About Sahih
Muslim
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim is a
collection of hadīth compiled by Imām Muslim ibn al-Hajjāj al-Naysāburi(rahimahullāh).
His collection is considered to be one of the most authentic collections of the
Sunnah of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), and along with Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī forms
the "Sahihain," or the "Two Sahihs." It contains roughly
7500 hadīth (with repetitions) in 57 books.
The translation provided here is by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui.
Author bio:
Imām Muslim's full name is Abu
al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Warat al-Qushayri al- Naysaburi
(206-261 AH/821-875 AD). Imām "Muslim," as his nasba shows, belonged
to the Qushayr tribe of the Arabs, an offshoot of the great clan of Rabi'a.
He was born in Naysabur (Nishapur) in 206/821. His parents were righteous
people who left such an indelible impression on his mind that he spent his life
as a God-fearing person and always adhered to the path of righteousness. Imām
Muslim travelled widely to collect hadith in Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq,
where he attended the lectures of some of the prominent Muhadith of his time:
Isḥāq b. Rāḥawayh, Aḥmad b. Hanbal,
'Ubaydullah al-Qawariri, Qutaiba bin Sa’id, 'Abdullah ibn Maslama, Harmalah bin
Yahya, and others. After completing his education, he settled down at Nishapur.
There he came into contact with Imām al-Bukhārī. Imām Muslim was impressed with
Imām al-Bukhārī's knowledge that he kept himself attached to him up to the end
of his life. Another muhaddith that influenced Imam Muslim was Muhammad ibn
Yahya al-Dhuhali and he attended his lectures regularly, but when the
difference of opinion between Muhammad b. Yahya and Imam Bukhari on the issue
of the creation of the Holy Qur'an sharpened into hostility, Imam Muslim sided
with Imam Bukhari and abandoned Muhammad b. Yahya altogether. He was therefore
a true disciple of Imām al-Bukhārī.
He wrote many books and treatises on Hadith, but the most important of his
works is the collection (Jami’) of his Sahih. He originally named his book
Musnad as-Ṣaḥīḥ, and mentioned in his book that he
wrote authored such a book in response to a question from one of his students.
Imām Muslim meticulously collected 300,000 hadith and after a thorough
examination of them retained only 4000, the genuineness of which were fully
established. He prefixed to his compilation a very illuminating introduction,
in which he specified some of the principles in which he had followed in the
choice of his material. Imam Muslim has to his credit many other valuable
contributions to different branches of Hadith literature, and most of them
retain their eminence even to the present day. Amongst these Kitab al-Musnad
al-Kabir 'Ala al-Rijal, Jami' Kabir, Kitab, al-Asma' wa'l-Kuna, Kitab al-Ilal,
Kitab al- Wijdan are very important.
Methods of
Classification and Annotation:
Imam Muslim strictly observed many
principles of the science of Hadith, which had been slightly ignored by his
great teacher Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on both of them).
Imam Muslim considered only such traditions to be genuine and authentic as had
been transmitted to him by an unbroken chain of reliable authorities up to the
Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and were in perfect harmony with
what had been related by other narrators whose trustworthiness was unanimously
accepted and who were free from all defects. He divided narrators and
sub-narrators into 3 levels:
1. Those people who are completely authentic in their memory and character with
no deficiency whatsoever. They were known to be honest and trustworthy.
2. People of slightly lesser memory and perfection than the previous category,
yet still trustworthy and knowledgeable, not liars by any measure. Examples of
people in this category include `Ata ibn Said and Layth ibn Abi Sulaim.
3. People whose honesty was a subject of dispute or even discussion. Imam
Muslim did not concern himself with such people. Examples in this category
include Abdullah ibn Maswar and Muhammad ibn Said al-Maslub.
Moreover, Imam Bukhari, while describing the chain of narrators, sometimes
mentions their kunya and sometimes gives their names. This is particularly true
in case of the narrators of Syria. This creates a sort of confusion, which Imam
Muslim has avoided.
Imam Muslim takes particular care in according the exact words of the narrators
and points out even the minutest difference in the wording of their reports.
Imam Muslim has also constantly kept in view the difference between the two
well-known modes of narration, haddathana (he narrated to us) and akhbarana (he
informed us). He is of the opinion that the first mode is used only when the
teacher is narrating the hadith and the student is listening to it, while the
second mode of expression implies that the student is reading the hadith before
the teacher. This reflects his utmost care in the transmission of a hadith.
Imam Muslim has taken great pains in connecting the chain of narrators. He has
recorded only that hadith which, at least, two reliable tabi'in (successors)
had heard from two Companions and this principle is observed throughout the
subsequent chain of narrators.
Sahih Muslim has been explained by Imam an-Nawawi and one of his teachers Abu
`Amr ibn Salah.
His Students:
His Students Imam Muslim had a very
wide circle of students, who learnt Hadith from him. Some of them occupy a very
prominent position in Islamic history, e.g. Abu Hatim Razi, Musa ibn Harun,
Ahmad ibn Salama, Abu 'Isa Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr ibn Khusaima, Abu ‘Awana and
Al-Dhahabi.
His Death:
Imam Muslim lived for fifty-five years. He spent most of his time
in learning Hadith, in its compilation, in its teaching and transmission. He
always remained absorbed in this single pursuit and nothing could distract his
attention from this pious task. He died in 261/875, and was buried in the
suburbs of Nishapur.
