author selected from his larger work,
As-Sunan al-Kubra.
Commentaries
Among the who have written commentaries of this hadith collection:
• Imam al-Suyuti: Published under the name Sharh al-Suyuti 'ala Sunan al-Nisa'i by Maktabah al-Matbou'at in
Aleppo in 1986.
• al-Sindi: Published under the name Hashiyat al-Sindi 'ala al-Nisa'i by Maktabah al-Matbou'at in Aleppo in 1986.
References
[1] Various Issues About Hadiths (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
abc.
 
se/
 
~m9783/
 
n/
 
vih_e.
 
html)
External links
• Sunan An Nasai (http:/
 
/
 
ahadith.
 
co.
 
uk/
 
sunanannasai.
 
php) - Searchable Sunan Al Sughra by Imam An Nasai

Al-Nasa'i
15
Al-Nasa'i
Al-Nasa'i
Born
214 AH (ca. 829 AD/CE)
Turkmenistan[1]
Died
303 AH (915 AD/CE)
Occupation
scholar
Nationality
Persian
Tradition or
movement
Sunni
Notable works Al-Sunan al-Sughra
Influences
Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub al-Juzajani[2]
Al-Nasā'ī (214  – 303 AH/ ca. 829  – 915 AD/CE), full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd
ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī, was a noted collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), and wrote one of the six canonical
hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan al-Sughra, or "Al-Mujtaba", which he selected from his
"As-Sunan al-Kubra". As well as 15 other books, 6 dealing with the science of hadith.
Biography
Abu Abdurrahman Ahmed ibn Shuaib ibn Ali ibn Sinan ibn Bahr ibn Dinar Al-Khurusani was born in the year 215
A.H as the Imam clearly states himself (although some say 255 A.H or 214 A.H) in the city of Nasa, situated in
Western Asia known at that time as Khurusan which was a centre for Islamic Knowledge where millions of Ulama'a
were situated and Hadeeth and Fiqh was at its peak. Thus he primarily attended the gatherings and circles of
knowledge (known as halqas') in his town and attained knowledge, especially Hadeeth from the Ulama'a. Thereafter
his inspiration increased of traveling around the world to seek knowledge from other various scholars of different
countries and cities. When he was 20 years old, he started traveling and made his first journey to Qutaibah. He
covered the whole Arabian Peninsula seeking knowledge from the Ulama and Muhadditheen of Iraq, Kufa, Hijaz,
Syria and Egypt . Finally he decided to stay in Egypt .
Teachers and Students
Hafiz Ibn Hajr Rahimahullahi Alaih says that it is impossible to name and gather all his teachers but some are: - (1)
Ishaq ibn Rahweh (2) Imam Abu Daud Al-Sijistani (author of Sunan Abu Dawood) and (3) Qutaibah ibn Saeed.
Although some scholars like Hafiz ibn Hajr Rahimahullah also named Imam Bukhari as his teacher but this is
incorrect because Imam Bukhari never met him. However he studied under the Huffaz-e-Hadeeth from different
countries and cities.
After the Imam had decided to stay in Egypt he started to lecture, mostly narrating Ahadeeth to the extent that he
became known by the title Hafizul Hadeeth.
Many people would attend his gatherings and many scholars became his students, including:
• Imam Abul Qasim Tabrani
• Imam Abubakr Ahmed ibn Muhammad also known as Allamah ibn Sunni
• Sheikh Ali, the son of the Muhaddith, Imam Tahawi.
It is also narrated that Imam Tahawi personally narrated from this Imam.

Al-Nasa'i
16