Famous Hadith Collections
Glossary of Islamic Terms
by Aisha BewleyARBAIN:
The forty hadith by an-Nawawi (d.676/1277), perhaps the most popular small collection of hadiths
FATH AL BARI:
By Ibn Hajar al Asqalani (d.852/1449), a 14 volume commentary of Sahih al Bukhari. It is sometimes described as the work by which Muslim scholars repaid the debt they owed to al Bukhari.
AL JAMI AS SAGIR:
By as Suyuti (d911/1505), a large compilation of hadith which as Suyuti completed in 907/1502. It is arranged alphabetically without isnad (chain of narration). He also has the Jam al Jam and al Jami al Kabir
JAMI OF AT TIRMIDHI:
(d.279/852) contains about 4000 hadiths. After each hadith he comments on its legal usage and the quality of its isnad. He has personal notes on almost every page which mention the degrees of authenticity of the hadith, the different versions of a single report, as well as the various currents of thought in practise in the Islamic world at this time. This makes his Jami (a collection which contains information on all subject matters) unique.
MASABIH AS SUNNAH:
By al Baghawi (d510/1117) a collection of 4719 hadiths. It is arranged by topic but he omitted the isnads as they were taken from well known collections. It was designed to give people guidance in their daily lives.
MISHKAT AL MASABIH:
By Wali ddin al khatib at Tabrizi. He revised and expanded Masabih as sunnah by al Baghawi, mentioning the source and weight of the hadiths cited adding more traditions on the topic.
MUSNAD AHMED:
Collected by Ahmed ibn Hanbal (d 241/855). It is the most important and most exhaustive of the musnad (a collection of hadiths arranged on the first authority of its isnad) works. His aim was to record all traditions which were likely to prove genuine if tested and could serve as a basis for argument. He never claimed that all it included was genuine or reliable, but anything not in it had no force. His musnad was respectively transmitted by his sonAbdullah (d 290/903) and the latter’s student, Abu Bakr al Qati (d 368/979), both of whom added some hadiths. It contains a total of 30,000 hadiths (with 10,000 repititions) narrated by 700 companions.
MUSNAD OF ABU DAWUD AT TAYALISI:
(d 201/818). It contains 2767 hadiths with full isnads on the authority of 281 companions, and is said to be the first musnad. The hadiths are arranged by names, beginning with the first four caliphs, then those who were at the battle of badr, the muhajiroon, the ansar, women, and the youngest companions. This arrangement was done by his student Ibn Habib who compiled the hadiths he ha recieved from him. If there is any doubt in the text, it is pointed out. Sometimes the characters of the transmitters is mentioned and sometimes comments about transmissions are made. It is the oldest musnad still extant.
MUSANNAF:
By Abdur Razzaq ibn Humama (d 211/826). This is the earliest musannaf (a hadith collection arranged in topical chapters) work in existence. It is divided into topical chapters, ending with the virtues of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)
AL MUSTADRAK ALA AS SAHIHAYN:
By Al Hakim an Nisaburi (d 405/1014). He usedhadiths which he considered met the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim.
AL MUWATTA:
Of imam Malik ibn Anas (d 179/795) the oldest and most authentic collection of hadith and fiqh.
RIYAD AS SALIHEEN:
An Nawawi (d 676/1277) a famous collection of hadiths arranged by subjects. It is a selection from the Sahih (healthy and sound hadiths with no defects) and a couple of other woks on hadith accompanied by relevant Quranic ayats.
SAHIH AL BUKHARI:
(d 256/870). Generally accepted to be the most reliable and most prestigious of the collections of hadith. It is a Jami collection and a msuannaf. Al Bukhari was said to have revised it three times. Al Bukhari sought to list only hadiths which possessed uninterrupted chains of credible authorities. He wished to impress the contents on the reader and to that end divided the book into more than 100 chapters with 3450 subsections, each with a heading to indicate its contents
SAHIH IBN HABBAN:
(d 354/965). The hadiths in this book are arranged neither as in a musannaf nor as in a musnad. His collection contains 2647 hadiths that do not appear in the collections of Bukhari or Muslim
SAHIH MUSLIM:
(d 261/875). It is considered to be one of the two most reliable collections of hadith. It included 12000 hadiths (with 4000 repetitions). Since it does not contain a complete chapter on tafsir, it is not considered a jami. Muslim is stricter than al Bukhari in pointing out the differences between narrations and has a neither arrangement of the hadiths.
SUNAN ABU DAWUD:
(d 275/888). One of the six collections, it contains 4800 hadiths mostly on legal matters. It was the first book of its type in hadith literature and is considered to be the best sunan. The author often points out the weakness and peculiarities in hadiths and their isnads or expresses his preference among the variants of a hadith. It is one of the most comprehensible collections.
SUNAN OF AD DARAQUNTI:
(d 385/995). He used hadiths which he considered met the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim and adds isnads and alternate versions and notes about the narrators. Its reliability is second only to the sound six collections. It was the basis for the collections of al Baghawi and at Tabrizi.
SUNAN of AD DARIMI:
(d 255/869). This book is a musannaf which is also called al Musnad al Jami, a misnomer. It contains 3550 hadiths plus comments on the narrators and legal points. It has an introductory chapter on pre Islamic times and traditions connected to the life and character of the Prophet (pbuh). It is thought of as reliable and is one of the earliest extant Sunan collections. It is an important collection and some considered it to be part of the six.
SUNAN OF IBN MAJAH:
(d 273/886): It contains 4341 hadiths. Of these 3002 appear also in the collections of Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasai. It is one of the six, although it is considered les authentic than the muwatta. It contains many hadiths which are forged and he did not mention his criteria for selection.
SUNAN OF AN NASAI:
(d 309/915). His sunan is one with the fewest weak hadiths after the two sahih collections. The sunan which is one of the six is al Mujtaba or as Sunan as Sughara, which is a synopsis of a large collection of hadiths which he considered to be fairly reliable. In the smaller collection he only included those hadiths which he considered to be reliable.
AS SUNAN AL KUBRA:
by al Bayhaqi (d 458/1066). The hadiths in this compilation are arranged according to their legal import. They include traditions that were notavailable from earlier compilations.
TADRIB AR RAWI:
By as Suyuti (d 911/1505), the classic commentary on the sciences of hadith. It is an extensive commentary on the Taghrib of an Nawawi.
TAHDHIB AL AHKAM:
By Muhammed b al Hasan at Tusi (d 460/1068). It contains 13590 hadiths and is one of the main shiite collections.
AT TARGHIB WAT TARHIB:
By Ibn Hajar an Asqalani (d.852/1449), a small collection arranged according to topics.
Traditional Ranking of hadith collections:
1. The most reliable collections: Al Muwatta, Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
2. The four sunan collections: Abu Dawud, an Nasai, at Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah
The 'four' are: Sahih al Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, the Sunan of Abu Dawud and the Sunan of an-Nasai
The 'sound six' are Sahih al Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, the Sunan of Abu Dawud, the Sunan of an Nasai, the Jami of at Tirmidhi and the Sunan of Ibn Majah.
(although Muwatta is the oldest and most reliable collection, it is not mentioned as one of the four or the six since its hadiths are found in the two sahih collections)
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