Hadith Sahih Muslim

Sahih Muslim or Hadith Sahih Muslim (full title Al-Musnadu Al-Sahihu bi Naklil Adli) is one of the Six major collections of the hadith in Sunni Islam, oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. 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.

Hadith Sahih Muslim 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, there are 1400 authentic hadiths that are reported in other books, mainly the Six major Hadith collections.


Hadith Sahih Muslim Collection:

1. The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman)
2. The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)
3. The Book of Menstruation (Kitab Al-Haid)
4. The Book of Prayers (Kitab Al-Salat)
5. The Book of Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat)
6. The Book of Fasting (Kitab Al-Sawm)
7. The Book of Pilgrimage (Kitab Al-Hajj)
8. The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah)
9. The Book of Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)
10. The Book of Transactions (Kitab Al-Buyu`)
11. The Book Pertaining to the Rules of Inheritance
12. The Book of Gifts (Kitab Al-Hibat)
13. The Book of Bequests (Kitab Al-Wasiyya)
14. The Book of Vows (Kitab Al-Nadhr)
15. The Book of Oaths (Kitab Al-Aiman)
16. The Book Pertaining to the Oath, for Establishing the Responsibility of Murders, Fighting, Requital and Blood-Wit
17. The Book Pertaining to Punishments Prescribed by by Islam (Kitab Al-Hudud)
18. The Book Pertaining to Judicial Decisions
19. The Book of Jihad and Expedition
20. The Book on Government (Kitab Al-Imara)
21. The Book of Games and the Animals which May be Slaughtered and the Aninals that Are to be Eaten
22. The Book of Sacrifices (Kitab Al-Adahi)
23. The Book of Drinks (Kitab Al-Ashriba)
24. The Book Pertaining to Clothes and Decoration
25. The Book on General Behaviour (Kitab Al-Adab)
26. The Book on Salutations and Greetings
27. The Book Concerning the Use of Correct Words
28. The Book of Poetry (Kitab Al-Sh`ir)
29. The Book of Vision (Kitab Al-Ruya)
30. The Book Pertaining to the Excellent Qualities of the Holy Prophet (may Peace be upon them) and His Companions (Kitab Al-Fada'il)
32. The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him)
33. The Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr was-Salat-I-wa'l-Adab)
34. The Book of Destiny (Kitab-ul-Qadr)
35. The Book of Knowledge (Kitab Al-`Ilm)
36. The Book Pertaining to the Remembrance of Allah,Supplication, Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness (Kitab Al-Dhikr)
37. The Book of Heart-Melting Traditions (Kitab Al-Riqaq)
38. The Book Pertaining to Repentance and Exhortation to Repentance (Kitab Al-Tauba)
39. Pertaining To The Charateristics Of The Hypocrites And Command Concerning Them (Kitab Sifat Al-Munafiqin Wa Ahkamihim)
40. The Book Giving Description of the Day of Judgement, Paradise and Hell (Kitab Sifat Al-Qiyamah wa'l Janna wa'n-Nar)
41. The Book Pertaining to Paradise, Its Description,Its Bounties and Its Intimates (Kitab Al-Jannat wa Sifat Na'imiha wa Ahliha)
41. The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour (Kitab Al-Fitan wa Ashrat As-Sa`ah)
42. The Book Pertaining to Piety and Softening of Hearts (Kitab Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqa'iq)
43. The Book of Commentary (Kitab Al-Tafsir)

Views

Sunni Muslims regard this collection as the second most authentic of the Six major Hadith collections, 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:

  • 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.