The two most authentic books of Hadeeth

The two most authentic books of Hadeeth

Saheeh Al-Bukhari

Of all the works of Hadeeth, Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim are regarded as the most authentic and authoritative books, after Al-Quran. Indeed the very word "Saheeh" means "authentic". Saheeh Al-Bukhari was compiled by Imam (leader) of Hadeeth, Mohammad Ibn Isma'eel Al-Bukhari, born 194H in Bukhara, central Asia. He traveled at an early age seeking knowledge to Hijaz (Makkah and Madeenah), Ancient Syria, Iraq, Egypt etc. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him devoted more than 16 years of his life to the actual compilation of this work. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him learnt from more than 1000 scholars. It is said that Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him collected over 300,000 Hadeeths and he himself memorized 200,000 of which some were unreliable. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him wrote many books especially on the bibliography of Hadeeth narrators and other books on various issues of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). However, his book ‘Saheeh Al-Bukhari’, stands out for being the most authentic book of Hadeeth. It was also the first book to contain only authentic Hadeeths, while previous books contained authentic and non-authentic Hadeeths, as well as sayings of the companions  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  them and others. Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him died in his hometown, Bukhara in the territory of Khurasan (West Turkistan), in the year 256H.

He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him grouped the traditions of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) under various headings dealing with specific points of Islamic jurisprudence. In his time, the schools of law had been generally established and his objective was to catalogue the traditions he regarded as authentic in relation to their respective topics of jurisprudence.

Before he recorded each Hadeeth, he  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him would perform ablution and offer a two-Rak'ah prayer and supplicate to Allah. Many religious scholars of Islam tried to find fault in the great remarkable collection, but all in vain. It is for this reason, they unanimously agreed that the most authentic book after the Book of Allah is Saheeh Al-Bukhari.

Some facts about Saheeh Al-Bukhari

1. It contains 7,275 Hadeeths, which he  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him chose from the large number of Hadeeths that he  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him had collected.

2. The number of complete unrepeated Hadeeths is 2230.

3. All the Hadeeths mentioned are authentic.

4. The conditions for accepting a Hadeeth were very stringent. Such as:

a) The chain of narrators must be linked, i.e. every narrator must have met his predecessor, (the man of whom he heard the Hadeeth from, up to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ).)

b) For it to be enclosed in the Saheeh, the narrators must be of the highest caliber regarding their piety, manners, memory, integrity, etc.

5. The book is not a mere book of narrations; it is essentially a course of study on Hadeeth, its derivatives, inductions and research.

6. Each one of its 97 chapters is headed by a relevant verse from the Quran that complements the meaning of the Hadeeths quoted.

7. Finally, much more could be said about this monumental work, however, it is enough to say that many people have reached fame and achieved the highest qualifications by studying the book, researching it and commenting on it.

Saheeh Muslim

Saheeh Muslim is the second most authentic book of Hadeeth after Saheeh Al-Bukhari, compiled by Imam Muslim ibn Al-Hajaj Al-Nisapuri  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him. Born in 202H and died in 261 H. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him traveled widely to many countries such as Iraq, Hijaz, Ancient Syria, and Egypt to gather his collection of Hadeeth. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him learnt from many scholars, most of which were Al-Bukhari's teachers. He  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him also learnt from the Imam Al-Bukhari himself  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him and became his most loyal student. Like Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him he  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him wrote many books on the sciences of Hadeeth.

He, may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him sought not so much to complement the issues at stake in the fiqh (the Islamic jurisprudence) but rather to produce a collection of sound traditions, an authentic record, on which future studies of Hadeeth could be based.

Some facts about Saheeh Muslim

1. The book contains 4000 non-repeated Hadeeths and 12000 repeated ones.

2. Many narrations are mentioned in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, but with different chain of narrators.

3. In every chapter more than one Hadeeth with the same meaning but with different chains and text are listed. The first Hadeeth in each chapter is the strongest, followed by weaker narrations in order to strengthen weaker narrations.

4. Excellent classification.

5. The book is forwarded by a detailed introduction about the basis of the sciences of Hadeeth.

Saheeh Al-Bukhari is preferred over Saheeh Muslim based on the authenticity of the Hadeeths. Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him was more strict in selecting Hadeeths (chains) than Imam Muslim  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him. Besides considering all the conditions of a Saheeh Hadeeth, Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him stipulated a further condition that a narrator should meet the person from whom he is narrating the Hadeeth.

Imam Muslim  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him however, did not stipulate the evidence of meeting the narrator from whom he is narrating, but according to him, it is sufficient to accept the Hadeeth of a narrator if he lives in the same period and there was the possibility of meeting the narrator from whom he is reporting the Hadeeth. So, the condition of Imam Muslim  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him was less strict than the condition of Imam Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him.

While Bukhari's compilation is considered the more reliable of the two, Muslim's arrangement of his material has been recognised as superior, and rightly so. While Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him made the traditions in his collection testify to his own schedule of various points of law, Muslim  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him left them to speak for themselves.

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