Six most highly regarded hadith collections in Sunni Islam
"Six Books" redirects here. Not to be confused with
Six Arts .
Kutub al-Sittah (Arabic : ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة , romanized : al-Kutub al-Sitta , lit. 'the Six Books'), also known as al-Sihah al-Sitta (Arabic : الصحاح الستة , romanized : al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sitta , lit. 'the Authentic Six') are the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam . They were all compiled in the 9th and early 10th centuries, roughly from 840 to 912 CE.
The books are the Sahih of al-Bukhari (d. 870 ), the Sahih of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875 ), the Sunan of Abu Dawud (d. 889 ), the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi (d. 892 ), the Sunan of al-Nasa'i (d. 915 ), and the Sunan of Ibn Majah (d. 887 or 889 ) as the sixth book, though some (particularly the Malikis and Ibn al-Athir ) instead listed the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas (d. 795 ) as the sixth book,[1] and other scholars list Sunan of al-Daraqutni (d. 995 ) as the sixth book.[2] Sunan ibn Majah largely won out canonical collections because its content does not overlap with the other collections to the degree that the other two do.[1]
They were first formally grouped and defined by Ibn al-Qaisarani in the 11th century, who added Sunan ibn Majah to the list.[3] [4] [5] They were treated as a unit for the first time by Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir al‐Maqdisi (d. 1113 ).
^ a b Tahir al-Jazairi. توجيه النظر . p. 153.
^ Jonathan A.C. Brown (2007), The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon , p.10. Brill Publishers . ISBN 978-9004158399 . Quote: "We can discern three strata of the Sunni hadith canon. The perennial core has been the Sahihayn. Beyond these two foundational classics, some fourth/tenth-century scholars refer to a four-book selection that adds the two Sunans of Abu Dawud (d. 275/889) and al-Nasa'i (d. 303/915). The Five Book canon, which is first noted in the sixth/twelfth century, incorporates the Jami' of al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/892). Finally the Six Book canon, which hails from the same period, adds either the Sunan of Ibn Majah (d. 273/887), the Sunan of al-Daraqutni (d. 385/995) or the Muwatta' of Malik b. Anas (d. 179/796). Later hadith compendia often included other collections as well.' None of these books, however, has enjoyed the esteem of al-Bukhari's and Muslim's works." Archived 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
^ Goldziher, Ignác (1889–1890). Muslim Studies . Vol. 2. Halle . p. 240. ISBN 0-202-30778-6 .{{cite book }}
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^ Lucas, Scott C. (2004). Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunnī Islam . Leiden : Brill Publishers . p. 106.
^ Ibn Khallikan . Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary . Vol. 3. Translated by William McGuckin de Slane . Paris : Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 5.